Carly used to be afraid of visits to her family doctor because she associated the sight of his waiting room with the pain of having a blood sample drawn. Recently, Carly's doctor retired and a new doctor took over his office. Carly's new doctor uses a technique that is virtually painless and the sight of the waiting room is no longer associated with pain. Consequently, Carly finds her fear of visits to her family doctor has disappeared. Which classical conditioning process does this illustrate?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This illustrates the process of extinction, where the conditioned response (fear of doctor's office) diminishes or disappears when the conditioned stimulus (sight of waiting room) is no longer associated with the unconditioned stimulus (pain of blood sample).

Carly Used to Be Afraid of Visits to Her Family