EC 2.10 Classical Conditioning vs. Operant Conditioning: Differences and Examples

extinction burst

An extinction burst refers to an initial increase in a conditioned response when reinforcement is stopped. In other words, the behavior response will increase before you see the process of extinction begin to weaken the conditioned response. Think of the first thing you do when you push a button on the remote and it doesn't work. Your immediate reaction is to push the button again and again to try to make it work. This is an example of an extinction burst.

classical conditioning

Pavlov. learning refers to involuntary responses that result from experiences that occur before a response. Classical conditioning occurs when you learn to associate two different stimuli. No behavior is involved. The first stimulus that you will encounter is called the unconditioned stimulus. An unconditioned stimulus produces a response without any previous learning. This response is called an unconditioned response. Now add a neutral stimulus to the experience. It is called a neutral stimulus because it is not associated with the unconditioned response. Ex. let's imagine a kiss. Kissing creates involuntary arousal responses; it causes you to experience an elevated heart rate, for example. This is a natural response, it is not learned, and it happens automatically. The unconditioned stimulus in this example is the kiss, and the elevated heart rate is the unconditioned response. imagine that your favorite song is playing when you kiss. The song will be the neutral stimulus. When the song is paired with kissing, your heart rate still increases because of the kiss. However, after repeated pairing of your favorite song with the act of kissing, your brain will start to think, 'I hear my favorite song, so kissing must be going to happen soon!

two types of reinforcement in operant conditioning

Positive reinforcement refers to the addition of something positive. Examples of this would be offering praise or a treat when a desired behavior is displayed. Negative reinforcement occurs when something undesirable is removed whenever a behavior is displayed. Examples of this would be taking aspirin to get rid of a headache or doing the dishes to avoid a fight with your roommate.

stimulus generalization

a term that refers to showing a conditioned response to a stimulus that differs from, but is similar to, the conditioned stimulus. In other words, the conditioned response is transferred to a new stimulus when this phenomenon occurs. Imagine you had an experience that made you scared of mice. If you also feel scared around a hamster, you are experiencing a stimulus generalization.

extinction

a term that refers to the disappearance of a conditioned response. The response weakens and eventually disappears due to removal of the reinforcement or punishment in operant conditioning or the removal of the paired stimulus in classical conditioning. An example of extinction would be a child no longer throwing a fit to get their way after their parents stop giving them what they want when they throw a fit.

operant conditioning

also referred to as instrumental conditioning. Learning refers to changes in behavior as a result of experiences that occur after a response. involves changing voluntary behaviors. A behavior response is followed by either reinforcement or punishment. Reinforcement following a behavior will cause the behavior to increase, but if behavior is followed by punishment the behavior will decrease. Let's go back to the example of the kiss. What would happen if the person put their arms around you and kissed you back enthusiastically? This would be an example of reinforcement and would probably increase the likelihood that you would seek another kiss from the person.

difference between negative reinforcement and punishment

negative reinforcement involves the removal of a negative consequence to increase the likelihood of a response. Reinforcement always increases the occurrence of a response, while punishment always decreases the occurrence of a response.

spontaneous recovery

refers to the unexpected recurrence of a conditioned response after it has shown extinction. Spontaneous recovery is usually short-lived and a weakened version of the conditioned response. Imagine you used to smoke cigarettes whenever you felt anxious. Spontaneous recovery would occur if you have not smoked for years but suddenly crave a cigarette during a stressful situation.