Among psychology’s own schools of thought, behaviorism has learning as the predominant area of its own research and as the basis of its own theorizing. Classical conditioning and operational conditioning represent the two main forms of associative learning. The first is a form of implicit associative learning and consists of the association of two stimuli, an unconditional stimulus and conditioning. In the second, the operant, discovered for the first time by the psychologist E. Thorndike at the beginning of the 20th century and deepened by the behaviorist BF Skinner, the individual learns to associate a response to a stimulus that is highly significant to him.
In this Psychology-Online article we will see then what are the differences between classical and operant conditioning with examples from both sides.
What is classical conditioning?
In the early years of the 20th century, a Russian scholar was researching animal salivation, wanting to discover its function and composition. During the experiments he was conducting, he noticed that the dogs, his experimental subjects, began to salivate when they heard him arrive, even before seeing the food. This phenomenon intrigued him: how could he know that, after Pavlov’s steps, a meal would arrive, what would justify the salivation? Driven by this unknown, he began to research in this regard and discovered, also called associative learning. Thanks to this he was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Principles of classical conditioning
Pavlov, then, observing the behavior of dogs in his physiology studies, came to theorize the principles of classical conditioning:
- An unconditional stimulus elicits an unconditional response.
- If a conditioned stimulus is added to the unconditional stimulus, after some stimulations, there will be a response to the mere presentation of the conditioned stimulus. This response is the conditioned response.
This mechanism explains the acquisition of primary behaviors such as fear of pain, hunger, etc. Its use allows the induction of alarm reactions (cardiac acceleration, activation of the nervous system, etc.) but is inadequate to build articulated behaviors, such as the elimination of danger and the prevention of risk. Discover .
Examples of classical conditioning
Here are some other examples of classical conditioning in everyday life:
- The sight or smell of a particular food makes you feel nauseous.
- The sight or smell of a food that reminds you of your childhood makes you makes you feel hungry and excited.
- You dream about how the phone or an alarm clock rings makes you alert or anxious.
- A familiar smell makes you happy because remember someone you like.
- Being in your room with soft lights makes you feel sleepy.
- Waking up in the middle of the night makes you think you have to use the bathroom to urinate.
- Listening to some songs that remind you of old friends/experiences makes you feel emotional.
- The thought or sight of alcohol, cigarettes, or other medication they make you crave if you have developed an addiction. Drug users may also experience cravings when they are in a drug-related environment or around people who associate previous highs.
What is operant conditioning?
Thanks to classical conditioning, the subject can propose a reflective response as a consequence of a stimulus, initially neutral and then conditioned, of our choice. However, the limit of this procedure refers to the fact that the response itself is not new, but was already present before conditionality as a response to an unconditional stimulus. How can you learn a new behavior through conditioning?
Principles of operant conditioning
In the famous Skinner box experiment, devised by the eponymous scholar, the mouse inside the cage was free to move at random. At one point, the rat activated a lever designed to drop food at full pressure. In a short time the animal began to repeat the behavior over and over again: it had learned that it was the means to obtain an advantage called reinforcement. Learning of this type is due to a conditioning that Skinner calls operational, that is, influenced by the consequences. In this article, we tell you.
Examples of operant conditioning
Conditioning is something that can continue throughout a person’s life, because behavioral learning does not end at a certain age. Here are some examples of observable operant behavior in children and adults:
- A boy learns to clean his room after being awarded TV time every time he cleans it. He is a positive reinforcement.
- After hitting a classmate, the boy or girl sits separately and is not allowed to talk to anyone. This way, he will not hit another couple again. It’s a positive punishment.
- A person who decides to take a different path during the morning walk to avoid a landfill and then increases running speed and distance traveled. It’s a negative reinforcement.
- A person stops bothering his girlfriend about a topic after she asks him to shut up. It’s a negative punishment.
In this article, you will find more information about the .
Differences between classical and operant conditioning
Let’s see what the main differences are between classical and operant conditioning:
- General principles: Classical conditioning is a type of learning that generalizes the association between two stimuli, that is, one indicates the appearance of another. In contrast, operant conditioning states that living organisms learn to behave in a particular way because of the consequences that have followed their past behavior.
- Conditioning process: In classical conditioning, the conditioning process in which the experimenter learns to associate two stimuli on the basis of the involuntary responses that occur before it. On the contrary, in operant conditioning, the organism’s behavior will be modified depending on the consequences that occur later.
- Types of behaviors: Classical conditioning is based on involuntary or reflexive behaviors, in essence, physiological and emotional responses of the organism such as thoughts, emotions and feelings. At the other extreme, operational conditioning is based on voluntary behavior, that is, on the active responses of the organism.
- Control of conditioned responses: In classical conditioning, the organism’s responses are under the control of the stimulus, while in acting conditioning the responses are controlled by the organism.
- Definition of stimulus: Classical conditioning defines the conditioned and unconditional stimulus, but operant conditioning does not define the conditioned stimulus, that is, it can be generalized.
- Role of the organism: When it comes to the occurrence of the unconditional stimulus, it is controlled by the researcher and therefore the organism plays a passive role. Contrary to this, the appearance of reinforcement is under the control of the organism and, therefore, the organism acts actively.
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Bibliography
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- Sawakinome (2020). Difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Retrieved from: https://it.sawakinome.com/articles/business/difference-between-classical-conditioning-and-operant-conditioning.html