A young boy is attacked by a large dog. He is now terribly afraid of all large dogs. His phobia of dogs is best explained by ________ theory.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The boy's fear of dogs is likely a result of a negative experience (being attacked by a large dog), which is a key component of learning theory. Specifically, he likely developed a phobia through classical conditioning, where the dog (CS) became associated with the fear and pain caused by the attack (US), resulting in a fear response (CR) to all large dogs.

A Young Boy Is Attacked by a Large Dog