Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response Essay Example for Free

Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response Essay This experiment showed that Albert developed a fear of a white rat through associating a neutral stimulus with a fear provoking stimulus. However some individuals may have inherited a high level of physiological reactivity. The extent to which the individual is classically conditioned to a neutral stimulus could be determined by this physiological reactivity. In addition, animal phobia is more likely to become classically conditioned because there is preparedness for survival from the EEA, other stimuli may not become classically conditioned. Davison found phobias of neutral stimuli cannot be easily conditioned as Alberts experiment suggested; he tried to condition phobias of neutral stimuli in a laboratory but had little success. However being in an experimental setting may have prevented the participants from behaving naturally; therefore the fear was not conditioned. The behaviourist concept of stimulus generalising suggest that a fear response to one thing can be generalised to other things, and as predicted by the behavioural concept Albert generalised the phobia of white rats to other furry white objects such as cotton wool, fur and white beards. However his reactivity may predispose him to the anxious disorder. Due to Albert being a child he may have developed his fear of the rat because he was immediately able to recognise the appearance of the animal is least like a human, he feared other objects that were similar to the rat because he developed a cognitive bias unconsciously. Also the research evidence on phobias being a result of traumatic experiences lacks reliability, as shown by Davison it is difficult to replicate Watson and Rayners experiment; although it was found 50% of people suffering from certain phobias recalled a traumatic experience that had triggered their phobia, therefore supporting classical conditioning. The other 50% of phobics that cannot recall an unpleasant experience initiating their phobia could be due to repression of the expression. The development of phobias can also be explained by Mowrers two-process theory, this involves operant conditioning. The first stage of the process involves classical conditioning, for example linking the white rat and the loud noise. The second stage of the theory involves operant conditioning as avoidance of the phobic stimulus reduces the fear response and is thus reinforcing, therefore the fear is maintained and a phobia is developed. Behavioural explanations are reductionist; they oversimplify concepts to one specific thing and ignore other factors. The explanation is also deterministic because it suggests behaviour is controlled by the environment and ignores the individuals own ability to control their behaviour. Social learning theory explains fear as not being intentional, the learning of the fear happens at an unconscious cognitive level. Evidence of modelling was found in monkeys that observed other monkeys displaying a fearful reaction to a snake; these monkeys developed a phobia of snakes because it is a harmful stimulus. Bandura proposed phobias can be learnt through observational learning, modelling and direct reinforcement. There are other psychological explanations of anxious disorders. The cognitive explanation suggests faulty thinking is the cause of phobias. Beck and Emery conceded that anxious people avail cognitive biases, which causes them exaggerate the threats posed by stimuli. This has face validity because phobics have reported high level of anxiety and it is plausible that phobics find their environment a threatening place. Clarks cognitive theory of panic disorder suggests individuals suffering from panic disorder tend to interpret their bodily functions over sensitively i.e. they react to their bodily functions in a life-threatening way. This makes them more anxious and increases their catastrophic thoughts. However it cannot be identified if cognitive biases are the cause of phobias or if the phobias are the cause of the individuals cognitive biases. Also the over consciousness of bodily response could be due to physiological reactivity of the individual and it maybe the underlying cause of the fear. The explanation is description rather than explanatory; it describes the thought patterns of the individual but does not explain why the individual is having these thought patterns. The social explanation is another psychological explanation of anxiety disorders. According to this explanation parental rearing styles have an impact on the development of phobias. It has been found that parental styles that are high in control and overprotection and low in affection are linked to social phobia and agoraphobia. However accounts of parental styles are retrospective. Another limitation is all that has been obtained is correlations between rearing styles and anxiety disorders, correlations do not prove causality. There is evidence that phobics experience more serious life events before the onset of the anxiety disorder, in Kleiner and Marshalls study, 84% of agoraphobics reported to have experienced family problems prior to their first panic attack. Finlay and Brown found a difference between anxious and depressed patients in terms of life events they had experienced in the 12 months prior to the onset of their disorder. Both groups had experienced an above average number of life events, but anxious patients tended to have experienced danger events, whereas depressed patients experienced loss events. However life events may be a factor of variables that developed the disorders. In conclusion the behavioural explanation claims phobias are developed as a result of classical and operant conditioning, this is called the two-process theory. The experiment with Albert demonstrated classical conditioning. However, research indicates that phobias do not depend on having previously encountered a frightening situation, and individuals that have experienced frightening encounters do not necessarily develop a phobia. Social learning theory is a behavioural explanation that may apply to some specific phobias. The cognitive explanation suggests that the individual suffering from the phobia have cognitive biases which cause the individual to exaggerate the threat posed by the stimuli. Some individuals may react to their bodily responses in a catastrophic way more than other individuals because they have a higher physiological reactivity. The social explanation can be used to explain the development of phobias through parental rearing styles and life events. The main problem with obtaining information about parental rearing styles may be the individual perceives the style differently from how it actually was. The main problem with obtaining information on life events is that it was in the past the so remembering them may be distorted and some events may have been forgotten. All three accounts of psychological explanations can be used to describe the development of phobias; however there are other explanations of anxiety disorders that are not psychological such as the evolutionary explanation. According to preparedness argument phobias are adaptive because they are a fear of things that would have been a threat to humans in the EEA. The evolutionary explanation is a counter perspective of the conditioning explanation and may explain why replications of Watson and Rayners experiment failed to condition phobias to neutral stimuli.

Leadership Case Study of Ernest Shackleton Essay examples -- The Leade

The topic of this leadership case study is Ernest Shackleton. This paper will identify the development of Shackleton's leadership skills, provide examples and reflections of his abilities, and relate how he played an essential role in one of history's greatest survival stories. This study of Shackleton's leadership is set loosely within the framework of the five practices of exemplary leadership set forth in The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner, and will focus on the benefits produced by his management of team morale and unity (13). Kouzes and Posner remark that leadership experiences are ?voyages of discovery and adventures of a lifetime?[and] they are challenging explorations under rigorous conditions? (174). While this may be true, it is often in an extreme crisis situation that leadership is ultimately tested. This is the circumstance that Shackleton faced with his crew of twenty-seven, while stranded in the ice floes off the Antarctic Continent. Credit is due to the leadership of Ernest Shackleton; every member aboard the Endurance survived, and was finally rescued after six hundred and thirty-four days. Shackleton said of leadership, ?If you?re a leader, a fellow that other fellows look to, you?ve got to keep going? (qtd. in Morrell and Capparell 215). Synopsis of the Endurance Expedition?See Appendix (Pages 19-21) The Endurance, the vessel carrying the men and the title of the expedition, was named by Shackleton after his family motto?Fortitudine Vincimus (By endurance we conquer) (Perkins 41). To relate the significant factors of Shackleton?s leadership during the Endurance expedition, it is necessary to summarize the timeline of the events. A chronological timeline of the expedition is included at the end of this paper. The saga of the Endurance has relevant lessons for today?s leaders concerning the vital nature of team unity and interdependence, risk taking, optimism, and selfless leadership. Shackleton, known as ?The Boss? to his men, was at all times responsible for fostering and developing these dynamics, and thus provides an example of the remarkable achievements that are possible in even the direst of situations. The expedition failed in its attempt to be the first to transverse the Antarctic, yet the ultimate success is judged by the safe return of all the crewmembers. The events of the Endurance expedition wer... ... all his leadership strategies for the purpose of getting every man home alive. The loyalty and trust that Shackleton inspired in his men is undeniable. In 1921, five years after the rescue, Shackleton set out again on his last expedition aboard the Quest. Remarkably, his eighteen-member crew was comprised of eight Endurance colleagues, including Wild and Worsley (Morrell and Capparell 208). Following Shackleton?s death, Wild summed up the feelings he had for his leader: I have served with Scott, Shackleton, and Mawson, and have met Nansen, Amundsen, Peary, Cook, and other explorers, and in my considered opinion, for all the best points of leadership, coolness in the face of danger, resource under difficulties, quickness in decisions, never-failing optimism, and the faculty of instilling the same into others, remarkable genius for organization, consideration for those under him, and obliteration of self, the palm must be given to Shackleton, a hero and a gentleman in very truth. --Frank Wild, crew member, Nimrod; second in command, Endurance and Quest. (qtd. in Morrell and Capparell 205)

Analysis of “The Shield of Achilles” Essay

The Shield of Achilles is a poem of nine stanzas where the author W.H.Auden has used an episode from the famous Homeric epic ‘Iliad’, as the name suggests. Achilles as we know was the greatest hero of the Trojan War and his shield as mentioned here has its reference in the book eighteen of the Iliad. There Thetis, the sea goddess and Achilles’ mother requests Hephaestus the divine blacksmith to make a shield for Achilles whose armor has been taken away by the Trojan hero Hector when he killed Patroclus to whom Achilles had lent it. Auden here has narrated the episode of the Iliad where this shield is in the making. Interestingly unlike the epical shield which was decorated by Hephaestus with stars and constellation, two beautiful towns full of people, scene of cultivation, a vineyard laden with grapes, herd of cattle, dancing girls and boys, the shield in question presents a scene of lifelessness, destruction and decadence of a moribund society of people. The poem starts with an unnamed woman and a man whom we later identify as Thetis and Hephaestus. She is looking over his shoulder to watch the shield which is being made there. Contrary to her expectations she finds the shield being decorated with barbed wire enclosures and bored officials, weary sentries, detached and dispassionate men folk, a weed-choked-field and a frustrated young boy who knows nothing about love being always exposed to murder and rape. In the poem whenever Thetis peers over the blacksmith’s shoulder hoping to see some beautiful decoration of natural beauty being embossed on the shield, some morbid spectacle is sure to greet her eyes. Finally when Hephaestus leaves after finishing the shield, Thetis is distraught to find a horrific picture which makes Achilles’ doom all the more evident. The poet has used a method of flashback to emphasize the deplorable condition of the modern human society. Whenever Thetis looks over ‘his shoulder’ Auden gives us a glimpse of the beauty of the past by mentioning what she expects to see and what gruesome sights unfold before her. The poem shows a contrast between the ancient world of real heroes and the modern world of debasement. The poet W. H. Auden thus uses the shield of Achilles as a subject but all the beautiful descriptions of Homer have been replaced to show the poet’s disgust with blankness and  shallowness of the modern society.

Biblical Analysis Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein

Alexandria Harris Mrs. Mitchell AP Literature 16 November 2015 Biblical Analysis: Frankenstein Frankenstein by Mary Shelley often refers to the bible on a number of occasions. However, it is worth noting that many references used by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein can often be identified in Genesis. Much like Genesis, the story of Frankenstein is a viable creation story. The book of Genesis first explains the creation of man and woman, and also recounts the fall of humanity. Unlike Genesis, Frankenstein begins with the fall of humanity, leading into the creation of man. Although it would be simple to compare the novel to such non-religious terms, the religious symbolism cannot be ignored in Frankenstein. Many biblical references within Frankenstein refer to the creation story in the first book of Genesis. â€Å"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you† (Genesis 3: 17-19). In the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve are punished for taking from the tree of knowledge. The event that is presented in Genesis involving Adam and Eve strongly correlates to the first volume of Frankenstein. Driven by his mother’s death, Frankenstein looks to science in order to combat the death and illness that surrounds him. His acquisition of this scientifical knowledge leads to the creation of a horrible being. By creating life, he is able to attain the knowledge andShow MoreRelatedFrankenstein Literary Analysis : The Creator And His Creation1752 Words   |  8 PagesLucas Shelton Mr. Small English 12 3 March 2015 Frankenstein Literary Analysis: The Creator and his Creation â€Å"I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel† (Shelley 87). In the popular novel Frankenstein, author Mary Shelley examines difficult questions regarding the creation of life and the shortcomings of mankind. The narrative is centered around a young scientist by the name of Victor Frankenstein, whose unrelenting pursuit of knowledge leads him into the most dangerous experimentRead MoreCreation: Scientifically Proven? Essay1537 Words   |  7 PagesIn the book Evolutionary Creation in Biblical and Theological Perspective written by Dan Lioy it is clear some Christians tie biological evolution to religious belief. Lioy contemplates the idea of a God who creates evolutionary changes supernaturally only changing things for his purpose (10). We had a religious and scientific strife for many years; one of these was the bible vs. evolution debate called The Scopes (monkey) Trials of July 21 1925. As Judith S. Baughman writes inThe Scopes Trial