Chapter 50 - Classical and operant conditioning
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  Part 7 | Chapter 50 Tutorial Home
What are the mechanisms underlying some animal behaviors?
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CLASSICAL AND OPERANT CONDITIONING
In classical conditioning, a reflex becomes associated with a new stimulus. Ivan Pavlov conducted experiments on dogs. A bell ringing just before the presentation of food later resulted in salivation of the dog in response to the ringing of the bell. We can relate many examples of classical conditioning to our own lives. What happens when you read the words "biting into a juicy lemon"? Does thinking about being in a boring lecture give you the urge to yawn?

In operant conditioning, spontaneous behavior is reinforced. Typically a reward or punishment is involved. Positive reinforcement rewards behavior with a positive response. What might be a positive response when trying to train a horse to avoid a fence (that is, to keep it contained to a pasture)? Negative reinforcement causes an animal to perform a behavior to avoid a negative stimulus. What might be a negative response to the same situation in the previous example?

Some animals don't have the memory capacity to associate the behavior and the reward or the punishment. Could you train a fish using either classical or operant conditioning? What about a dog?

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