Classical & Operant Conditioning

The concept and the principles of classical conditioning were developed by Pavlov. This approach also is referred to as stimulus substitution. To cause a being to respond to a specific stimulus, classical conditioning begins with promoting the desired behavior through the use of a stimulus that it is known that will elicit a response in the being. During this behavior another stimulus is introduced. Eventually, the being is conditioned to respond to the alternative stimulus by exhibiting the target behavior. This process may be repeated to cause a being to respond to other stimuli (Gutnisky & Zanutto, 2004).

Pavlov's initial experiments involved the use of dogs. Watson later expanded the experiments to humans. Watson, as an example, demonstrated that a young child who had no fear of rats could be conditioned to fear rats (Hopko, Robertson, & Lejuez, 2006).

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Category: Science - C