Instrumental Conditioning Paper Clinton Alford PSYCH/550 – Psychology of Learning Dr. Greggus Yahr December 10, 2012 Instrumental Conditioning Paper Conditioning includes learning connection among a person and events that happen in his or her environment. Two significant theories of learning by conditioning are the following: Operant conditioning and Classical conditioning. Classical conditioning includes the coupling of an unconditioned stimulus with some neutral stimulus innately to produce a learning response (Bradizza & Stasiewkz, 2009). On the other hand, operant conditioning is a procedure of altering behaviors by either punishing or rewarding individuals in which an application is executed until the individual connect the action with distress or pleasure. In their research experiment, Capaldi and Martins (2010) employed a form of operant conditioning to demonstrate how people employed memory reinforcement to acquire particular rules.
Learning is through operant, classical or instrumental conditioning. Behaviourists view instrumental and operant conditioning as having a slight difference on the constructs they observe for each of these. Cognitivists view learning as through classical conditioning, operant (instrumental) conditioning or observational learning. Ivan Pavlov a Russian psychologist studied classical conditioning, which is a valid means of learning to both groups. In his classic studies Pavlov rang a bell each time before giving his dogs food and eventually the dogs were conditioned to salivate when they heard the bell in expectancy of food.
After many trials of pairing, with the light or the bell, with the food, eventually the dogs began to associate being feed with the stimuli if the light or the bell. Upon making the association with the light or bell with the food, the dogs would then begin to salivate when the light turned on or when the bell was rung. The dogs had been conditioned to salivate at the sight of the light being turned on, or at the sound of a bell being rung. Pavlov’s discovery of conditioned reflexes led to the modern day theory of classical conditioning. Classical conditioning considers stimuli and response: unconditioned stimuli, unconditioned response, conditioned stimuli, and conditioned
Comparison and Contrast of Behavioral and Cognitive Theories Key concepts/unique attributes Both B. F. Skinner and Albert Bandura believed behavior is the result of what is learned from experience (Corey, 2009). Whereas Skinner believed environmental influences control people, Bandura believed people are goal-oriented and have specific intentions and purposes. He believed the basis for learning is observing others. Traditional behavioral theory is based on the concepts of classical and operant conditioning and that learning produces behavior (Corey, 2009). Inappropriate or abnormal behavior results when learning is based on maladapted learning, or learning as a result of maladaptive reactions.
One is a study by Bandura (1961) in which the IV was whether the group observed aggressive behaviour or not and the DV was whether aggressive behaviour was exhibited. The cause and effect statement was that watching aggressive behaviour leads to aggressive behaviour. A strength of lab experiments is that as extraneous variables can be controlled, cause and effect statements can be made with a high validity. Bandura was able to make his statement because his study controlled extraneous variables, which wouldn't be possible with other research methods. A second strength is that lab experiments are replicable and have greater reliability.
This reveals the dogs mind is remembering the past association with the bell and the food. Classical conditioning is reflexive, automatic behaviour, where the stimulus comes before. A common occurrence of classical conditioning in human behaviour would be the study and treatment of phobias many individuals would have, persistent fears or anxieties of an object or situation.
Classical and Operant Conditioning Name Institution Date Classical and Operant Conditioning One of the ways human beings learn is by association. For instance, if an individual associate a given sound with a frightening outcome, hearing the sound might always trigger fear. It is also evident that when people repeat behaviors in a given context, the behaviors become part of the context (Myers, 2008). This aspect of associating behaviors with events has been explored in great depth in the classical and operant condition. In classical conditioning, Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), conducted an experiment on the eating habits of dogs.
The Concept and Factors that Affect Classical Conditioning The innovation of classical conditioning is accredited to Ivan Pavlov, who is well-known for the broad research done in this area. This is why classical conditioning is also called Pavlovian conditioning after the way Pavlov trained dogs to drool when they heard a bell. In a normal trial with dogs, Pavlov pose an unbiased aural stimulus like a metronome instantaneously prior to putting sand or food powder to the tongue of the dog. With Pavlov doing this act with the dog, salivation was produced. Classical conditioning functions in this ways as before conditioning occurs the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the conditioned stimulus (CS) function disjointedly.
In classical conditioning, an organism learns to associate or connect stimuli so that the neutral stimulus becomes associated with the meaningful stimulus. Additionally, there are two ways that teachers or parents use to decrease or increase behavior, and these are punishing bad behavior and reinforcing the good behavior. Operant conditioning is used to either decrease undesirable behaviors or increase desirable behaviors. For the desirable behaviors, a number of tactics can be used to achieve them. They include choosing effective reinforces, making reinforces timely and contingent, selecting the most appropriate reinforcement schedule and using negative reinforcement appropriately.
Classical Conditioning( Classical conditioning is a form of learning that incorporates the body's natural physical response to stimuli. This is learning by association. A Russian physiologist called Ivan Pavlov, studied salivation in dogs as part of