Discussion: Conditioning and Learned Helplessness

Fundamentals of Psychology

Please respond to each of the following discussion topics and submit them to the discussion forum as a single post. Your initial post should be 150-200 words in length. Student's posts should include course material with proper in-text citations and sources. Then, make at least two substantial responses (75 words) to your fellow students' posts.

Question A

Identify examples of advertisers using classical conditioning in their advertisements. Discuss whether it is ethical or unethical for advertisers to covertly condition consumers. Remember to explain and cite educational sources to support the ideas within the post.

OR

Classical conditioning basically refers to situations in which we learn that one event signals another event. Reflect on the relationships between events that happen to you every day. Are there sights and sounds (or other sensory stimuli) that routinely signal that something else is going to occur? As an example, imagine the feeling you get when an instructor enters the room with a stack of papers or tests.

Try and notice the daily "pairings" of signals and later events that occur to you. Classical conditioning often results in automatic (emotional) reactions to things. Identify examples of advertisers using classical conditioning in their advertisements. Discuss whether it is ethical or unethical for advertisers to covertly condition consumers.

Question B

Learned helplessness is a tendency to give up any effort to control the environment. People and animals learn through operant conditioning that they have at least some control over their environment.

However, learned helplessness occurs when people or animals give up any effort to control their environment after perceiving that their behaviors do not influence consequences.

How does learned helplessness apply to bullying? What types of thoughts do people have? How does this impact their willingness to engage in school, at home, or with peers? Remember to explain and cite educational sources to support the ideas within the post.