On Feb 8, 2014, at 11:34 AM, Jeffry Ricker, Ph.D. wrote: > A "textbook example" of vicarious conditioning I have often seen is the > development of an animal phobia (usually a snake or cockroach) in a child > after seeing his/her mother express extreme fear upon coming into contact > with that animal
What motivated me to send my initial email was the desire to decrease my ignorance about the precise definition and explanation(s) of vicarious conditioning. It seems that textbook discussions often contrast vicarious conditioning to operant conditioning (i.e., a response is strengthened or weakened as a result of watching another being reinforced or punished, respectively, for that response). My question, however, has to do with vicarious conditioning in relation to classical conditioning--that is, a "conditioned response" may develop as a result of observing another individual being classically conditioned. In the shower scene in Psycho (again, I'm using that example simply to give context to my question), if Janet Leigh's character had lived, she might have developed a classically conditioned fear to shower heads in bathtubs (or shower curtains, or shower rods, or all of these things together). Vicarious conditioning, in my understanding as a nonexpert, might occur in an observer of this scene--that is, he or she might develop a similar conditioned fear to the stimuli in this situation. (I'm not concerned, right now, with empirical issues, such as whether or not this might occur after only one trial, etc.) Watson and Rayner, in a poorly designed, conducted, and analyzed experiment, supposedly created a classically conditioned fear by pairing an animal with a loud noise. My question was: would pairing an animal with a terrified mother be an example of classical or vicarious conditioning? My take on this is that a terrified expression on a mother's face would actually be a UCS for the child (the CS would be the animal). It would not be the same as if the child watched a stranger's expression of fear when viewing the same animal, which is what I understand vicarious conditioning to be. My question probably is theoretically and conceptually muddled, but that is exactly why I'm asking the question: in order to start to clear up my muddled understanding so that I can teach these concepts better. Best, Jeff -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffry Ricker, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology http://sccpsy101.com/curriculum-vitae/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scottsdale Community College 9000 E. Chaparral Road Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626 Office: SB-123 Phone: (480) 423-6213 Fax: (480) 423-6298 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=34055 or send a blank email to leave-34055-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
