preview

Operant Conditioning And Classical Conditioning

Decent Essays

Classical conditioning is defined as a learning process that occurs when a biological response is paired with a neutral stimulus in reference of Brembs and Heisenberg (2000). An age old example is Ivan Pavlov conditioned his dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell by giving them food each time it rang. In doing such, the dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell to meal time. Operant conditioning is a spin on classical conditioning, whereas instead of trying to pair a response with a stimulus, a direct behavioral outcome is achieved with reinforcements or

punishments.

In classical conditioning there are what is called an unconditioned stimulus and an unconditioned response. The unconditioned response is an unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to the unconditioned stimulus. Such as when someone jerks their hand away when they burn themselves on a hot stove. There is also a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response. An example of this would be getting hungry when you smell the scent of food. The body knows that usually when the smell of food is around it is time to eat, therefore your stomach rumbled in anticipation of the meal. Sometimes classical conditioning is referred to as respondent conditioning.
In operant conditioning the goal is to have a specific behavioral outcome. Positive reinforcement causes the strengthening of a response by adding something. Such as getting a treat after doing something good. Negative reinforcement is the act of

Get Access