Scholars such as John Watson proposed that all organisms learned how to react to certain phenomena by mode of association. Watson carried out an experiment on a toddler called “Little Albert” whereby the baby was exposed to a neutral stimulus (the rat). At first, Little Albert shows little fear. However, when a loud sound (an unconditioned stimulus) is introduced whenever the little boy is exposed to the rat, he begins to develop fear (Öhman & Mineka, 2014). That fear persists throughout the boy’s life even in his later stages of life. Watson uses such an experiment to show that phobias are not inborn, rather, they are acquired from the environment in which individuals reside.
Several methods have been suggested to extinguish classically conditioned fear responses. One of the most common methods suggested is to have the individual exposed to the neutral stimuli occasionally (Öhman & Mineka, 2014). For instance, some individuals may develop phobias such as climbing high places, traveling by boat on large water surfaces or driving past a spot where one witnessed or was involved in a grisly accident. The remedy is to have such individuals getting in contact with the phenomenon that makes them develop the fear.
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Another method that has been found to be more effective is to disassociate the neutral and the unconditioned stimuli. For example, instead of the rats being presented to “Little Albert” with a loud sound, another thing could be introduced that does not scare the little boy. This method is more effective for children and might not work well for adults. In case of adults, occasional exposure to the phobia may reduce their fear.
Conclusively, it is crucial that intervention is taken to extinguish classically conditioned fear responses so that individuals do not develop other undesirable disorders. Individuals who for instance witness horrible road accidents may develop trauma whenever they come to the spots where the accidents happened hence it is necessary that measures are taken to address their phobia.
References
Öhman, A., & Mineka, S. (2014). Fears, phobias, and preparedness: toward an evolved module of fear and fear learning. Psychological review , 108 (3), 483.
