Classical Conditioning Case Study

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In this particular case study, both Kendra and her son, Austin, have been classically conditioned by her ex-husband and his father. Kendra’s ex-husband was abusive, while Austin had witnessed this abuse as he was growing up. According to Robert Feldman, Classical conditioning is a type of learning that can lead to a “permanent change in behavior that is brought about by experience.” It is evident that the abuse had caused Kendra to be so afraid even of the noise of a motorcycle nearby. This sound has become a conditioned stimulus, which means that Kendra probably associated it with her ex-husband coming home and putting his hands on her, but in a bad way. Because of this sound, it brings about a conditioned response of Kendra’s fear and anxiety. This type of behavior that she exhibits is due to her experience of being battered by her ex-husband. Perhaps, Kendra may even have a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because this particular sound causes her to have flashbacks and to relive her struggle and pain whenever she got beaten up. Austin, on the other hand, had been conditioned to be aggressive towards those who drink and do drugs. Being around these people who do such things have become the conditioned stimuli, which leads to Austin’s conditioned response to being belligerent. He refuses to tolerate these people’s habits as well as when someone is showing aggressiveness to his friends who are …show more content…

At the time that this tragic event occurred, his mother was cooking meatloaf in the oven. An encounter with a meatloaf, whether it’s the taste or the smell, reminds Austin of his father and the dreadful scenario he witnessed as a kid. Instead of having a memory of enjoying that meatloaf for dinner, it turned out to be an unpleasant reminder that his mother nearly got killed by his