Question

you will create a one-page essay that begins with a summary of operant and classical conditioning, after providing a summary of each of these, breakdown where you see the similarities and differences between these two learning theories.

Answer 1

Classical Conditioning

The work of the famous Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov demonstrated the classical conditioning process. When Pavlov presented a piece of meat to the dog in the experiment, Pavlov noticed a great deal of salivation. He termed the food an unconditioned stimulus and the salivation an unconditioned response. When the dog saw the meat, it salivated. On the other hand, when Pavlov merely rang a bell, the dog did not salivate. Pavlov subsequently introduced the sound of a bell each time the meat was given to the dog. The dog eventually learned to salivate in response to the ringing of the-bell-even when there was no meat. Pavlov had conditioned the dog to respond to a learned stimulus. Thorndike called this the "law of exercise" which states that behavior can be learned by repetitive association between a stimulus and a response.

Classical conditioning has a limited value in the study of organizational behavior. As pointed out by Skinner, classical conditioning represents an insignificant part of total human learning. Classical conditioning is passive. Something happens and we react in a specific or particular fashion. It is elicited in response to a specific, identifiable event. As such it explains simple and reflexive behaviors. But behavior of people in organizations is emitted rather than elicited, and it is voluntary rather than reflexive. The learning of these complex behaviors can be explained or better understood by looking at operant conditioning.

Operant Conditioning

An operant is defined as a behavior that produces effects. Operant conditioning, basically a product of Skinnerian psychology, suggests that individuals emit responses that are either not rewarded or are punished. Operant conditioning is a voluntary behavior and it is determined, maintained and controlled by its consequences.

Operant conditioning is a powerful tool for managing people in organizations. Most behaviors in organizations are learned, controlled and altered by the consequences; i.e. operant behaviors. Management can use the operant condi­tioning process successfully to control and influence the behavior of employees by manipulating its reward system. Reinforcement is anything that both increases the strength of response and tends to induce repetitions of the behavior. Four types of reinforcement strategies can be employed by managers to influence the behavior of the employees, viz., positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, extinction and punishment.