The purpose of this article is to explain how phobias develop and how systematic desensitization can be used to overcome these phobias using the principles of classic packaging. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The main classical principles of conditioning are acquisition, extinction, habituation, and counterconditioning. “Classical conditioning helps explain many behavioral phenomena, including phobias and addictions.” (Michael S. Gazzaniga, 2018). Classical conditioning is a type of associative learning in which “an organism learns to associate two stimuli such that one stimulus comes to elicit a response that was initially elicited only by the other stimulus” (M. Passer, R. Smith, N. Holt, A. Brenner, E. Sutherland and M. Vliek, 2009). A phobia can be defined as an “extreme, irrational fear of a specific object or situation” (Encyclopedia Britannica Editors, 2019). Frequent exposure to a phobia is known as systematic desensitization and can help overcome phobias. “Systematic desensitization is a form of gradual exposure.” (Lynne M. Drummond and Isaac Marks, 2015). Through systematic desensitization, a phobia can be counterconditioned whereby an animal/human that has been previously conditioned to respond to a certain stimulus is trained to respond differently to the same stimulus. This essay will describe how phobias develop, the different processes of classical conditioning. (acquisition, extinction, habituation and counterconditioning) and how the process of systematic desensitization and counterconditioning can help overcome fears and phobias. Classical conditioning was developed by a Russian physiologist called Ivan Pavlov in the 1890s. Pavlov first developed this theory through his experiments on the digestive systems of dogs. Pavlov created a device that collected saliva from dogs and he noticed that dogs salivated at the sight of the person feeding them. “One day, he was annoyed to find that laboratory dogs salivated before tasting their food” (Michael S. Gazzaniga, 2018). The dogs associated the lab technician with food. This prompted Pavlov to develop a theory about the relationship between stimuli and responses that he believed could apply to humans as well as animals. This theory is now known as classical/Pavlovian conditioning. “Learning is a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior as a result of experience” (Bryan Kolb and Ian Q. Whishaw, 2014.) According to Michael S. Gazzaniga “We learn predictive associations through conditioning, the process that links environmental stimuli to behavior” (2018 p. 210). The first period of classical conditioning is known as the acquisition period. According to M. Passer, R. Smith, N. Holt, A. Brenner, E. Sutherland and M. Vliek “Acquisition refers to the period during which a response is learned” (2009, p. 284). During the acquisition period, the unconditioned (unlearned) stimulus is first introduced. “In fear conditioning, a noxious stimulus is used to elicit fear, an emotional response. According to Bryan Kolb and Ian Q. Whishaw, "a challenge for psychologists studying memory in laboratory animals (or humans) is getting subjects to reveal what they can remember." Because animalslaboratory do not speak, investigators must find ways for the subject to demonstrate their knowledge” (2014, p. 483). A rat or other animal is placed in a box. A small but harmful electric current can pass through the mesh floor. A tone is emitted just before a brief, unexpected, mild electric shock. (2014, page 484). Tone is the unconditioned stimulus because it is “a stimulus that elicits a response, like a reflex, without prior learning” (Michael S. Gazzaniga, 2018). Here, during the acquisition period, an unconditioned, fearful response is learned by the rat. “A response that does not have to be learned, like a reflex” (Michael S. Gazzaniga, 2018). The rat may freeze and remain motionless or “become still and urinate in anticipation of shock” (Bryan Kolb and Ian Q. dWhishaw, 2014). The tone must be emitted several times to create an obvious response from the rat, making the tone a conditioned stimulus. “A stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has occurred” (Michael S. Gazzaniga, 2018). This repeated repetition of tone is known as systematic desensitization. Systematic desensitization occurs during acquisition during which "a conditioned stimulus (e.g., a tone) must typically be paired with an unconditioned stimulus several times to establish a strongly conditioned response" (M. Passer, R. Smith , N. Holt, A. Brenner, E. Sutherland and M. Vliek, 2009). “When the tone is given later without shock, the animal acts with fear.” (Bryan Kolb & Ian Q. Whishaw, 2014.) Fear observed in rats is evidence of associative learning “linking two stimuli, or events, that occur together” (Michael S. Gazzaniga, 2018). Fear is a conditioned response. “A response to a conditioned stimulus; a response that has been learned” (Michael S. Gazzaniga, 2018), and tone is now a conditioned stimulus is “A stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has occurred” (Michael S. Gazzaniga, 2018) . Here, the rat has developed a phobia of tone. During this process, if a different unconditioned stimulus, for example a light, were presented to the rat in the same environment, this would prove to have little effect on the animal because the rat has now developed a phobia of the tone. association between tone and shock and a phobia of tone. This addition of an alternative external stimulus is known as counterconditioning. Extinction of a phobia can be achieved through systematic desensitization and counterconditioning processes. “Counterconditioning inspired systematic desensitization, a behavior therapy technique in which fearful conditioned stimuli are deliberately paired with relaxation during therapy” (Wolpe 1958). Here, light is an external stimulus that triggers the extinction process. “Extinction is a process in which the conditioned response occurs repeatedly in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus, causing the conditioned stimulus to weaken and disappear” (M. Passer, R. Smith, N. Holt, A . Brenner, E. Sutherland and M. Vliek, 2009). Pavlov studied "extinction" and found that the conditioned response diminishes if the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus after conditioning. The period of diminished behavioral response is known as habituation. According to Michael S. Gazzaniga, “habit is a decrease in behavioral response after repeated exposure to a stimulus” (2018, p. 209). In the case of the rat confined in the box, the sound signal may be emitted several times, this time without subsequent shock. The same fear response can be observed in rats as before. The rat may remain still in anticipation of the preceding electric shock. Every time.