Psychology: Learning: Classical and Operant Conditioning
Comparing how people and animals learn through associations and consequences
Psychology: Learning: Classical and Operant Conditioning
Comparing how people and animals learn through associations and consequences
Psychology - Grade 9-12
- 1
Define classical conditioning in your own words and give one everyday example.
Think about a stimulus that starts out neutral but later triggers a reaction.
Classical conditioning is learning by association, when a neutral stimulus becomes connected with an automatic response. An example is feeling nervous when you hear a dentist's drill because you associate the sound with past discomfort. - 2
In Pavlov's dog experiment, identify the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, neutral stimulus, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response.
The unconditioned stimulus was the food, and the unconditioned response was salivation to the food. The neutral stimulus was the bell before learning, the conditioned stimulus was the bell after learning, and the conditioned response was salivation to the bell. - 3
A student hears a phone notification sound every time they receive an exciting message. After a few weeks, the sound alone makes the student feel excited. Is this classical conditioning or operant conditioning? Explain.
Look for learning based on association rather than reward or punishment.
This is classical conditioning because the student learned an association between the notification sound and the excitement of receiving a message. The sound became a conditioned stimulus that triggers an excited response. - 4
Define operant conditioning and give one example from school, sports, or work.
Operant conditioning is learning in which behavior changes because of its consequences. For example, a student may study more often after earning praise and a high grade for studying. - 5
Label each consequence as positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, or negative punishment: A teen loses phone privileges after breaking curfew.
Positive means something is added, and negative means something is removed.
This is negative punishment because something desirable, the phone privilege, is removed to decrease the behavior of breaking curfew. - 6
Label each consequence as positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, or negative punishment: A driver buckles a seat belt to stop the annoying warning beep.
This is negative reinforcement because an unpleasant stimulus, the warning beep, is removed when the driver buckles the seat belt, which increases seat belt use. - 7
Label each consequence as positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, or negative punishment: A teacher gives extra credit points when students turn in homework early.
Ask whether the consequence is meant to increase or decrease the behavior.
This is positive reinforcement because a desirable stimulus, extra credit points, is added to increase the behavior of turning in homework early. - 8
A child touches a hot stove and feels pain, then avoids touching the stove in the future. Explain how learning occurred in this example.
The child learned through operant conditioning because the behavior of touching the stove led to an unpleasant consequence. The pain acted as positive punishment because it was added after the behavior and made the behavior less likely. - 9
Compare reinforcement and punishment. Include the effect each one has on future behavior.
Focus on whether the behavior becomes more likely or less likely.
Reinforcement increases the likelihood that a behavior will happen again. Punishment decreases the likelihood that a behavior will happen again. - 10
A dog trainer gives a dog a treat every time it sits on command. After many repetitions, the dog sits more often when told to sit. Identify the type of conditioning and the specific consequence.
This is operant conditioning. The treat is positive reinforcement because it is added after the dog sits and increases the sitting behavior. - 11
Explain the difference between acquisition, extinction, and spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning.
Think of these terms as learning, fading, and returning.
Acquisition is the period when the association is first learned. Extinction happens when the conditioned response weakens after the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus. Spontaneous recovery is the return of the conditioned response after a pause. - 12
A person gets food poisoning after eating sushi and later feels nauseated just by smelling sushi. Identify the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response.
The unconditioned stimulus was the food poisoning or illness, and the unconditioned response was nausea. The conditioned stimulus was the smell of sushi, and the conditioned response was nausea when smelling sushi later. - 13
A vending machine gives a snack only after an unpredictable number of button presses because it is malfunctioning. Which reinforcement schedule does this most resemble, and why?
Ratio schedules are based on number of responses, and variable schedules are unpredictable.
This most resembles a variable-ratio schedule because reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses. Variable-ratio schedules often produce persistent behavior. - 14
Study the scenario: A student checks their social media many times because likes appear unpredictably after posts. Explain how operant conditioning may help explain this behavior.
Operant conditioning helps explain the behavior because likes can act as positive reinforcement. Since the likes appear unpredictably, the behavior may be maintained by a variable-ratio or variable-interval schedule, making checking more persistent. - 15
Write one original example that shows classical conditioning and one original example that shows operant conditioning. Clearly label each example.
Classical conditioning connects two stimuli, while operant conditioning connects a behavior with a consequence.
A correct response should include one example of classical conditioning, such as a song becoming associated with a happy memory and later causing happiness. It should also include one example of operant conditioning, such as practicing a skill more often after receiving praise.