What are the difference between the classical conditioning and operant conditioning?

Classical and operant conditioning are both similar because they involve making association between behaviour and events in an organism’s environment and are governed by several general laws of association - for example, it is easier to associate stimuli that are similar to each other and that occur at similar times. However there are several important differences.

These include:

  • In CC, the response is a reflex and involuntary. In OC, the response is voluntary behaviour.
  • In CC, the stimulus is new to the animal. In OC, the behaviour is new to the animal.
  • In CC, the reflex (response) follows the stimulus. In OC, the behaviour (response) precedes the reward or punishment (stimulus).
  • In CC, association occurs whether the stimulus is pleasurable or aversive. In OC pleasurable reward leads to repetition while aversion leads to extinction.
  • In CC, strength of conditioning is measured by speed or amount of response. In OC, strength is measured by rate of production of behaviour.

Strengths of the Behaviourist Approach

Behaviourism provides simple, easily testable predictions about behaviour. For example, the effect of reinforcement on behaviour can be easily quantified.

Treatments based on classical or operant conditioning have been effective in treating some disorders. For example, systematic desensitisation can be used to treat Phobias (Wolpe, 1958).

Behaviourism played a key role in making psychology more scientific. For example, most researchers now accept that laboratory experiments with measurable variables are the best form of research.

Limitations of the Behaviourist Approach

Behaviourism’s assumption of a general process of learning does not account for biological predispositions. For example, it is easier to learn phobias of some objects than others (Seligman, 1971).

Behaviourism's assumption that learning takes place through gradual S-R association cannot explain how animals can learn without reinforcement. Tolman & Honzik (1930) showed that rats could learn maps of mazes without operant conditioning.

Behaviourism finds it difficult to explain how humans construct new solutions to problems. For example, children can generate the plural forms of nouns they have never encountered before and could not have learned (Berko, 1958).

Operant Conditioning vs. Classical Conditioning: Conditioning can be described as a kind of learning method that links stimuli to human behavior and responses. In other words, it involves associating two things to change someone’s behavior. The two main types of conditioning are operant conditioning and classical conditioning.

  • What Is Classical Conditioning?
  • What Is Operant Conditioning?
  • What Is The Main Distinction Between Operant And Classical Conditioning?
  • What is the Difference Between an Unconditional and Conditional Stimulus?
  • 8 Main Distinctions Between Operant Conditioning And Classical Conditioning
  • Comparison Table
  • Comparison Chart
  • Comparison Video
  • Conclusion

What are the difference between the classical conditioning and operant conditioning?

Classical conditioning can be described as a process involving the correlation between the desired behavior and a formerly neutral stimulus. Classical conditioning is more than a simple term describing a learning method, though. It’s the learning method where an experimenter learns the relation that lies between two stimuli: behavior and reinforcing stimulus.

What Is Operant Conditioning?

What are the difference between the classical conditioning and operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning is a process of learning from the consequences of behavior. If the behavior is punished, it is likely to decrease; if it is reinforced, it is likely to increase. Through operant conditioning, behaviors can be learned that are either new or unwanted. Operant conditioning is a reward and punishment system that can help people conquer bad habits. This type of conditioning plays a key role in the speed of which the behavior is learned, as well as how strong a response becomes.

What Is The Main Distinction Between Operant And Classical Conditioning?

Operant conditioning deals with changes in behavior as a direct result of experience. In contrast, classical conditioning refers to an involuntary response before a reply. In other words, operant conditioning helps individuals learn from their actions and experiences, while classical conditioning focuses on more reflexive, automatic responses.

Operant conditioning focuses on voluntary behavior, while classical conditioning deals with involuntary and automatic behavior. The two have several differences but belong to the larger conditioning category. Understanding these concepts, we can better understand how behavior is learned and changed.

What is the Difference Between an Unconditional and Conditional Stimulus?

An unconditioned stimulus elicits a response from an organism without any prior conditioning. 

For instance, imagine a puppy conditioned to salivate at the sound a bell makes. This is a learned behavior, or conditioned response, associated with the arrival of food. The sound of the bell (conditioned stimulus) now elicits the same response as the sight of food (the unconditioned stimulus). This is an operant conditioning example.

8 Main Distinctions Between Operant Conditioning And Classical Conditioning

  1. One way to tell operant and classical conditioning apart is to consider them in terms of involuntary and voluntary behaviors. Classical conditioning is all about involuntary behaviors – things we do automatically without thinking about them. Operant conditioning, on the other hand, is concerned with voluntary behaviors – the things we do because we want to, or because we think there will be some reward in the end.
  2. The operant conditioning learning process was discovered by a Russian physiologist named Ivan Pavlov during the very early 1900s. Conversely, classical conditioning is a learning process first discovered by an American physiologist in 1938 called B.F. Skinner.
  3. Operant conditioning and classical conditioning are two different ways that organisms learn. Classical conditioning is when organisms learn to associate stimuli so that one predicts the manifestation of the other. Operant conditioning is when organisms are taught to behave based on the consequences of their previous behavior.
  4. In operant conditioning, the organism’s behavior is modified according to the outcomes. This is in contrast to classical conditioning, where conditioning processes involve the experimenter learning to associate stimuli based on involuntary responses occurring before it.
  5. Operant conditioning is based on voluntary behavior, while classical conditioning is contingent on reflexive or involuntary behavior. The former deals with the active organism’s responses, while the latter focuses on emotional and physiological responses such as feelings and thoughts.
  6. Operant conditioning occurs when an animal or person learns to associate a particular behavior with a particular consequence. Classical conditioning occurs when an animal or person learns to associate a particular stimulus with a particular response. 
  7. Operant conditioning occurs when an animal or person learns to associate a particular behavior with a particular consequence. Classical conditioning, however, defines the unconditioned and conditioned stimulus. Operant conditioning doesn’t define the conditioned stimulus.
  8. An experimenter controls unconditioned stimuli. The reinforcer remains under an organism’s control. This active/passive dichotomy is an important distinction between operant conditioning and classical conditioning. In operant conditioning, the organism is actively engaged in seeking out reinforcement, while in classical conditioning, the organism is largely passive.

Comparison Table

BasisOperant ConditioningClassical Conditioning
Meaning The learning in which the organism studies the relation between responses and their consequences When learning is possible by forming an association between two stimuli
Stresses on What follows the response? What precedes response?
Based on Voluntary behavior Involuntary / reflexive behavior
Responses Under control of organism Under control of stimulus
Stimulus The conditioned stimulus is not defined Conditioned and Unconditioned stimulus are well defined
Occurrence of unconditioned stimulus Controlled by organism Controlled by experimenter

Comparison Chart

What are the difference between the classical conditioning and operant conditioning?

Comparison Video

CLASSICAL VS OPERANT CONDITIONING

Conclusion

The two most common kinds of conditioning are operant conditioning and classical conditioning. Although these conditioning types share similarities, their key differences determine the approach to use for specific learning situations.

Classical conditioning occurs when a previously neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that elicits a response, and eventually, the neutral stimulus comes to elicit the same response. In operant conditioning, the consequence of behavior determines if that particular behavior will possibly be repeated in the future.

What are the differences between operant and classical conditioning given examples?

In contrast to classical conditioning, operant conditioning involves encouraging or discouraging a specific behavior using reinforcement. While classical conditioning is training dogs to salivate to the sound of a metronome, operant conditioning is training them to sit by giving them a treat when they do.

What is the difference between classical and operant conditioning class 11?

Classical Conditioning is one in which the organism learns something through association, i.e. Conditioned Stimuli and Unconditioned Stimuli. Operant Conditioning is the type of learning in which the organism learns by way of modification in behaviour or pattern through reinforcement or punishment.

What is the main difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning quizlet?

What is the main difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning? Classical conditioning requires learning that two events are related, whereas operant conditioning demonstrates that behavior leads to a consequence.