One of the many theories about alcoholism is the learning and reinforcement theory, which

explains alcoholism by considering alcohol drinking as a reflex response to some stimulus and as a way to reduce an inner drive state such as fear or anxiety. Characterizing life situations in terms of approach and avoidance, this theory holds that persons tend to be drawn to pleasant situations or repelled by unclean, sanity ones. In the latter case, alcohol drinking is said to reduce the tension or feelings of unpleasantness and to replace them with the feeling of pleasure generally observed in most persons after they have consumed one or more drinks.

Some experimental evidence tends to show that alcohol reduces fear in an approach-avoidance situation. Conger trained one group of rats to approach a food goal and trained another group to avoid electric shock. After an injection of alcohol the pull away from the shock was measurably weaker, while the pull toward food was unchanged.

The obvious troubles experienced by alcoholic persons appear to contradict the learning theory in the explanation of alcoholism. The discomfort, pain, and punishment they experience should presumably discourage the alcoholics from drinking. The fact that alcoholic persons continue to drink in the face of family discord, loss of job, and illness is explained by the proximity of the drive of reduction to the consumption of alcohol; that is, alcohol has the immediate effect of reducing tension while the unpleasant consequences of drunken behavior. came only later. The learning pattern, therefore, favors the establishment and repetition of the resort to alcohol.

In fact, the anxieties and feelings of guilt caused by the consequences of excessive alcohol drinking may themselves become the signal for another time of alcohol abuse. The way in which the desire for another drink could be caused by anxiety is explained by the process of stimulus generalization: conditions or events securing at the time of reinforcement tend to acquire all the features of stimuli. When alcohol is consumed in association with a state of anxiety or leer, the emotional state itself takes on the properties of a stimulus, thus triggering another time of drinking.

The role of punishment is becoming increasingly important in explaining a cause of alcoholism based on the principles of learning theory. While punishment may serve to suppress a response, experiments have shown that in some cases it can serve as a reward and reinforce the behavior. Thus if the alcoholic person has learned to drink under conditions of both reward and punishment, either type of condition may trigger renewed drinking.

Conger's experiment with two groups of rats

A．concludes that alcohol drinking may affect appetite.

B．confirms the findings of other academic researchers.

C．shows that alcohol minimizes fear.

D．disproves learning and reinforcement theory.