Classical conditioning is the most basic and most powerful learning tool. And it is not outside the box to associate it with depression. We have to first understand that depression is the conditioned response, or effect, leaving the conditioned stimulus to be the perfect image we chase. And from are failure to obtain this we experience “a malady that the mass media tells us nearly everyone will experience.” (“SHRINK”-ing THE MIND, pg 3) We do not need to be taught to feel sadness, the unconditioned response or unlearned effect. . “If you are sad for more than two months after the death of a loved one you are no longer simply bereaved; you qualify for a diagnosis of the serious mental disorder depression.”(“SHRINK”-ing MIND, pg 3) We are so conditioned to have depression after death it is even recognized by doctors as a symptom. People learn to be depressed by how others tell them they should react to a certain situation.
Operant conditioning has two main parts reinforcement and punishment. “Reinforcement occurs when an event following a response increases an organism’s tendency to make that response” (Weiten, pg6) A basic reward system like if you do good in school and you get money for it, you will be more likely to continue to do good. Punishment is the opposite of reinforcement “any action following a behavior that makes that behavior less likely to occur.” (June Foley) This goes back to when you were a kid and let’s say the only way you were given any attention is when you were sad. You would be more likely to be sad later on in life because your action of sadness had been reinforced. “Parental authorativeness was linked, as expected with healthier self functioning.” “Found that parental inconsistency accounted for 51% of the variance in the emotional development of children.”(Tumpeter, Watson, O’Leary, & Washington, pg55) That is huge statistic to tell you that your parents really do have a lot of control over your life. Just by deciding what to reinforce, punish or even the lack of deciding can have adverse affects.
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