Classical Conditioning vs. Operant Conditioning Essay Example

F. Skinner, a psychologist, discovered the process in 1938. Skinner studied the process which influenced the occurrence of operant behaviors. In his experiment, Skinner used animals placed in “Skinner Box” and discovered three types of behavior responses, which include punishers, re-enforcers, and neutral operants. B. F. Skinner, a behaviorist, claimed that only external factors result in behavior. Operant conditioning is a learning process influenced by reinforcement. Reinforcement is the process of enhancing frequency of a behavior through introducing stimulus immediately after display of behavior. The likelihood of the behavior to reoccur is intensified by a re-enforcer. The two types of re-enforcers include positive re-enforcers and negative re-enforcers. Positive re-enforcers strengthen and provide favorable stimulus to the probability of behavior to repeat itself; for instance when an employ receives salary bonus immediately after effectively completing a project on time. Salary bonus acts as a positive re-enforcer that increases the chance for the employee to efficiently do such project in future. On the contrary, negative re-enforcer implies response that removes unfavorable behavior.

Operant conditioning is well-known for its application in training of animals and good parenting. I remember, when I was in high school, I used to work hard in my studies. One day I attained an A in my math exam. I had never gotten the quality grade before. My mother was so much happy that she said, “Thank you, my son, you are wonderful.”She nodded and smiled at me. I was very happy too and felt that I should continue working hard. The next morning mother surprised me with a gift of PlayStation. She had learnt that I like PlayStation very much. I was overwhelmed with

joy in my heart. However, she gave me condition; that I should maintain my grade A, otherwise, she would take away the PlayStation. I maintained my grade A in two consecutive exams; however, my grade dropped from A to C. My mother realized that I take a lot of time playing games on PlayStation, she was very sad, and took it away and told me that I must improve my grade.

Human Development

Parenting styles play a major role in the future development of behavior of a child. My parents used Authoritative parenting style. The authoritative parents give directions to their child’s activities. However, they do it in a rational manner and issue-oriented way. My parents valued both disciplined conformity and autonomous self-will. Particularly, my mother encouraged verbal give-and-take where she shared with me all the reasons behind her policies. My father was enforced his owned perspective as an adult but put into consideration all my interests in special ways. In most times, my parents used reinforcement on me to achieve their objective of being good parents. An authoritative parenting style that my parents used made me who I am today. I am self-confident and have the ability to master tasks. Furthermore, I am happy and lively in most times. My emotion regulation is well developed and has good social skills. I social with people well and consider their opinions every time we have conversations. I think authoritative parenting is good for every child in the society. I look forward to using the same parenting style on my children because it makes children know what they expected to do and why these expectations are put in place.

Stress

and Health

Problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping helps address the issue of stress and negative emotional responses. This section discusses two styles of problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. Firstly, communicating with others. Maintaining good communication channels with individuals around you is essential. You need to talk and confide in someone you trust when you have a stressful situation. Through this process, an individual is able to discuss and find ways of dealing with the problem. The second style is through being positive. Do not feel intimidated by failure; be positive and deal with the situation in a better way. Avoid negative emotions because they will prevent you from effectively dealing with a situation. In my life, I use problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping in many ways. For instance, when I fail to achieve the best grade that I want, I stay positive and focused. I do not let the failure derail me; instead, I plan for future and how I can get the best grade. I also get communicate to my professor so that I can get the pieces of advice that I need for my success. In conclusion, I have learned that the human development touches a lot of aspects of life. Throughout development, people come across different opportunities that may be stressful, offering a chance to learn new things and change the course of development in one way or another. Developing the positive behavior towards this opportunity is essential for a positive outcome of human development.