Classical conditioning involves learning through the repeated association of stimuli. This lesson discusses applications of classical conditioning including graduated exposure, aversion therapy, and flooding. Graduated exposure involves gradually exposing someone to a feared stimulus to reduce their fear response. Aversion therapy pairs undesirable behaviors with unpleasant stimuli to discourage those behaviors. Flooding exposes someone to a feared stimulus for an extended period to help them learn the stimulus is not dangerous and extinguish their fear response.

1. Lesson 5: Applications of classical
conditioning
VCE Psychology Units 3 & 4

2. From last lesson………….
Outline the following for Pavlov’s experiments
•Unconditioned Stimulus -
•Unconditioned Response -
•Conditioned Stimulus -
•Conditioned Response -
•Neutral stimulus -

3. Answer
•Unconditioned Stimulus – Food
•Unconditioned Response - Salivation
•Conditioned Stimulus - Bell
•Conditioned Response - Salivation
•Neutral stimulus - Bell

4. What is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning
Refers to a type of
learning that occurs through
the repeated association of
two (or more) different
stimuli.
Learning is only said to
have occurred when a
particular stimulus
consistently produces a
response that it did not
previously produce.
Who first described
classical conditioning
while conducting
research into the digestive
system of dogs?

5. Applications of classical conditioning
Classical conditioning has a number of ‘real-life’ applications.
Applications of
classical conditioning
Graduated
exposure
Aversion
therapy
Presenting successive
approximations of the
CS until the CS
itself does not
produce the CR.
The inhibition or
discouragement of
undesirable behaviour
by pairing it with an
aversive stimulus.
Flooding
Treatment method
for fears/phobias by
extinguishing the
CR.

6. Graduated exposure involves
gradually presenting
successive approximations of
the CS until the CS itself
does not produce the CR.
It is a process that involves
the extinction of the
association between the CS
and the CR.
It is also known as
‘systematic desensitisation’.
Graduated exposure
It has been successfully used
to eliminate a range of
problems involving fear
and anxiety responses such
as a fear of flying.
Source: Digital Vision

7. • teach the person a
relaxation strategy
• break down the CS into a
sequence arranged from
least to most anxiety-
producing (a fear hierarchy)
• gradually begin to
extinguish the CR by pairing
items in the hierarchy with
relaxation by working
upward through items in the
hierarchy.
Graduated exposure
The steps in graduated
exposure are:

8. • visual imagery (imaginal exposure)
• real-life exposure (in vivo exposure)
• virtual reality technology.
Graduated exposure
Source: Macmillan Australia
Graduated exposure can be done
by using:
The best results appear to occur
using in vivo graduated exposures.

9. The process of graduated exposure
Graduated exposure
Before
conditioning
During
conditioning
After
conditioning
UCS UCR UCS UCR CS CR
Relaxation
training
Relaxation
Relaxation
training
PLUS
Successive
approximations
of the
Phobic
stimulus
Relaxatio
n
Phobic
stimulus
Relaxation

10. Describe the process by which someone with a fear of
enclosed spaces (e.g. using a lift) could overcome it using
graduated exposure.
Graduated exposure
Source: Image Source

11. Aversion therapy inhibits
(blocks) or discourages
undesirable behaviour by
pairing it with an aversive
stimulus.
It has been used successfully
to treat many different
behaviours such as
alcoholism, drug
dependence, nail biting,
gambling, inappropriate
sexual behaviours.
What is aversion therapy?
What kinds of aversive
stimuli could be used in
aversion therapy? List
three.
Source: Up the Resolution

12. Aversion therapy was
used in Anthony Burgess‘s
book A Clockwork
Orange (1962), which was
adapted as a film by
Stanley Kubrick in 1971.
Alex de Large is offered
freedom from a long jail
sentence if he is prepared to
undergo aversion therapy
for his violence:
Aversion therapy at the movies
• de Large is given a drug
that induces extreme
nausea and anxiety
• he is strapped into a seat
before a large screen and
his eyes are clamped open
(so that he cannot close
them)
• he is forced to watch an
unrelenting series of
graphically violent films
whilst feeling increasingly
sick and panicky.

13. Using the case of Alex de Large, complete the following:
Aversion therapy at the movies
Before
conditioning
During
conditioning
After
conditioning
UCS UCR UCS UCR CS CR
Nausea &
anxiety
inducing
drug
Nausea &
anxiety
Nausea &
anxiety
inducing
drug
PLUS
violence
Nausea &
anxiety
Violence
(without
drug)
Nausea &
anxiety

14. Flooding involves bringing
the client into direct contact
with the CS and keeping
them in contact with it until
the CR is extinguished.
The principle underlying this
technique is that anxiety
will be experienced at a
very high level and then
gradually diminish, thereby
enabling the client to
experience the CS in the
absence of the CR.
Flooding
Source: Macmillan Australia

15. Describe the process by which someone with a fear of
heights could overcome it using flooding.
Flooding
Source: Image Source

16. Quick quiz
• Question 1: What does graduated exposure involve?
• Answer: Gradually presenting successive approximations of the CS until the CS
itself does not produce the CR.
• Question 2: The best results when using graduated exposure appear to occur via
imaginal exposure. True or false?
• Answer: False, best results are using in vivo graduated exposures.
• Question 3: What does aversion therapy involve?
• Answer: Inhibiting or discouraging an undesirable behaviour by pairing it with an
aversive stimulus.
• Question 4: The idea behind aversion therapy is that the undesired behaviour
becomes the CS. True or false?
• Answer: True.
• Question 5: Name one behaviour that can be treated by aversion therapy.
• Answer: Alcoholism, drug dependence, nail biting, gambling, sexual behaviours.
• Question 6: Flooding involves bringing the client into direct contact with the CS in
order to strengthen the association with the CR. True or false?
• Answer: False, it is designed to extinguish the association with the CR.
• Question 7: What is the underlying principle of flooding?
• Answer: That anxiety will be experienced at a very
high level and then gradually diminish.