Classical vs Operant Conditioning

Classical vs Operant Conditioning

1. Classical Conditioning is also known as Associational Learning

   • Classical conditioning uses stimuli that an organism does not control; in operant conditioning, behaviors are associated with a consequence.
     • First described by Ivan Pavlov, classical conditioning takes place when one stimulus that is reliably paired with a second stimulus begins to elicit the same response as the second stimulus.
       • Pavlov and Contiguity -Temporal association between 2 events that occur closely together in time. The more closely in time the 2 events occur, the more likely they are were to become associated; as time passes the association is less likey
         • CONTIGUITY - Pairing the conditional stimulus (CS) and the unconditional stimulus (US) produces the learning
         • S-R (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) The CS becomes "connected to the conditional response (CR)
           • S-R LEARNING, a direct connection or association is established between the CS and the CR.
         • S-S LEARNING, leads to a formation of an association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. As a result of this association, presentation of the CS activates a neural representation of the unconditioned stimulus US, which in turn leads to the CR.
     • The use of a neutral stimulus, originally paired with one that invokes a response, to generate a conditioned response
     • STIMULUS In psychology, any energy patterns (e.g. light or sound) which are registered by the senses

2. Operant Conditioning

   • Operant conditioning, first investigated by Thorndike and then by Skinner, concerns what happens when a behavior (the instrumental response or operant) is immediately followed by an unconditioned stimulus, as when lever-pressing is followed by food.
     • A technique of behavior modification, developed by B.F. Skinner, that utilizes positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative punishment to alter behavior.
       • Reinforcement Theory states that people are more likely to perform a specific behavior if it is followed by something pleasurable.
         • Reinforcement: The process whereby a behavior with desirable consequences comes to be repeated.
           • Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you £5 each time you complete your homework (i.e. a reward) you are more likely to repeat this behavior in the future, thus strengthening the behavior of completing your homework.
         • Punishment: A suffering by pain or loss imposed as retribution Punishers: responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated
           • Operant conditioning can involve two types of punishment: positive punishment (or type I punishment), in which a response is punished by presenting an aversive stimulus into the organism's surroundings (e.g. a brief electric shock or loud noise); and negative punishment (or type II punishment), in which a valued stimulus is removed (e.g., the removal of a feeding dish or favorite toy)

3. Classical and operant conditioning are types of associative learning that are influenced by cognitive and biological processes.

   • conditioning the process of modifying a person's behavior