Question

Describe two examples of avoidance conditioning in everyday life, one of which is not in this chapter.

A. Avoiding social events to prevent awkward interactions.
B. Avoiding a specific street to prevent encountering a disliked neighbor.
C. Avoiding a particular restaurant due to past negative experiences.
D. Avoiding taking on extra responsibilities to prevent work-related stress.

Answer 1

Avoidance conditioning occurs when a person learns to change their behavior to avoid a negative outcome. Examples include avoiding social events to prevent anxiety and avoiding extra work responsibilities to prevent stress. This illustrates how individuals adapt their behavior based on their experiences and associations.

Step-by-step explanation:

Avoidance conditioning is a form of learning in which an individual learns to perform behaviors to avoid an unpleasant stimulus. Two examples of avoidance conditioning in everyday life are:

1. Avoiding social events to prevent awkward interactions. This may occur when a person associates social gatherings with discomfort due to past experiences. To avoid potential anxiety, the individual may choose to stay home.
2. Avoiding taking on extra responsibilities at work to prevent work-related stress. If someone has experienced overwhelming stress after taking on additional tasks in the past, they might decide to avoid volunteering for extra work to preclude the associated negative feelings.

Both scenarios involve learning to associate a stimulus with discomfort or stress, and changing behavior to avoid that negative outcome. This is a common phenomenon in our daily lives and exemplifies the principle of avoidance conditioning derived from both classical and operant conditioning principles that are prominent in behavioral psychology.