Compare And Contrast Classical And Operant Conditioning

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From the time humans are born, they begin the process of learning and trying to understand the world. Conditioning is one way of learning in which a response becomes more frequent as a result of reinforcement. We can also learn through associations and punishments. There are two types of conditioning that will be discussed within this paper, classical conditioning and operant conditioning. I will further discuss how both classical and operant conditioning are prevalent within my article claims and then explain why both conditioning methods are important in everyday life. Classical conditioning was discovered by Ivan Pavlov, which is when a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (McLeod, 2007). Pavlov began …show more content…

In the article “Breaking bad habits: classical conditioning and smoking”, it claims that psychological conditioning can be used to break bad habits (Reichelt, 2013). For smokers, seeing a cigarette packet or bud can induce the feeling of wanting to smoke. This though is not restricted to smokers or drug addicts, we all form associations with all types of environmental stimuli and things we desire. Just like in the article “Addicted to Your Smartphone? Here 's what to Do”, it shows how just looking at your phone can create an urge to check your email or messages (Davis, 2015). These multifaceted associations maintain behaviors and can cause reinstatement when certain signals are faced, and this is why smokers find it hard to quit and why people addicted to cellphones find it hard to quit checking their phones all the …show more content…

Replicability means that the results that were obtained from an experiment, are able to be duplicated consistently (Lilienfeld et al., 2013, p.24). An experiment or study should be able to be replicated to see if there are correctly or incorrectly done. Any area of study or subject that deals with experiments must have the principle of replicability because in order to make an experiment appear correct, multiple replications of the experiment have to be done. In contrast to classical conditioning, operant conditioning, discovered by B.F Skinner, is a learning process that involves either an increase or decrease in some behavior as a result of consequences (Amabile, 1985). Operant conditioning attempts to elicit new behavior through use of reinforcers and punishments. Operant conditioning can be used to break the bad habit of a smoker by using positive and negative reinforcements. I can alter the behavior of a smoker using operant conditioning by removing the stimulus (the cigarettes) which the individual likes and this should possibly decrease the target behavior. This is known has negative punishment. I can also use negative reinforcement which means that I would take away the stimulus and replace it with something that the individual does not like. Then take the item that the individual does not like and this should increase the target

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