Conditioning and learning principles in behavioral psychology

Conditioning and Learning: Biological vs. Conditioned Fear

Biological Fear

Fear of pain is most likely a biologically grounded fear that mankind developed as a defense mechanism. Fear lets us know that something is not right with the body, or that we are in potential danger. There are a variety of physiological changes that occur in the body in response to fear. Blood pressure may rise for example, the body may produce excessive levels of cortisol and other stress syndromes and the body may go into fight or flight response mode to counteract any dangers present that may have initiated the pain.

Fortunately studies have shown that multiple techniques are effective for reducing the fear associated with pain and resulting anxiety. One method that has proven effective despite lack of mainstream support is hypnosis. Studies suggest that hypnosis is very good for controlling pain and for many should be considered "the first line of treatment" including burn patients, cardiac patients and patients suffering from chronic conditions including migraines (Long, 1986: 28).

For added benefit hypnotherapy may be combined with other treatments including cognitive behavioral therapy to retrain a person's thought processes and release negative energy or responses associated with a given stimulus (Long, 1986). Patients can also adopt a variety of relaxation and meditation techniques to help them assert control over pain, and hence reduce the fear that is naturally associated with painful procedures. Relaxation techniques have long been utilized for example to help relieve the pain associated with childbirth.

Learned Fear

Most fear is fear that is conditioned or a learned response that we acquire due to environment, social or other factors. Fear of failure is a perfect example of a fear that is learned. People tend to develop self-confidence and self-esteem as a result of multiple factors including their lifestyle, upbringing, social and cultural cues and interpretations of life events (McLoed, 1986). Lack of strong self-confidence or self-esteem may result in a fear of failure. This fear may grow and develop with time and with new experiences that continue to support a negative association between failure and performance. Fortunately like many learned fears fear of failure is something that is easily overcome with proper techniques.

Fear of failure is not something most people exhibit while young but is a fear that tends to grow and become worse with time if not addressed adequately. It is something that tends to manifest as people grow older and perceive additional situations which compound their initial self-confidence or esteem problems. From a social psychology perspective over time social conditioning can influence people's perceptions of their self-efficacy, which can in turn affect their behavior and performance in a variety of different situations (McLoed, 1986). Someone who experienced one or more situations where they did not succeed while young and experienced negative repercussions may for example grow into adults with an unhealthy fear of failure.