How does classical conditioning play an important role in our lives? One example of this is how it affects reactions to drugs.
To do this, you need to explain clearly how classical conditioning could work to produce drug tolerance, and then you need to provide convincing evidence that this process really does occur. You might also touch upon why it is important to understand this process.
All of us are familiar with the fact that people develop tolerance to many drugs. For
example, people in hospitals require larger and larger doses of morphine to produce the
same analgesic effect. That is, they have developed a tolerance to this drug. Those
unfortunate people who have become addicted to morphine require larger and larger
doses to produce the same effects because their tolerance is growing. Shepard Siegel
was among the first psychologists to suggest that classical conditioning plays a major
role in the development of tolerance to drugs, and this view is now widely accepted.
Here are some websites to help with the questions and research:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar04/pavlovian.aspx
http://www.academia.edu/5262345/Drug_Tolerance_and_Classical_Conditioning
http://people.whitman.edu/~herbrawt/classes/390/Siegel
YouTube Video: Tolerance and Withdrawal This video explains how the brain develops drug
tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. The length of the video is 5:33 minutes. The video can be
accessed via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vKLU5_Hgco
Assignment Instructions:
Write an essay of at least 800 words on the role of classical conditioning in the
development of tolerance to drugs. Direct your essay to a bright but uninformed
college student enrolled in a learning class. Your goal is to convince this student
that classical conditioning plays an important role in our lives and one example of
this is how it affects reactions to drugs. To do this, you need to explain clearly how
classical conditioning could work to produce drug tolerance, and then you need to
provide convincing evidence that this process really does occur. You might also
touch upon why it is important to understand this process. As always, list all of the
URLs you use to write your essay.
http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar04/pavlovian.aspx
http://www.academia.edu/5262345/Drug_Tolerance_and_Classical_Conditioning
http://people.whitman.edu/~herbrawt/classes/390/Siegel
