Essay Operant Conditioning - 1743 Words

Ivan Pavlov Classical conditioning is a method used in behavioral studies. It is known as classical because it is the first study of laws of learning/conditioning, It is a learned reaction that you do when evoked by a stimulus. Ivan Pavlov was the scientist who discovered classical conditioning. Ivan Pavlov was born in Russia. He lived from 1849 - 1936 . Pavlov’s field of study was physiology and natural science. One of Pavlov’s discoveries was the conditioning of dogs. While working with the dogs he investigated the salivation reaction when food was present. He discovered that the dogs would salivate when he entered the room with and without food. Pavlov then went on to training the dogs. He would ring a bell†¦show more content†¦The animal would response. It would then be rewarded. The response is then learned. If the response was not rewarded then it would disappear over time. The animals would be placed into the puzzle boxes and would only be able to escape by making certain responses such as pushing a button. The experiment with the cats entailed placing a hungry cat into the puzzle box. He then observed its behaviour. The cat would try and escape in order to obtain food. The cat in most cases would act on a â€Å"trial and error† method. When the cat obtained the food the trial and error behaviour decreased and the cat soon learnt how to escape quickly. The lear nt behaviour took time and did not improve quickly. The amount of time the cat spent in the box slowly shorted. Upon completion of his experiment Thorndike learnt that certain stimuli and responses became associated or dissociated from each other. He developed his law of effect. Thorndike concluded that animals learn by trial and error, or most importantly by reward and punishment. He then linked the behavior of the cats to all beings. His work with animals was the founding principle of Instrumental Learning. His most famous work was on the learning theory that lead to the development of operant conditioning by a psychologist called Burrhus.Frederic Skinner. Skinner was born in Pennsylvania on March 20, 1904. Skinners first studied English at Hamilton College. He often wrote for the college newspaper. HeShow MoreRelatedClassical or Operant Conditioning Essay1115 Words   |  5 PagesClassical conditioning developed from the findings of Ivan Pavlov, laying the foundations for behaviourism. From this J.B Watson and other behaviourists argued psychology should be indicative of predicting and controlling overt behaviour using the conditional reflex. (Watson, 1994). This essay will describe the important features of classical conditioning, consider their use in explaining pathological behaviour and will be answered using empirical evidence. The earlier part of the essay will focusRead MoreClassical and Operant Conditioning Essay1000 Words   |  4 Pagesworld. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are both basic forms of learning, they have the word conditioning in common. Conditioning is the acquisition of specific patterns of b ehavior in the presence of well-defined stimuli. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an organism learns to transfer a natural response from one stimulus to another, previously neutral stimulus. Classical conditioning is achieved by manipulating reflexes. Operant conditioning is a type of learningRead MorePsy 390 Operant Conditioning Essay851 Words   |  4 PagesOperant Conditioning Dena Couch PSY 390 July 30, 2012 Dr. Thauberger Operant Conditioning In this paper there will be an examination of the Operant Conditioning theory. It will describe the theory, and compare and contrast the positive and negative reinforcement. It will determine which form of reinforcement is the most effective, and will give an explanation of the reasoning behind that choice. It will also give a scenario in which operant conditioning is applied and how it shapes behaviorRead MoreSkinners Operant Conditioning Theory Essay658 Words   |  3 PagesSkinners Operant Conditioning Theory B.F Skinner (1904-1990), an American psychologist who was the leading exponent of the school of psychology know as behaviourism, maintained the idea that learning is a result of any change in overt behaviour. Changes in behaviour are determined by the way an individual responds to events (stimuli) in the environment. Skinner described this phenomenon as operant conditioning. Action on part of the learner is called a response. WhenRead MoreOperant Conditioning in the Criminal Ju Essay2660 Words   |  11 Pagesï » ¿ Operant Conditioning in the Criminal Justice System Z. M. Keys Psychology of Criminal Behavior CCJS 461 17 October 2014 The only way to tell whether a given event is reinforcing to a given organism under given conditions is to make a direct test. We observe the frequency of a selected response, then make an event contingent upon it and observe any change in frequency. If there is a change, we classify the event as reinforcing to the organism under the existing conditionsRead MoreEssay on Comparison of Classical and Operant and Conditioning660 Words   |  3 Pagesbeing either classical conditioning or operant conditioning when we are dealing with Psychology terms. These two habituation methods are very comparable in nature, but do possess very specific distinctions in their differences. The major difference between classical and operant conditioning is the type of behaviors being conditioned. Classical is focused more on reflex and automatic actions whereas operant deals more with voluntary actions. Classical and operant conditioning are also different inRead MoreApplying Operant Conditioning to Hum an Behaviour Essay591 Words   |  3 PagesApplying Operant Conditioning to Human Behaviour Operant conditioning is when a way of learning by consequence. To put it basic, an action which is rewarded is more likely to be repeated, along with an action that is punished is less likely to be repeated. To apply this to an example of human behaviour, young children may have shaped behaviour due to operant conditioning; where desireable behaviour is rewarded (e.g. by giving a toy) the behaviour is being positivelyRead MoreB. F. Skinners Philosophy of Operant Conditioning Theory Essay591 Words   |  3 PagesI think that B.F. Skinner shares my philosophy in the behavioral aspects of education. There are many points that have expanded my philosophy. One was the operant conditioning theory, which is when the behavior is changed through positive and negative consequences depending on one’s behavior. Positive Reinforcements can be anything from food and candy to a toy or sticker. Negative reinforcement could be a timeout, scolding, or maybe a spanking. It all depends on their behavior. One thing that surprisedRead More Operant Conditioning Essay757 Words   |  4 PagesOperant Conditioning Overview: The theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an individuals response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. A response produces a consequence such as defining a word, hitting a ball, or solving a math problem. When a particular Stimulus-Response (S-R) pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond. The distinctive characteristicRead MoreClassical And Operant Conditioning Essay815 Words   |  4 PagesUsing examples of both classical and operant conditioning, discuss the contributions  and limitations of learning theory for the understanding of behaviour (Schacter et al., 2nd Ed, Chapter 6, also see Chapter 1 for historical context)      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