Hey guys, I wonder if anyone had a detailed but succint? answer for how a phobia is acquired though classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning. Also for the mechanism of the lock and key model, because I don't really know how to word it nicely. Cheers
Classical conditioning can precipitate a phobia - you can then go on to explain the three stages with the UCS, UCR, NS, CS and CR.
E.g. Before conditioning, the UCS of pain from a needle evoked the UCR of fear of pain from a needle. The NS, approach of nurse, produced no particular response. During conditioning, the UCS and NS were paired together, evoking the UCR. Etc, etc.
Operant conditioning can perpetuate a phobia through negative reinforcement. This is because the removal of the anxiety/fear (aversive stimulus) when avoiding the phobic stimulus (behaviour) increases the likelihood that the avoidance behaviour will occur again. Therefore, their fear is maintained.
As for the lock and key model:
Neurotransmitter is the 'key' - has a distinctive shape
Receptor site is the 'lock' - has a matching shape
The key opens the lock so that the neurotransmitter can have either an excitatory or inhibitory effect.
Hope that helped