Respondent Conditioning Examples and Properties
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Respondent conditioning is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a person’s behavior is changed as a result of being repeatedly presented with a particular stimulus. Respondent conditioning theory states that the behavior of an organism is controlled by the consequences that it experiences.
One of the most important applications of respondent conditioning is the teaching of new behaviors. Suppose you want to teach your dog to sit. You first have to create a situation in which
your dog will be rewarded for sitting. You might do this by sitting down next to your dog and rewarding them when they sit. After a while, your dog will start to associate sitting with being rewarded, and they will eventually learn to sit on command.
Respondent conditioning can also be used to modify undesirable behaviors. For example, if your child is a bit of a daredevil and always wants to jump off of the highest possible spot, you can use respondent conditioning to teach them to avoid high places. You might start by putting a low platform in the middle of a tall grassy area and rewarding your child when they stay on the
platform. After a while, your child will start to associate staying on the platform with being rewarded, and they will eventually learn to avoid high places.
Another important application of respondent conditioning is in the study of addiction. People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol frequently experience a condition called tolerance. Tolerance is the tendency for a person to need more of a substance in order to experience the same level of pleasure or satisfaction that they experienced when they first began using the substance.
One way to address tolerance is to use respondent conditioning. You might start by rewarding your child every time they drink a glass of water. After a while, your child will start to associate drinking water with being rewarded, and they will eventually learn to drink more water to maintain their reward.
In general, respondent conditioning is a powerful tool that can be used to modify many different behaviors. It is important to understand the properties of respondent conditioning and use it effectively.