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The psychological mystery of extinction: Why can fear disappear?
In psychology, "extinction" refers to a behavioral phenomenon that can be observed in both operant conditioning and classical conditioning. This phenomenon is characterized by the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that is not frequently reinforced over time. For many people, fear seems to be an elusive emotion that is difficult to eliminate, but under certain circumstances and methods, this emotion can actually disappear through a process of extinction.
The key to understanding this process lies in psychology's exploration of the complex relationship between learning, memory, and behavioral responses.
Psychologists' theories of extinction have focused primarily on connectionist models. The core value of these models lies in trying to understand how fear feelings are linked to specific stimuli (conditioned stimuli, CS). However, there is still much debate in the academic community about whether the extinction process is simply a “relearning” of the association between the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the conditioned stimulus (CS), or whether it is achieved through an inhibitory association that masks the original excitatory association. There is a lively debate.
One interesting experiment was conducted on mice, studying the operation of the extinction mechanism at different time points and situations.
As in Pavlov's dogs, when the conditioned stimulus (e.g. the sound of a bell) is no longer accompanied by the unconditioned stimulus (food), the initial conditioned response (drooling) will eventually cease over time. This shows that extinction does not mean that the response disappears, but is replaced by a relearning process. Many anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are thought to reflect a failure in the extinction of conditioned fears.
In the process of exploring fear extinction, multiple studies have found that specific brain structures and chemical systems are closely related to this process.
Research on adolescents and adults shows that during this stage of development, the persistence of fear extinction processes is significantly reduced and new learning mechanisms exist. This represents the formation of a new learning memory that is both interdependent and opposing to the original fear memory.
Neurobiological studies have also shown that glutamate and dopamine play an important role in the learning and extinction processes.
Exposure therapy is an important strategy in emotional resolution when dealing with anxiety. The basic principle of this therapy is to allow fear to gradually subside through non-stimulating associations. The study found that the dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortices played a key role in facilitating fear extinction, while other brain regions such as the amygdala and hippocampus were also important.
Recent research suggests that insights into brain circuits could help unlock new avenues for treating anxiety.
From a classroom perspective, the proper application of the concept of extinction can effectively address disruptive behaviors in the learning process. For example, when students’ problem behaviors are ignored or no longer reinforced, they can disappear over time, making the learning environment better.
However, in the short term, when extinction first occurs, there may be an "extinction burst", meaning that the frequency of the behavior may suddenly increase for a period of time, then slowly decrease. This response is quite common in animal behavior, showing a strong need for and adaptability to reward mechanisms.
While conducting extinction studies, it is also crucial to understand the importance of behavioral variation.
Behavioral variation may be exacerbated by differences in environments and stimuli, and such variation can facilitate individuals' discovery of alternative behavioral patterns. By capturing these variations and reinforcing them, people can shift toward positive behaviors.
As individuals living in a changing society, we may need to think about whether there are other ways to let go of the shadows of the past and embrace a new beginning when facing fears and challenges?
