Random Blog - chapter 7

I wanted to blog about one specific part of chapter 7 and wasn't able to in our chapter 7 assignment blog, so here it goes.

The section I found most interesting was Applications of Classical Conditioning. The part about former drug users being advised to stay away from people or places they associate with previous highs was what caught my eye. I have not had experiences like this myself (pertaining to drugs) nor have I witnessed someone having withdrawal issues in a particular place or with a particular person, but after reading this section of the chapter I realized that situations such as this may happen quite frequently. For example, I have a friend who never knew her father. I avoid talking about dad's or fatherly figure with her because it makes her upset and sad. It is unlike the severity of the drug association the book gave as an example, but I feel that it is the same concept. In order to avoid negative associations, we use common courtesy.

I think we all need to keep other people's associations in mind when speaking about our opinions. I'm certain we've all had an incident or two where we make a comment like "you're retarded" to someone with a mentally retarded relative or friend and immediately think "open mouth: insert foot." Psychology really does play into every area of our lives.