Brandon had a fear of dogs. To extinguish this fear, his mother baked him his favorite cake and gradually brought a dog closer to him while he ate the cake. In this scenario, Brandon's mother used __________ to cure his fear.
A)cognitive mapping
B)negative reinforcement
C)counterconditioning
D)regularization

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Counterconditioning is a type of therapy that aims to replace an unwanted emotional response, such as fear, with a more desirable one. In this scenario, Brandon's mother used a form of counterconditioning known as "systematic desensitization," where a fear-evoking stimulus (in this case, the dog) is gradually introduced while the person is in a relaxed state (eating cake). This pairing of the two stimuli can eventually lead to a reduction in fear response towards the previously feared stimuli (the dog). Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a desired behavior, cognitive mapping is a type of learning where an individual gains an internal representation of their environment, and regularization is not a term commonly used in psychology.

Brandon Had a Fear of Dogs