Classical conditioning is an involuntary association of a stimulus to a response (Mackintosh, 2019). In Antonio’s case, the unconditioned stimulus and response were visiting the hospital and having the bad case of the flu. Due to operant conditioning, Antonio unintentionally associated anything related to the hospital with the feeling of being sick. This was why whenever he passes by or visit that specific hospital (conditioned stimulus), he starts to feel sick in his stomach (conditioned response).
Operant conditioning, unlike classical conditioning, uses reinforcement and punishment to change behavior (increase or decrease; McLeod, 2015). Therefore, while classical conditioning can be instantaneous, operant conditioning is a process. It is also through this process that the association is formed between a stimulus (the desired behavior) and a response (such as the consequence of the behavior). Operant conditioning, unlike classical conditioning, can take many forms using positive and negative reinforcers, as well as punishers to establish the association (Forman & Herbert, 2019).
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A good example from personal experience is our school’s football team. Every season, whenever it performs and sometimes win the championship, then the winning behavior is positively reinforced with more sponsorships, better equipment, and fame from the student community (they enjoy a higher social status). On the other hand, whenever the team loses several games in a row (or the championship), they are negatively reinforced to play harder by lower social status and fewer opportunities through sponsorships and gear. If the team develops a losing streak, they are punished by the removal of the sponsorship deals as well as other opportunities like no scholarships to prestigious colleges (full rides).
Despite the differences between classical and operant conditioning, they have one similarity. Given that their goal is to enable learning or influence behavior, they achieve this by mainly establishing an association between a stimulus and a response (desirable outcomes). The difference is how the two conditioning methods achieve the association.
References
Forman, E., & Herbert, J. (2019). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Similarities and Differences with Cognitive Therapy (Part 1).
Mackintosh, N. J. (2019). Classical and operant conditioning. Companion Encyclopedia of Psychology: 2-volume set , 379.
McLeod, S. (2015). Skinner-operant conditioning. Retrieved from .
