Classical conditioning is the learning process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus and acquires the capacity to elicit a similar response. Classical conditioning consists of five parts which include an unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, neutral stimulus, unconditioned response and conditioned response. A prime example of classical conditioning is that I check the milk before I pour it into my cereal. As a child I would immediately pour the milk into my cereal, but one day as I poured the milk, I smelled a sour aroma. When I investigated my bowl there were bits of mold, which caused me to gag from the awful sight and smell. Ever since that day I have always checked the milk before I pour it. The neutral stimulus in this instance is the milk which turned into a conditioned stimulus because I have now changed my behavior about how I pour milk. The unconditioned stimulus was the spoiled milk which elicited the unconditioned response for me to gag at the smell. Due to the unconditioned stimulus, I now have the conditioned response to check the milk before I pour it into my cereal.
Operant condit
ioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, is a form of associative learning in which the consequences of a behavior change the probability of the behaviors occurrence. Positive reinforcement is reinforcing a stimulus following a behavior so that the behavior is more likely to occur again. I have experienced positive reinforcement numerous times in my favorite hobby, fishing. When fishing, I sometimes must patiently wait hours without a single bite. I wait for hours upon hours to eventually be rewarded with a fish on the end of my line. As a result of me catching a fish, I become more complacent in waiting long periods of time to receive a bite from a fish. Negative reinforcement is when a behavior is strengthened by in order to stop, remove, or avoid a negative outcome. For example, I received a hefty ticket for doing fifty-three miles per hour when the speed limit was twenty-five miles per hour. Ever since I got the ticket, I have paid much closer attention to my speedometer in order to avoid getting another ticket. The negative consequence to my action caused me to change my behavior so that I avoid the same outcome in the future.