Principles and Applications of of Classical and operant conditioning

2. Conditioning in Psychology
Merriam-Webster 2022
defines conditioning as “a simple form
of learning involving the formation,
strengthening, or weakening of an
association between a stimulus and a
response”.

3. Classical conditioning is often referred to as Pavlovian conditioning or
Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning.
Merriam-Webster 2022 defines classical conditioning as “conditioning in which
the conditioned stimulus (such as the sound of a bell) is paired with and
precedes the unconditioned stimulus (such as the sight of food) until the
conditioned stimulus alone is sufficient to elicit the response (such as salivation
in a dog).”
Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov was a well-known Russian physiologist (believe it or not, he was
not a psychologist) that carried out experiments involving classical conditioning.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

4. Pavlov was well known for his experiments with studying the digestive process in
dogs. During his research, he and his lab assistants would introduce different edible
and non-edible foods to the dogs. While doing this, Pavlov noticed that the dogs began
to salivate at the sight of the lab assistants - before any food was introduced or brought
into the room. He saw that when the dog salivates, it is more of a reflex response to a
stimulus than a response within its control. With this initial experiment, Pavlov realized
that the food was the unconditioned stimulus. The lab assistants and their white coats
were the conditioned stimulus, and the salivating was the conditioned response.
Because of this, Pavlov decided to do more psychological experimental research on
this theory (beyond the scope of his physiological research).
Next, Pavlov decided to bring in a metronome as a neutral stimulus. They began to
play the metronome sound, and then they would bring in the food for the dogs. After
doing this several times, the researcher and his assistants discovered that the sound
of the metronome began to make the dogs salivate before the food was introduced. In
this experiment, the food was the unconditioned stimulus, the metronome became the
conditioned stimulus, and the dogs salivating was the conditioned response. Pavlov is
noted for the discovery of classical conditioning.
Classical Conditioning is essential for behavioral psychology. It is used to treat various
disorders, such as OCD, anxiety, phobias, etc.

5. B.F. Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (more commonly known as B.F. Skinner) was an American psychologist who
believed there was more to why people do certain things and exhibit certain behaviors. His research focused
on what causes specific actions and what rewards or consequences were associated with those actions.
Skinner himself called this approach to human behavior operant conditioning.
Edward Thorndike’s law of effect from 1898 deepened the view of operant conditioning. This law of effect
states that when a person gets a positive response for a particular behavior, they are more likely to perform it
again and vice versa. This law was the base for Skinner's operant conditioning.
Skinner decided to introduce a new term to the law of effect - reinforcement. He found that a reinforced
behavior is more likely to be repeated. With this research on reinforcement, he discovered three different
responses to reinforcement.
1.Neutral operants are neutral responses that do not increase or decrease the chances of the particular
behavior happening again.
2.Reinforcers can be either positive or negative. It is more likely that the behavior will be repeated because of
the reinforcer.
3.Punishers weaken the behavior and can lower the likelihood of repetition.

6. EXAMPLE
Think of a child bringing home a conduct report with notes from school to show their
parents how they behave in the classroom. If they have excellent grades, their parents
might take them out for ice cream to celebrate (reinforcing the behavior with a positive
reward). Because of this, the child would probably study hard in hopes of getting a
positive response again.
On the other hand, if the child’s conduct report is not that great and said the child was not
meeting expectations in the classroom, their parents might ground them and take away
their electronics (punishing the behavior with a consequence). Because of this, the child
would probably be less likely to continue to repeat this behavior in hopes of not getting a
negative response again.

7. Components and Examples of Conditioning
The three main components of operant conditioning are positive and negative reinforcement and
punishment. Let’s look at each component individually.
Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement means giving a reward for a good or desired behavior. For example, this could be
giving a child a sticker or verbal praise for staying seated. This type of reinforcement leads to repeated
behavior to achieve a desirable outcome. Positive reinforcement still provides a consequence; only, in this
case, it is a desirable one.
Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement has a negative consequence for the action. For example, a parent constantly nags
their child to clean up their toys. The child doesn’t like this, so they clean up. This reinforcement leads to
the child cleaning up their toys to avoid their parents nagging at them.
Punishment
Punishment is the opposite of reinforcement because it aims to stop or prevent a behavior. It is given right
after the behavior to try and stop the behavior from occurring in the future. However, there are some
downsides to punishment. One is that once the punishment stops, the behavior may start again. Another
problem is that, unlike reinforcement, it may prevent the behavior, but it doesn’t teach a new, better
behavior.
While there are many different types, parts, and components to conditioning, they all work towards getting
a desired behavior.

14. Principles of Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a learning theory where learning is an association between the conditioned
stimulus and the unconditioned response. It is developed by the Russian and Soviet psychologist, Ivan
Pavlov.
The followings are the five main principles of classical conditioning. Let’s look at each of them.
Acquisition Principle
In classical conditioning, acquisition refers to the initial stage of learning where a previously neutral
stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally elicits a response. During acquisition, the
neutral stimulus gradually gains the ability to evoke the response on its own.
For example, when Pavlov repeatedly paired the sound of a tone (neutral stimulus) with the presentation
of food (unconditioned stimulus), the dogs eventually started salivating in response to the tone alone. This
demonstrates acquisition, as the dogs learned to associate the tone with the food and developed a
conditioned response of salivation.
Acquisition occurs through the formation of connections in the brain between the neutral stimulus and
the unconditioned stimulus, leading to the development of a conditioned response. The process involves
repeated pairings of the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus until the association is
established.
The acquisition is a fundamental step in classical conditioning as it allows for the creation of new
associations between stimuli, enabling organisms to learn and adapt to their environment.

15. Extinction Principle
Extinction in classical conditioning refers to the gradual disappearance of a learned
response. It occurs when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without being
followed by the unconditioned stimulus. As a result, the conditioned response weakens and
eventually disappears.
For example, imagine a child who has been conditioned to fear a loud noise (conditioned
stimulus) because it was paired with a scary event (unconditioned stimulus). If the loud
noise is repeatedly presented without the scary event, the fear response will gradually
diminish until it is no longer elicited by the noise alone.
During extinction, the brain forms new associations between the conditioned stimulus and
the absence of the unconditioned stimulus, leading to the suppression of the conditioned
response. Extinction is an important process in changing or eliminating undesired
behaviors and responses.
By understanding how the extinction principle works, you can intentionally expose yourself
to stimuli without reinforcing the conditioned response, helping to overcome fears,
phobias, and maladaptive behaviors.

16. Spontaneous Recovery
In classical conditioning, spontaneous recovery refers to the unexpected reappearance
of a previously extinguished response after a period of rest or time without
reinforcement. During the acquisition phase, a neutral stimulus becomes associated
with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a response.
After extinction, where the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the
unconditioned stimulus, the response diminishes. However, when the conditioned
stimulus is reintroduced, a temporary reemergence of the response occurs, known as
spontaneous recovery.
For example, if a dog was conditioned to associate a bell sound with food and the
salivation response gradually disappeared during extinction, the dog may briefly
salivate again when the bell is presented after a rest period.
This demonstrates how the original association between the conditioned stimulus and
the unconditioned stimulus can spontaneously reappear, albeit temporarily.
Spontaneous recovery highlights the persistence of learned associations, even after
apparent extinction.

17. Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus generalization in classical conditioning refers to the tendency for a learned
response to occur in the presence of stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned
stimulus. When an organism is conditioned to respond to a specific stimulus, such as a
particular tone, it may also exhibit the same response to similar tones that share common
features.
The degree of similarity between the stimuli determines the strength of the generalized
response. For example, if a dog has learned to associate a specific tone with receiving food,
it may also respond to similar tones with the same excitement and anticipation.
Stimulus generalization allows learned behaviors to be applied to a broader range of
stimuli, showcasing the influence of similarity on our conditioned responses.

18. Stimulus Discrimination
Stimulus discrimination in classical conditioning refers to the ability to differentiate between
a specific conditioned stimulus (CS) and other similar stimuli and respond selectively to the
specific CS. It involves learning to respond to the original CS that is associated with a
particular outcome while ignoring or not responding to similar stimuli that do not produce
the same outcome.
For example, if a dog has been conditioned to salivate to the sound of a specific tone, it
demonstrates stimulus discrimination if it only salivates when it hears that specific tone but
not when it hears similar tones. The dog has learned to discriminate between the specific
tone that is paired with the unconditioned stimulus and other tones.
Stimulus discrimination allows for selective responding and helps individuals to respond
specifically to relevant stimuli while disregarding irrelevant ones. It involves recognizing and
responding differently to different stimuli, which enhances adaptive behavior.
Examples of stimulus discrimination include a child responding to their parent’s voice but
not to a similar voice, or a person differentiating between different smells and responding
selectively to the desired smell.
Overall, the stimulus discrimination principle of classical conditioning enables individuals to
respond specifically to the original conditioned stimulus while disregarding similar stimuli
that do not produce the desired outcome.

19. APPLICATIONS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Classical conditioning explains many aspects of
human behavior. It plays an important role in generating emotional responses, advertising,
addiction, psychotherapy, hunger etc. Classical conditioning also finds its application at school,
post traumatic disorders or associating something with the past. These are explained as follows:
1. Emotional Responses: Classical Conditioning plays an important role in generating negative
and positive emotional responses. 1.1. Negative Responses: Emotions such as fear, phobias
etc are strengthened by associating these emotions with animals, weather, or some other place
or things. People often fear reptiles, dark places and insect phobias. Some people often
associate fear with stormy weather. 1.2. Positive Responses: Classical conditioning is also
responsible for generating feelings of happiness, feelings of relaxation e.g. thinking of going on
a trip makes one feels happy, for relaxation one might choose his friend’s house ,reaching home
after a long time makes one happy and relax as well. 2. Advertising: Advertising is a field
where classical conditioning is used the most. Companies’ use various models for this purpose
e.g. cartoon characters are used in commercials of those products which are associated with
kids. In the same way, female models are used in those ads in which products are associated
with females or housework. Similarly sports personalities for products associated with men.
3. Addiction: People addicted with caffeine and nicotine found in tea, coffee or in the form of
smoking material feels relaxation even before its intake.

20. 4. Psychotherapy: Classical conditioning also finds its application in psychotherapy. It is often used in
systematic desensitization to treat phobias or fears. Aversive therapy is also one of the applications of
classical conditioning. In this therapy, behavior is modified by combining a nausiatic substance with the
unwanted behavior or habit (smoking/ alcoholism) which causes vomiting or makes you feel bad. In this
way, the unwanted behavior is vanished slowly. 5. Hunger: Some people feel extremely hungry only on
the sight of restaurant or some other place where food is provided. This is due to the association of
restaurant or hotel with food. 6. Post-Traumatic Disorders: Sometimes people, who has experienced a
war or some other battle, often feel a rush of fear and anxiety when they see a small fight or are stuck
in a situation similar to the one experienced during days of war. 7. Association of something with the
past: Sometimes people associate an object or place with a past. E.g. one might associate a song with
the great times he or she spent with his/her friends or some other pleasant event can be associated
with a place visited in the past. 8. Classical conditioning at school: If the environment at school is very
strict, children might associate fear with school or might give birth to school phobia. In the same way, if
the environment of school is very friendly and pleasant, a feeling of attraction or comfort can be
developed with the school by the children. 9. Conditional Drug Response: Sometimes the bad taste or
result of taking the drug could also make you feel bad. In extreme cases, the mere sound of that drug
could make you feel bad e.g. children often start vomiting only at the name of cough syrup or some
other drug. Though there are a lot of other fields as well where classical conditioning has found its
applications, but the above explained applications are the most commonly observed.

21. Principles and Applications of Operant Conditioning
We will be looking at the six main principles of operant conditioning applications.
Reinforcement
Reinforcement increases the repetition of the behavior, in which operant conditioning uses positive or negative
reinforcement. Negative reinforcement consists of escape or avoidance conditioning.
You saw termites eating away your wooden furniture in your backyard. You called pest control to remove the
termites. This is escape conditioning, in which you call pest control (behavior) to remove the termites (remove
an unpleasant stimulus).
You carefully observe and follow the traffic signals to avoid penalties when driving. In avoidance conditioning,
you obey traffic rules (behavior) to prevent penalties (prevent an unpleasant experience).
Punishment
Punishment weakens or eliminates a behavior that involves positive or negative punishment. There are
controversies surrounding severe punishment, as some instances can trigger anger and aggression.
Simultaneously, some say that punishment can eliminate both desirable and undesirable behaviors. For
example, a kid punished for using a wrong ingredient while helping his mom in the kitchen may stop helping
out altogether.

22. Shaping
This operant conditioning principle teaches behaviors that animals or humans have never done before. The
reinforcement consists of breaking down the desired operant behavior into easy and doable actions, then
rewarding each completion until the learner accomplishes the desired behavior. An example of this is teaching
animals to perform tricks in circuses or theme parks.
Extinction
Extinction is the termination of learned behavior when reinforcement is withheld or discontinued. This operant
principle applies to both animals and humans. If you stop giving it food, a stray cat who keeps meowing at your
doorstep will no longer show up. In the same way, discontinuing a reinforcer such as giving attention can stop a
quarrelsome neighbor from pestering you.
Discrimination
In operant conditioning, discrimination is knowing what situations can lead to reinforcement of learned
behavior. A discriminatory stimulus indicates whether reinforcement of behavior will occur or not. For example,
a student actively raises his hand (learned behavior) during classes with his favorite English teacher. His Math
teacher (discriminatory stimulus) is different from his favorite teacher. During math classes, he doesn't raise his
hand.
Generalization
In generalization, a behavior learned in one situation may be performed in a similar situation. For example, a
child sees a dog for the first time. His parents encouraged him to pet the dog, and its tail wagged. He thinks all
dogs are cute. The next time he sees another dog, he will likely pet (learned behavior) one again.
All these principles help create a set of techniques for the most common application of operant conditioning,
behavior modification. Behavior modification uses techniques or therapies based on operant conditioning that
target many behavioral problems in settings such as the home, school, and mental institutions.

23. Application of Operant Conditioning in psychology
In psychology, operant conditioning applications apply reinforcement, punishment,
shaping, and extinction to treat behavioral problems or mental disorders. With severe
mental disabilities, operant conditioning includes shaping and reinforcement in teaching
self-care and career skills.
Punishment and extinction eliminate aggression and antisocial behavior in mental
illnesses such as schizophrenia. Psychologists treat other behavioral problems with
operant conditioning, including substance abuse, eating disorders, OCD, and marital
issues
Application of Operant Conditioning in Learning
Operant conditioning applications in the classroom focus on student behavior and overall
classroom management. Sticker charts are one example of modifying students' behavior
wherein for every behavior performed; they receive a sticker. The collected stickers have an
equivalent prize, which serves as positive reinforcement.
Through conditioning, good behaviors are encouraged and reduced misbehavior. The key to
effective operant conditioning in the classroom is that the reinforcement must be relevant and
consistently done. Teachers can establish an orderly atmosphere by reinforcing classroom
management procedures such as raising hands, waiting for the right turn to speak, and following
hand signals or sounds.

24. Application of Operant Conditioning in Autism
Skinner also introduced in his operant conditioning behavioural shaping.

25. Operant conditioning applications in the classroom focus on student
behavior and overall classroom management. Sticker charts are one
example of modifying students' behavior wherein for every behavior
performed; they receive a sticker. The collected stickers have an
equivalent prize, which serves as positive reinforcement.
Through conditioning, good behaviors are encouraged and reduced
misbehavior. The key to effective operant conditioning in the
classroom is that the reinforcement must be relevant and
consistently done. Teachers can establish an orderly atmosphere by
reinforcing classroom management procedures such as raising hands,
waiting for the right turn to speak, and following hand signals or
sounds.