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Classical and Operant Conditioning

week 3 discussion 1

Lisa Rosales

4/13/2015 9:01:09 PM

EDU 372

In the first paragraph of your response, describe the difference between classical and operant conditioning. Reflect on your own educational experience. Describe examples of classical and operant conditioning that you have experienced. Also, describe outcomes of each.

Classical Conditioning: is a kind of learning that is paired with conditional and unconditional stimulus. It’s different from operant learning because the behavior is strengthened or weakened by the consequence of the student’s behavior.

Operant Conditioning: is the type of learning in an individual’s behavior.

Example of Classical Conditioning; when a student does not get what they want in class they misbehave.

Examples of Operant Conditioning; When a teacher ask a question and a student blurts out the answer when their hands was not raised; that student will not get that point because he/she did not raise their hand and wait their turn. The next day the student will raise their hand before they speak their answer by doing that they will get the point for the correct answer.

In the second paragraph of your response, compare positive and negative reinforcement strategies. How is negative reinforcement different than punishment? Refer to the examples you shared in your first paragraph: explain whether they were instances of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or punishment.

Positive Reinforcement: If the teacher knows when the student is going to misbehave have those students do something else before they get that way, have them change their routine.

If the student waits their turn to answer the question reward them with a positive praise “thank you for raising your hand and waiting your turn” or “very good job” children loves praises in front of the class.

Negative Reinforcement: If the student misbehaves and continues to misbehave, have them moved down their color on their behavior chart. Take a few minutes off their free time or possibly take away their recess time.

If the student continues to blurt out the answer in class after being told repeatedly to wait their turn then have them sit out the game. Each time they blurt out their answer take one minute away from their recess time.

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Fassler DQ 1 Week 3

Jennifer Fassler

4/14/2015 6:29:47 PM

Explain the difference between classical and operant conditioning

            Classical conditioning happens when a stimulus or situation that leads to a response is repeatedly paired with a neutral stimulus and eventually the neutral stimulus brings about a conditioned response (LeFrançois, 2011). Operant conditioning uses reinforcement or punishment to increase or decrease a behavior, eventually an association will be formed between the behavior and its consequence (Cherry, n.d.).

            I decided to read the article Classical vs Operant Conditioning, The Differences Between Classical and Operant Conditioning by Kendra Cherry to further my understanding about the differences between the two types of conditioning. Ms. Cherry states that one of the easiest ways to identify the differences is to note whether the behavior is voluntary or involuntary (Cherry, n.d.). “Classical conditioning involves making an association between an involuntary response and a stimulus, while operant conditioning is about making an association between a voluntary behavior and a consequence” (Cherry, n.d., para. 7). While classical conditioning involves reactions to the environment, operant conditioning involves actions upon the environment (LeFrançois, 2011).

Provide an example of classical conditioning that you experienced in an educational setting, if possible, and discuss the outcomes of this experience

            My experience with classical conditioning is very close to the example in the textbook. In the third grade I had a math teacher who repeatedly told me I was too stupid to do math. She was very unkind to me. She would even go so far as to pull me over to a table and make me sit alone while the rest of the class did math. After that experience I always hated when it was time for math class. I felt I was too stupid to do math. Before this experience I had never had any issues with not liking math classes. In this situation the teacher was the unconditioned stimulus and math was the neutral stimulus. She was always so mean to me when it was time to do math which gave me the unconditioned response of fear and inadequacy. After a year of this treatment, the conditioned stimulus became math class and my conditioned response became fear and inadequacy.

Provide an example of operant conditioning that you experienced in an educational setting, if possible, and discuss the outcomes of this experience

            An example of operant conditioning I experienced in an elementary school setting is when our class participated in the Book It! Program. Every time we read a book, our teacher would put a cute sticker by our name, and after a set amount of books, we received a certificate for a free personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut. I was highly motivated by the stickers and praise the teacher gave me every time I read a book. I literally read hundreds of books that year. The Book It! Program was the stimulus. My operant response was reading. The stickers, praise and pizza were positive reinforcers because they were added when I read books. This positive reinforcement strengthened my behavior of reading books as much as I possibly could.

Compare and contrast positive and negative reinforcement strategies

            According to LeFrançois, a positive reinforcer is a stimulus that is added to a situation to increase the probability of a response (2011). A negative reinforcer is something that is removed from the situation (LeFrançois, 2011). Just as the names imply, a negative reinforcer tends to be an unpleasant stimuli, while positive reinforcers tend to be desirable outcomes (LeFrançois, 2011). With both types of reinforcement, the goal is to increase a behavior (LeFrançois, 2011).

            An example of positive reinforcement would be if I handed out a piece of candy to students who received 100% on their tests. I added the candy to the situation in the hopes that it will increase the probability that the students would continue to study so that they would receive a 100% and the piece of candy that follows.  

            An example of negative reinforcement would be when the students at my school clean up after themselves in the lunchroom to avoid having to wipe tables if they leave a mess. To increase the behavior of cleaning up after themselves, students do not have to stay and wipe tables.

Explain how negative reinforcement is different from punishment

            Punishment is different than negative reinforcement because the goal of punishment is to decrease a behavior (LeFrançois, 2011). With punishment, a consequence follows a behavior in an effort to decrease said behavior (LeFrançois, 2011).With negative reinforcement, you remove a negative stimuli to increase a behavior (LeFrançois, 2011).

Categorize the examples of classical and operant conditioning that you shared as examples of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or punishment

            I suppose my example of classical conditioning would have to be categorized as punishment and my experience of operant conditioning would be considered positive reinforcement.

Explain why you categorized each example as you did. Discuss how each experience impacted your learning.

            I would classify my classical conditioning example as punishment because every time the teacher told me I was too stupid to do math, it weakened my behavior to try. I imagine maybe this teacher was “old school” and thought that telling me I was stupid might encourage me to try harder. If that were the case, it would be considered negative reinforcement because it would have increased my behavior to try harder by avoiding being berated by the teacher. I had issues with math my entire elementary and part of my high school career after that experience. I am already not the best with numbers, pair that with the trauma of being repeatedly told I was too stupid to do math, and you can possibly get to the root of my trouble.

            With my operant conditioning example, I received verbal praise, stickers, and pizza as positive reinforcers. They increased my desire to read because they were added to the situation. I would say this had a very positive impact on my learning. It helped turn me into a voracious reader. Even after there were no longer any stickers, pizzas, or praise, I still love to read as much as possible.

References

Cherry, K. (n.d.). Classical vs Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from psychology.about.com: http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/classical-vs-operant-conditioning.htm

            LeFrançois, G. (2011). Psychology for teaching (11th ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint    Education, Inc.

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