Operant Conditioning Essay

847 Words4 Pages
Conditioning? There are two forms of conditioning: classical and operant. In classical conditioning, also known as respondent conditioning, an animal automatically responds to some sort of stimulus. A famous example of this is Pavlov’s dog tests. The animal, which salivated when presented with food began to salivate in anticipation of food when it heard Pavlov’s footsteps. By ringing a bell each time food was presented to the dog , he quickly conditioned the animal to salivate at the sound of a bell, whether or not food was present. We experience similar things, for instance at school we are accustomed to having lunch when the appropriate bell rings. You may feel hungry around the time the lunch bell rings for your certain lunch period to begin. Operant conditioning is a little more complicated. Operant conditioning deals with voluntary action rather than involuntary reflex. Its basis is that behavior has both positive and negative consequences, which is reinforced in some way is likely or less likely to occur. If cheeseburgers taste good, in a simple example, you will probably order cheeseburgers from the same restaurant. On the other hand if you get an f on your psychology test, then it is likely that you would study next time to pass the tests. Every aspect of your behavior, from what you wear to how you study to your relationship with family and friends, is based on operant conditioning. All human behavior from love making to making war is a product of operant conditioning. There are many psychologist in the behaviorist field today but the most important was probably B.F. Skinner. But before Skinner, there was another behaviorist who had a considerable impact and his name was John B. Watson. He believed that children are made, not born. John Locke, a seventeenth-century English philosopher, believed that the human mind at birth, is nothing more than
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