Counter Conditioning

What is counterconditioning?

Counterconditioning, also written counter conditioning, is a learning procedure in which a cue that previously predicted one kind of outcome is paired with an outcome of opposite emotional value. In therapeutic applications, the aim may be to reduce a learned fear response by building a different association with the feared cue.

A Counterconditioning Example

Imagine a tone that has come to predict an unpleasant event. Pairing that tone with a pleasant outcome instead illustrates counterconditioning: the same cue now predicts a different kind of experience. The intended change is in the cue’s association, rather than simply substituting one voluntary action for another. Clinical uses require more than naming the procedure.

Can the original response return?

The original association may still return; counterconditioning does not necessarily erase it. Keller and Dunsmoor (2020) explain the procedure and test it in laboratory fear learning. Their study does not validate every clinical application.