The conditioning and learning explanation for the etiology of anxiety disorders best accounts for the development and maintenance of

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The conditioning and learning explanation focuses on how individuals learn to associate certain stimuli with fear and anxiety, leading to the development and maintenance of phobic disorders. This can occur through classical conditioning, in which a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a spider) becomes associated with a fearful or traumatic event, as well as through operant conditioning, in which avoidance behaviors are reinforced by reducing anxiety in the short term but can lead to greater anxiety in the long term. While conditioning and learning may also play a role in the development of other anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, they are not as central to these disorders as they are to phobic disorder.

The Conditioning and Learning Explanation for the Etiology of Anxiety