Knowledge and Application of Psychology - Research Paper Example

Psychology Introduction ical conditioning and operant conditioning are two concepts of behavior psychology which explain the learning processes and behaviors of human beings and animals. Both the processes are quite different as they explain how human and animals form their behaviors and why their behaviors change or modify over time. Some of the basic differences between the classical and operant conditioning are that classical conditioning was introduced by Ivan Pavlov from Russia and operant conditioning was introduced by B. F. Skinner from America. Classical conditioning is based on automatic behaviors that are involuntary (Henton, 2012). These behaviors are not taught but rather learnt from the surroundings. The responses of the organisms are automatic and not the result of any training. Moreover, the reward or punishment in classical conditioning is not related to the behaviors. The behaviors are generally the response of the nervous system which allows humans and animals to follow their instincts (Weiten, 2007). For example, recognizing our mother’s voice and connecting it with her face so we connect two stimuli and then experience our everyday connections. On the other hand, operant conditioning is the voluntary behaviors that are trained to the humans or animals and they are followed by rewards or punishments. The behaviors are usually directed by the consequences or rewards that come after it (Nicholas, 2009). This may also be called instrumental conditioning as the organisms get something as a consequence of their response. In operant conditions, responses are merely based on the skeletal muscles instead of the nervous system. The learning involves changes in the voluntary behavior. Classical conditioning can be found in many of our surroundings and can be applied to our daily lives in many ways. In the disgust reactions, classical condition can already be found as it relates to our involuntary responses. We’d usually hesitate in putting our foot deliberately in a sack of mud. Even if we are told that the mud is clean and not dirty, we would instinctively hesitate in doing so as classical conditioning allows us to sense the smell of the mud and its dirt even if we haven’t touched it yet. Classical conditioning is ruled by our nervous system which warns us and restricts us to stay away from dirty, smelly, or disgusting things (Weiten, 2007). The other claim in which classical conditioning is already present is the response to fear and phobias. When anyone is asked to go into a room from where there are creepy and scary sounds heard, the classical conditioning would be found as majority of the people would be scared to enter the room. They have a natural understanding to the fact that those horror sounds mean something horrible is inside. Classical conditioning can be used to alter the behavior by eliminating the fear through creating a new conditional response (Nicholas, 2009). The study for the first claim will be conducted by observing some people walking over a path where there is a muddy patch. Most of the people according to classical conditioning would miss the patch as they sense disgust and a response that this would be smelly and would make their clothes and shoes dirty. In the study, all of the people missed the patch thus this claim of classical conditioning shows that all the people would act through their nervous system and demonstrate the same response every time. The scientific principle used in this study is replicability which shows that the results of this study can be used in other studies too as it shows the principle of acquisition in classical conditioning that says that behaviors are acquired and gradually learnt such as sensing mud and its smell together. The study for the second claim includes activity consisting five to ten people who are asked to go into a dark room. None of them went in the room which showed they had the classical conditioning that related the voices to their natural instinct of danger or horror. One of the claims in which operant behavior is already found is in a classroom where students tend to work hard and study for a reward that their teacher has promised. It is not their natural instinct that they want to study but most of the children adopt studying hard for a reward in the shape of good marks. Another claim where operant conditioning is present is in the situation where a woman is diabetic and her doctor tells her that eating sugary foods would harm her life and so she stops eating sugars and starts a healthy diet even though she doesn’t like it. Operant conditioning can be used to alter both the behaviors as the student’s behavior can be altered if there is a similar outcome for the response such as if the student is getting consistent marks. Operant conditioning can be used in the second claim to alter the woman’s behavior if the doctor tells her that she is recovering and she is allowed to have sweet once a week (Weiten, 2007). The study for the first claim includes a classroom where the students are told that they will be rewarded good marks if they study hard and perform well. However, a student tends to work hard and study well but his marks are consistently average which makes his behavior change and he doesn’t respond to the rewards anymore. The study shows the scientific principles of correlation vs. causation that whether the reward is related to the behavior. It was found that other students were also participating in class and co curricular activities. This means that the reward was not only for studying hard but also for extra participation. Reinforcement will be applicable here when the student knows he will be rewarded for studying and for participating in activities (Weiten, 2007). The other claim supports the study where patients are treated in a hospital and they are told about their health consequences which leads them to behave carefully towards their medication and eating habits. The scientific principle used is replicability that whether the results can be used in other studies. When the organisms are told about their negative consequences, would they tend to change their behaviors? Both the concepts of classical and operant conditioning are highly relevant and important in our everyday lives as they help us to understand the behaviors of people around us. Classical conditioning helps us to protect ourselves from dangers and disgusting things as our natural instinct and nervous system tell us that this is bad for us so we modify our behavior involuntary (Henton, 2012). On the other hand, operant conditioning is used greatly in everyday life as rewards and punishments greatly modify our behaviors and we tend to do what we are rewarded for and avoid the things that would lead to punishment. References Weiten W. (2007). Psychology: Themes and Variations. Cengage Learning Nicholas L. (2009). Introduction to Psychology. Juta and Company Henton W. (2012). Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning: A Response Pattern Analysis. Springer Read More