Learning

Classical and operant conditioning are both types of learning. In particular, classical conditioning and operant conditioning are both types of learning by association. Classical and operant conditioning are called learning by association because both types of learning involve the subject associating a stimulus with a response, or a behavior with a consequence. Ivan Pavlov, a Russian scientist, first studied classical conditioning in earnest. Pavlov showed that it was possible to make a dog associate a bell with meal times. To help the dog learn to associate the bell with mealtime, the dog had to be learn that the bell meant that food was coming. Pavlov started with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and an unconditioned response (UCR). In the experiment with the dog, the unconditioned stimulus was meat powder, and the unconditioned response was salivation. The stimulus and response are unconditioned because it does not require conditioning, or training, to...
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