Conditioned Emotional Responses

We have seen how classical conditioning works on pets and small children,and we can even get an adult to blink an eye. But now let us investigateclassical conditioning in its strongest form. Conditioned Emotional Responsesare emotional reactions we have as adults that we learned through simpleconditioning. They can be established by our parents, as in vicariousclassical conditioning, or our friends. Generally they are establishedbefore we have had an emotional attachment to a particular stimulus. Sometimesare response is highly negative, as in fear. A phobia may develop.