Whereas conditioning is about creating a desired behavior, it
is often desirable to eradicate other behaviors. This is called
'extinction'.
Natural extinction
Behavior that have been created may become extinct if they
are not fully maintained.
Gradual decay.At any time, a response has at best a
probabilistic correlation with stimuli. A loud noise that
has been associated with pain will very likely cause a
person anguish, but is not 100% certain in all cases.
If the stimulus is not applied and the response thus not
generated over a long period of time, then probability of
conditioned behavior happening will decay in a given pattern.
For example the person who has not heard the loud noise for
some time would not experience as much discomfort as they
would soon after conditioning.An important factor here is
that conditioning must be maintained, with sufficiently
frequent rehearsals and re-stimulus-and-response, for the
pattern to continue over time. This implies that the
underlying persona is not changed at a fundamental level,
and that conversion, for example, is not a one-shot activity
and requires constant attention.
Predictability of stimulus
If the condition has been created with regular and predictable
reward or punishment, then the absence of the reward or
punishment will quickly lead to extinction. If, however, the
reward or punishment has been applied irregularly, then a
second condition has been created where, upon receiving the
stimulus, the person forecasts and imagines the reward or
punishment being applied.This situation takes longer for the
pattern to become extinct, as the person is now maintaining it
themselves, without external stimuli. Eventually, by accident
or trial the person will find that the reward or punishment
does not happen and thus the behavior gradually becomes
extinct.This is one reason why gambling is so addictive. The
uncertainty as to whether the person will win or lose gives
opportunity for prediction (and hope) of winning.
Extinction through accustomizing
Another way of making a behavior extinct is to help the
person become accustomed to the stimulus and hence not
find it frightening or stimulating in any way.
Desensitization
When a person receives a stimulus and experiences the
conditioned response a number of times, then the intensity of
the emotion they feel may well become dulled with
familiarity. This is used in therapy for example by starting
with a weak triggering, and increasing the stimulus at the
speed at which the person becomes desensitized.This is also
apparent in the use of pornography. A person who is
stimulated by a pornographic image will find that it soon has
less effect than it previously had. This leads them to seek to
capture the experience with further images, and sometimes
yet more erotic (and even illegal) tendencies.
InoculationInoculation is a simple method, analogous to
medical inoculation, where you present a weakened form
of the experience such that the person finds it easy (and
even laughably so) to resist a simulated 'attack'. When
faced with the real situation, then they remember how
easily they defended against the weak attack and so are
better able to handle the real thing.
Extinction through extreme experience
A strange thing that happens sometimes is that a behavior
may become extinct not through ignoring the triggers that
cause it, but actually exacerbating it to the extreme.
Reversing breakdown
Pavlov found, with his discovery of the three stages of
breakdown, a fourth stage, where dogs faced with near-death
experiences 'forgot' all of their previous conditioning (and it
took Pavlov several months to reinstate them).
Flooding
This is used in therapy, where it is called flooding. A stimulus
is constantly applied and more extreme responses encouraged
until there is a sudden reversal and the stimulus no longer has
any effect.
Aversion therapy
Aversion therapy uses the methods of conditioning to break a
conditioned experience. Thus a behavior that is not desirable
is punished when it appears. In therapy, techniques such as
electric shocks have been used, and are understandably
controversial (if you have seen Stanley Kubrick's 'Clockwork
Orange' then you will appreciate the potential effects). It is
not clear the extent to which aversion therapy works at all.
So what?
If you want to eradicate a behavior, you can either ignore it
and hope it goes away, or you can deliberately use
desensitation or flooding methods - be extremely careful with
flooding (it is not recommended except by psychological
professionals), as done wrong it can simply worsen the
situation. Don't bother with aversion methods - they are not
reliable and could cause moral backlashes.
Punishment Description
This is the dissonance felt when a person lack sufficient
external justification for having resisted a desired activity or
object. This often results in the person devaluing the
forbidden thing.
Research
Aronson and Carlsmith (1963) threatened children with either
mild or severe punishment if they played with favored toys.
None of them played with toys, even when left alone with
them. Afterwards the children who had only been mildly
threatened favored the toys less. Lacking a strong external
justification, they had made internal attributions that they
actually did not like the toys so much.
Example
Company disciplinary systems often start with a weak
dissuasion. This is all that most people need. Before long
they not only follow but believe the company line.
people behave differently to our images of them, when we
hold any conflicting thoughts, we experience
dissonance.Dissonance increases with the importance and
impact of the decision, along with the difficulty of reversing
it. Discomfort about making the wrong choice of car is bigger
than when choosing a lamp.
Note: Self-Perception Theory gives an alternative view.

Research
Using it

Festinger first developed this theory in the 1950s to explain

To stop someone doing something, don’t threaten massive
punishment. Threaten only just enough (or use some other
minimal technique) to stop them for a while. Eventually, they
will give up voluntarily.
See also
Description
This is the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes
from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the
same time.
Dissonance increases with:
• The importance of the subject to us.
• How strongly the dissonant thoughts conflict.
• Our inability to rationalize and explain away the
conflict.
Dissonance is often strong when we believe something about
ourselves and then do something against that belief. If I
believe I am good but do something bad, then the discomfort
I feel as a result is cognitive dissonance.Cognitive dissonance
is a very powerful motivator which will often lead us to
change one or other of the conflicting belief or action. The
discomfort often feels like a tension between the two
opposing thoughts. To release the tension we can take one of
three actions:
how members of a cult who were persuaded by their leader, a
certain Mrs Keech, that the earth was going to be destroyed
on 21st December and that they alone were going to be
rescued by aliens, actually increased their commitment to the
cult when this did not happen (Festinger himself had
infiltrated the cult, and would have been very surprised to
meet little green men). The dissonance of the thought of
being so stupid was so great that instead they revised their
beliefs to meet with obvious facts: that the aliens had,
through their concern for the cult, saved the world instead.
In a more mundane experiment, Festinger and Carlsmith got
students to lie about a boring task. Those who were paid $1
felt uncomfortable lying.
Example
Smokers find all kinds of reasons to explain away their
unhealthy habit. The alternative is to feel a great deal of
dissonance.
Punishment
Punishment works when a behavior is weakened as a result
of experiencing a negative condition. The basic structure is as
follows:
Do X ==> Z happens ==> Feel bad ==> Do X less
Example

• Change our behavior.

A cow grazes an electric fence. It feels discomfort. It learns
• Justify our behavior by changing the conflicting not to go near the fence.
cognition.
• Justify our behavior by adding new cognitions. A child hits a sibling. It is made to stand in a corner. It hits
siblings less in the future.
Dissonance is most powerful when it is about our self-image.
Feelings of foolishness, immorality and so on (including Extinction
internal projections during decision-making) are dissonance
in action.
Extinction occurs when a behavior is weakened as a result of
not experiencing an expected positive condition or a negative
If an action has been completed and cannot be undone, then condition is stopped.
the after-the-fact dissonance compels us to change our
beliefs. If beliefs are moved, then the dissonance appears
Y expected ==> Anticipate feeling good ==> Do X ==> Y
during decision-making, forcing us to take actions we would
does not happen ==> Feel bad ==> Do X less
not have taken before.

Z happens ==> Feel bad ==> Do X ==> Z does not happen

Cognitive dissonance appears in virtually all evaluations and
==> Feel better ==> Do X less
decisions and is the central mechanism by which we
experience new differences in the world. When we see other
 Example Undesirable thinking can come in two forms. First, the
person may be distracted by innocuous thoughts when they
should be concentrating on a particular area. When I am
A dog sniffs around, looking for food and finds none in the
reading or meditating, for example, someone talking nearby
outhouse. It does not look for food in the outhouse next time.
would be a distraction and cause my mind to wander onto the
subjects about which they are talking. Distraction is thus just
A child screams and is ignored. They scream less in the a block to conversion, slowing it down.People may also be
future. taught thought-stopping methods as ways of blocking out
dissuasive arguments when they meet them. Just as a child
puts their hands over their ears and makes 'da-da-da' noises to
block out what they do not want to hear, so a group member
Name Behavior Condition may distract their conscious, for example by reciting some
form of litany to themselves or otherwise avoiding having to
Positive reinforcement Strengthened Positive experience the tension of contradictory arguments.

Negative reinforcement Strengthened Negative Dissuasion

Punishment Weakened Negative

The second form of unwanted thoughts are when the person
is thinking about something that will dissuade them and
Positive persuade otherwise from the thoughts that they should be
Extinction Weakened
or negative having. This is far more serious that distraction as it can
cause a reversal in the process of conversion, rather than a
temporary pause.Dissuasion may occur accidentally or
punish deliberately. Accidental dissuasion occurs, when the person
reads, hears or sees something that is not targeted directly at
Description them, but causes them to think the wrong thoughts.

A behavior will increase if it is followed by positive Preventing thoughts

reinforcement. It will decrease if it is followed by
punishment.Operant Conditioning is thus ‘learning by
consequences’.
Research
Skinner put rats and pigeons in a box where pressing a lever
resulted in food being dispensed. From accidental knocking
of the lever, they quickly learned to deliberately press it to
get food.
Example
Parents often try to balance praise and punishment. To be
effective, they should punish only behaviors they wish to
extinguish--they should not punish for not doing what should
be done.
So what?
Using it
If you want someone to work harder, do not punish them
when they do not work—reward them when they do. If you
want them to stop smoking, make it unpleasant when they do
rather than pleasant when they refrain.
The principle of 'thought stopping' is first to stop people
thinking about those things which will distract or dissuade
them from what they are supposed to be thinking.
Undesirable thoughts
Isolation
Isolation from distractions is commonly used at least at two
levels. First, when practices such as meditation and prayer
are used, then individual isolation removes immediate
distractions. At the second level, individuals and groups may
be isolated from the world, either to avoid any dissuasion of
individuals or to remove distractions.
Occupation
Another simple way of limiting undesirable thoughts is to
keep people busy with all kinds of physical and mental
activities that gives them little time for any action, talk or
reflection that may lead to wrong thoughts.
Carrot and stick
Operant Conditioning says that rewards causes behavior to be
repeated, whilst punishment leads to extinction of behavior.
Reward of right thinking and punishment of wrong thinking
may thus be used to persuade and dissuade.
• Kawalan ketat dan dendaan menyebabkan timbul
perasaan ragu-ragu dan tidak gemar mencuba
sesuatu yg baru dan mencabar.
• Kritikan dan dendaan menyebabkan wujud
perasaan bersalah dan tidak berinisiatif.
Tiga elemen perkembangan personaliti manusia;iii)
Supereg—menyerupai hati nurani, merupakan komponen
sosial dan moral.

Distraction bertanggungjawab menentukan sesuatu tingkah laku itu

baik atau buruk berdasarkan kepada pendidikan yang
diterimanya sejak awal dulu, ia bersifat idealistik. Dapat
melahirkan ganjaran yang berupa penghargaan diri dan
dendaan yang berupa rasa bersalah dan kritik diri.