Biological Psychology: Classical and Operant Conditioning

Biological Psychology: Classical and Operant Conditioning

Biological Psychology- Introduction

Biological Psychology, as the name indicates, links biology with psychology. Psychology is defined as the study of the mind. The explanation of thought processes is very subjective and usually lacks verification. For this reason, gradually experimental forms of psychology were developed. These forms gave an emphasis on observable and measureable overt behaviour and mental phenomena (Wickens 2005).Based on these experimental methods, psychology has become “a scientific or experimental study of behaviours and mental processes” (Wickens 2005). Biological Psychology combines the study of brain with the processes of brain and the behaviours it generates. It implies that in the background of all actions, feelings, responses and behaviours there exist, in brain, a physical or neural basis. The main approach behind behavioral psychology is that brain and mind are interconnected. Mind is linked to the brain and is basically a product of the activities of the brain, whether electrical or neurochemical. Biological psychologists link action and experiences with physiology and genetics (Kalat 2011).

Conditioning

According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, Conditioning is “a simple form of learning involving the formation, strengthening, or weakening of an association between a stimulus and a response”. It is called as a stimulus-response theory of learning. It is a process in which reinforcement, a kind of a stimulus or a reward, is used to increase the frequency or expectedness of a behavioural response. The simplest forms of associative learning are operant (instrumental) and classical (Pavlovian) conditioning (Colomb and Brembs, 2010).

Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning is also known as respondent conditioning or Pavlovian conditioning. This condition was first explained by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist. It involves substitution of stimulus. The focus is on involuntary behaviours. A stimuli (UCS) precedes an involuntary response (UCR). The involuntary response is automatically triggered by this stimulus. A conditioned response is triggered automatically by a neutral stimulus (NS) associated with UCS. The NS is then transformed to a conditioned stimulus (CS).

Pavlov's classical conditioning deals with existing behaviours. It tells how a stimulus can draw out existing behaviours. It does not elucidate the formation of new behaviours.

Classical conditioning can have an influence on our physiological processes too. Research reveals that psychological factors can influence our immune system (Weiten, 2011).

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning (or instrumental conditioning) is a type of a learning process which involves the modification of an individual's behaviour by means of its consequences. The behaviour gets modified in terms of its type, number of reoccurrences and intensity. This term was first introduced in 1973 by B. F. Skinner.

In operant conditioning the consequence is of great significance. The consequence determines whether a certain response will be generated again or not. Operant conditioning is a means through which organisms learn to generate responses called operant responses or operants. They come to recognize the connection between behaviour and the results of that behaviour. The behaviour is influenced by the results (Nevid 2010). If the results are rewarding there are chances of the behaviour to ...