Compare and contrast classical and operant conditioning, i

ncluding the nature of the response, the timing of learning, the role of the learner, the nature of the learning, and the learned expectancy for each.

ANSWER: Answer will include that regarding the type of response made in each type of learning, a classically conditioned response is reflexive-like and involuntary, while responses learned through operant conditioning are spontaneous and voluntary. Concerning the timing of learning, classical conditioning occurs before the response is made when the animal links the conditioned stimulus to the unconditioned stimulus, while in operant conditioning, the animal makes a response and then receives the consequence that will determine whether the response will be repeated, that is, learning occurs after the response is made. The role of the learner in classical conditioning is passive, and the response is elicited automatically, while in operant conditioning the learner is active and instrumental in gaining his or her reinforcement and voluntarily emits a response. Regarding the nature of learning in classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with the unconditioned stimulus. In operant conditioning, the probability of making a response is altered by the consequences that follow it. From an informational view, one comes to expect the unconditioned stimulus (US) to follow the conditioned stimulus (CS) during classical conditioning, whereas the expectancy in operant conditioning is that a response will have a specific effect.