Understanding Extinction in Psychology

Extinction in psychology helps us understand how learning works, especially when we talk about classical conditioning.

So, what is classical conditioning? It’s when we connect a neutral thing with something that naturally causes a reaction. A famous example is Pavlov's dogs. In this experiment, a bell (neutral thing) was rung every time food (the thing that makes the dogs react) was presented. Eventually, the dogs learned to drool (the reaction) just by hearing the bell, even without food!

Now, let’s talk about extinction. This happens when that learned reaction starts to disappear.

Think about Pavlov’s dogs again. If the bell rings many times without food being given, the dogs will slowly stop drooling. It’s like when you hear your favorite song on the radio. At first, you may be really excited when it plays, but if you keep hearing it over and over, you might get tired of it.

Now, how does this apply to real life? Think about someone who is afraid of dogs because they were bitten once. That fear is a learned response. But if that person interacts with calm, friendly dogs regularly and doesn't have any bad experiences, they might start to lose their fear. This is extinction happening in real life.

Here are some important points to remember:

• What is Extinction? It’s when a learned reaction gets weaker because the thing that causes it is no longer paired with the thing that naturally triggers it.
• Example: The dogs drool less when they hear the bell without getting food.
• Real-Life Example: It can help explain why people can overcome fears by slowly facing what they fear.

In short, extinction shows us that just because we learn something doesn’t mean we can’t unlearn it. Learning and unlearning are both possible. Understanding this process can really help us change our own behaviors and support others in making changes, too!