Behaviorism Overview

From the abstract :
autonomic nervous system & involuntary musculature action is learned via temporal contiguity, i.e. classical or respondant conditioning

somatic nervous system & voluntary musculature action is learned via conscious understanding of contingencies, i.e. operant conditioning

The Stimulus-Response Paradigm

Behavior is modeled as stimulus-response S-R pairs. An event or stimulus which is sensed leads to an action or response which is performed.

The Two Types of Learned Behaviors

Behaviors involve either conscious responses to stimuli, or non-conscious responses to stimuli. Conscious behaviors are learned through the mechanism known as operant conditioning, while non-conscious behaviors are learned through the mechanism known as respondant - or classical conditioning.

Operant learning was first explored in detail by B.F. Skinner who trained animals to press a bar in a cage - called a 'Skinner box' in order to receive a reward such as a pellet of food. The basic principle of operant conditioning is that the relationship between the behavior and the reward is understood, and that the behavior is then actively and voluntary performed to get the reward.

Respondant or classical learning was first explored in detail by I. Pavlov who trained dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell by presenting them with the sight of food at the same time as the sound of the bell. After a time, the sound of the bell alone was enough to produce the salivary response. The basic principle of respondant conditioning is that the relationship between a response and stimulus may be learned by coincidental pairing to an already learned stimulus.

The Learning of Operants

Operants involve a conscious decision to behave in a certain way. A person goes to work because they want the rewards that come with their job... if the job stops paying they are likely to stop working. If we have an itch, we scratch it; if we have something to say we say it. Although these are behaviors of greatly varied complexity, they all have conscious decisions at their heart.

The Learning of Respondants

Respondants involve no conscious decision to behave - in fact respondant behaviors may violate conscious wishes. We hear a car backfire and may get a little shock to our system, but a person who has been in combat and experienced gunfire may have a far more profound response; one that is out of their control. In an unconscious way an association has been learned and is acted out.

Behaviorism Overview

The Stimulus-Response Paradigm

The Two Types of Learned Behaviors

The Learning of Operants

The Learning of Respondants

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