Question

A parent always punishes his son without any basic reasons whenever he returns home from the work place. This lead the child to fear him and developed anxiety reactions at the time of arrival of the parent. This is a direct case of

• A. Classical conditioning
• B. Law of effect
• C. Positive reinforcement
• D. Motor learning

Answer 1

Answer:

A. Classical conditioning

This scenario illustrates a classic example of classical conditioning, discovered by Ivan Pavlov.

In classical conditioning:

1. Unconditioned Stimulus (US): The parent's arrival (initially a neutral stimulus)

2. Unconditioned Response (UR): The child's natural emotional response (e.g., happiness or indifference)

3. Conditioning: The parent's consistent punishment creates an association between their arrival (US) and fear/anxiety (UR)

4. Conditioned Stimulus (CS): The parent's arrival becomes a trigger for fear/anxiety

5. Conditioned Response (CR): The child develops anxiety reactions upon the parent's arrival

This process demonstrates how classical conditioning can lead to the development of phobias, anxiety, or other emotional responses through associative learning.