Classical Conditioning Vs Operant Conditioning Research Paper

Classical conditioning effects everyday life especially in relation to phobias and addiction which will be discussed in this essay. Classical conditioning was founded by Ivan Pavlov. He believed that if a behaviour can be learned, it can also be unlearned too. This essay will highlight the importance of conditioning principles in explaining and treating problem behaviours. Classical conditioning has revolutionised behavioural therapies, such as flooding and systematic desensitisation to treat phobias, and aversion therapies to treat addictive behaviour.

Reinforcement is the main contributing factor in operant conditioning. There is more than one way to go about establishing reinforcement, if a delay occurs between the response and the reinforcement the response may not become strengthened. It is likely that if the reinforcement occurs immediately after the response that there will be a definite strengthening of the response. Continuous reinforcement is when reinforcement occurs at every instance of the desired response. Intermittent reinforcement occurs when a response is reinforced some of the time. The different schedules of reinforcement influence patterns of response. Intermittent schedules offer greater resistance to extinction than continuous schedules.

Within the concept of operant conditioning, there are various simple schedules of reinforcement that are a part of our daily routine. Operant conditioning is a category of learning that invokes consequences, either negative or positive, as a way to increase or decrease behaviors (Powel, Honey & Symbaluk, 2013, p. 264) Schedules of reinforcement, such as fixed ratio, variable interval, fixed interval and variable ratio, are used as ways to strengthened or weaken those wanted or unwanted behaviors (Powel, Honey & Symbaluk, 2013, pp. 271-279). When applying these fundamental concepts to real world scenarios, it is crucial to first acknowledge which behavior is to be strengthened or weakened and then proceed with the conditioning.

Classical and operant conditioning are two important concepts central to behavioral psychology. While both result in learning, the processes are quite different. In order to understand how each of these behavior modification techniques can be used, it is also essential to understand how classical conditioning and operant conditioning differ from one another. Both classical and operant learning are psychological processes that lead to learning. Here learning refers to the process by which changes in behavior, including actions, emotions, thoughts, and the responses of muscles and glands,

Learning is the act of changing an organism’s behavior in response to an experience. Associative learning is when an organism links two events that occur close in time. When an organism learns to make associations, it is being conditioned. There are two types of conditioning. Operant conditioning is when an organism associates an action and the consequence of that action. It results in the organism adapting its behavior to maximize rewards and minimize punishment (Skinner). On the other hand, classical conditioning is a type of learning where an organism associates a certain stimulus and the response to it with a different stimulus. A neutral stimulus is associated with an unconditioned response to an unconditioned

Background (key works): Reinforcement theory is rooted in theory of operant conditioning based primarily on the work of the American behavior scientist B.F. Skinner (Borkowski, 2011). In contrast to Ivan Pavlov’ respondent conditioning controlled by

Skinner (1948) was also influenced by Thorndike’s (1898) operant conditioning of cats and went on to use similar techniques to study conditioning in rats. Skinner studied how behaviour that is rewarded will be repeated, unlike behaviour that has a negative consequence. Skinner (1948) placed hungry rats in a ‘skinner box’ with a lever, when the lever was pressed, food was released and the rats soon learned that when they pressed the lever they would be rewarded. Skinner (1948) then placed rats in another box and administered them with an electric current. If the rats pressed the lever in this box it would stop the discomfort of the current. After repeating the rats quickly learnt to press the lever. Skinner (1948) argued that all human behaviour can be learned through operant conditioning (McLeod 2015).

This lab is focused on the ideas of classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is when a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit an unconditioned response. In time this turns the neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus that causes a conditioned response. Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through reinforcements and punishments for behavior and encourages associating desirable or undesirable outcomes with certain behaviors.

A virtual rat, Sniffy, was used for this experiment. Sniffy the Virtual Rat, Pro Version 3.0 allows for the demonstration of Pavlovian and operant conditioning of a virtual rat. Tom Alloway, Greg Wilson, and Jeff Graham, authors of Sniffy the Virtual Rat designed this program to be an affordable alternative for students to gain “access to the main phenomena of classical and operant conditioning that courses on the psychology of learning typically discuss” (Jakubow, 2007). The program allows for simulations for Pavlovian conditioning such as acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, stimulus-intensity effects, compound conditioning, blocking, overshadowing, overexpectation, inhibition, sensory preconditioning,

Operant conditioning has made a significant contribution into the development of psychology. However, as with most psychological theories, this theory it has its strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, operant conditioning, with both its positive and negative aspects, is very important in promoting learning of desirable behaviors or removal of undesirable

Skinner and his colleagues (Gass & Larry, 2008), learning or a change of behaviour on the part of the learner, is brought about by a process known as 'operant conditioning' which is the result of repeated training. Operant means 'voluntary behaviour' which is the result of learner's own free-will and is not forced by any outsider or thing (Ortega, 2009). The learner will demonstrate the new behaviour first as a response to a system of a reward or punishment, and finally it will become an automatic response.

“‘Conditioning’ simply means learning, and the term ‘operant’ refers to something that acts upon something else. Operant conditioning, then, is a form of testing in which an animal learns that a response, such as pressing a lever, results in a consequence, such as a food pellet being delivered to the animal (Pritchett & Mulder, 2004).” In operant conditioning, there are two categories: reinforcement and punishment. Both can be utilized using either positive or negative strategies. In reinforcement tactics, the behavior is attempted to be increased. A positive example of this would be praising a child if they say something that resembles mama or dada for their first words. A negative example would be the parents not responding or even chiding the child for mumbling or not being very coherent. Each action is strengthened by the parents reinforcement of praise when saying the correct words or their disregard when the child does not sound coherent. In the positive example, praise is being offered so the child is receiving something, therefore making the reinforcement positive. When the parents ignore the wrong words that the child speaks, we describe

Operant conditioning developed by Skinner is one of the learning methods according to which the likelihood of behavior is increased or decreased by the use of reinforcement or punishment. In case of positive reinforcement a certain behavior becomes stronger by the effect of experiencing some positive condition. In case of negative reinforcement a certain behavior becomes stronger by the outcome of stopping or staying away from some negative condition. In case of extinction a certain behavior is becomes weaker by the outcome of avoiding to experiencing some positive condition or stopping some negative condition.

The founder and main contributor in the development of classical conditioning is Russian psychologists Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov, is an acclaimed man of science, who is prominently known for his investigations and experimental findings known as Pavlov’s dogs. While further exploring the canine digestive system, he

Learning theory can be summarized as behaviour which shows us how animals and people respond to a stimulus. This is incredibly important due to the direct impact it has on many features of daily life and how we implement this into our practices, from the way education systems are structured to the way we train dogs. The concepts of Classical Conditioning (a concept first established by Ivan Pavlov in the 1980’s) and Operant conditioning (founded by B.F Skinner around the 1920’s) can provide psychologists