8-3 Elissa, a college freshman, finds that she is starting to smoke, a habit she

Question

8-3

Elissa, a college freshman, finds that she is starting to smoke, a habit she never had before. She would like to stop smoking now, before the habit becomes too ingrained, but she really enjoys her few cigarettes each day, particularly with coffee after dinner when she relaxes with her friends. She also enjoys a few cigarettes later in the evening if she gets stressed writing a paper or completing an assignment.

Using principles of operant conditioning, describe steps that Elissa could take to stop smoking now. Be sure to consider possible reinforcers or punishers that are influencing her current smoking patterns, changes she might make, and appropriate consequences to reinforce new behaviors.

8-4.Carlos has an intense fear of public speaking, which hinders his advancement in his job. He is an assistant professor of economics and must speak regularly to large classes of students. He must also present his research to his peers within the university and at large academic conferences.

Using principles of classical conditioning, develop a plan to help Carlos reduce his fear of public speaking. Be specific as to which principle(s) you are applying and how they work.

Explanation / Answer

8-3)

The text provides an example of breaking a bad habit through operant conditioning, the consumptionof high-calorie snacks while studying at night. Based on this example, students could includeconsideration of the following steps:

1)Understand current behavior by keeping a diary regarding smoking, when and how much, what else isgoing on at the time, what possible reinforcers or punishers are influencing her smoking patterns.

2)Students could note that Elissa’s smoking seems to be associated with social camaraderie and the good tastefeeling of coffee, the stress of academic work, and time of day dinner time and onward.

3)Consider making changes to her environment to reduce the need to make choices that might lead to smoking rather than rely solely on willpower, which we have in limited quantity and which does nothing to weaken previously formed associations related to smoking.

4) Students might suggest switching to tea after dinner to reduce the coffee trigger, developing other stress reduction techniques such as meditation or exercise, chewing gum or on a straw or eating carrot sticks to address the oral sensations, or studying more in the morning when she does not seem to have developed associations with cigarettes, and so on.

consequences:

5)Develop appropriate consequences for her behavior of smoking or not smoking. Consequences must be meaningful to the individual. Positive reinforcement is generally preferable.

6)Students might suggest something like putting aside the money that was being spent on cigarettes and going out for a nice dinner with friends to mark each 2 weeks without smoking, or using the money toward occasional treats such as a facial or manicure or, if things go well, a trip at spring break. If punishment would work better for Elissa, that could be developed instead.

7) The text notes that, for each cigarette smoked, a donation to a political cause that Elissa abhors might be effective.

8-4

The text describes the following methods based on classical conditioning that may be used toovercome fears: flooding/extinction, counterconditioning (positive or aversive), and systematicdesensitization. Students might combine some of these possibilities or raise other possibilities.

1)Flooding/extinction. As the text notes, a conditioned response will extinguish if the conditionedstimulus is presented alone, without the unconditioned stimulus.

2)Treating phobias by exposing peopleto fear-producing stimuli in a manner that is safe until they no longer respond i.e., extinction isknown as flooding.

3) Although flooding works, it can be stressful or traumatic. Students might develop aplan based on presenting many speeches in lower-risk academic settings, or in supportive settings such as public speaking classes or groups, or in non-academic settings, such as within a child’s school or aneighborhood association.

3)Counterconditioning (positive or aversive). Counterconditioning involves the substitution of oneconditioned response for another, opposite response. Students might develop a plan that pairs giving apublic talk with more pleasant experiences before and/or after the talk, in order to develop morebenign associations with the act of public speaking.

4)Talks might be preceded by ten minutes ofmeditation or followed by a very good cup of coffee or a game of racquetball with a good friend, etc.,depending on Carlos’s preferences.

5)Systematic desensitization. As the text notes, this is a variation of counterconditioning in whichassociations between a phobic stimulus and fear are replaced by associations between the phobicstimulus and relaxation.

6)The person undergoing treatment is first trained to achieve a state of physicaland mental relaxation, usually by tensing and relaxing muscle groups from head to toe. Oncerelaxation is achieved, the fear stimulus is gradually introduced, either in physical form or throughguided imagery in which the person is asked to imagine the stimulus.

7) If relaxation falters at any point,the person retreats to an earlier stage of exposure to the fear stimulus until he or she can relax again.Students might recommend that Carlos work with an appropriate person or program to reduce his fearsassociated with public speaking through systematic desensitization, and might recommend combiningit with other approaches.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse 8
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.