Classical Conditioning

Description of the Strategy

The clinical applications of classical conditioning techniques have been widely accepted for both children and adult populations. However, treatment emphasis has often focused only on fear and anxiety reduction, an expectable consequence, given the historical development of classical conditioning theory. While a classical approach is effective with anxiety-based disorders, the clinical application of classical conditioning has a variety of uses. Moreover, classical conditioning procedures are significantly enhanced when used in conjunction with approaches based on operant learning theory.

Classical conditioning theory is most often related to the work of Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov. Pavlov worked on three research problems during his life: the function of the heart nerves, the primary digestive glands—which won him the Nobel Prize in 1904—and the ...