Classical and Operant Conditioning

dog behavior

a little about
behavior theory

a little about reinforcement of behavior

the importance of
social reinforcement
and
communication

behavior problems

dog aggression, aggressive dog behavior and reactive dogs

The Foundation of Training

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning (respondent conditioning) deals primarily with smooth muscles and is associated with reflexes and instincts. Classical conditioning is a very important element of a training program. It's through classical conditioning that we can use and/or understand conditioned reinforcement, species specific behaviors, aversive stimuli, and emotions. Understanding classical conditioning is especially helpfull in dealing with problems relating to fear.

Respondent behavior is part of an animal's inherited biological structure. It is something the animal was born with and for the most part is not something the animal had to learn. Respondent behaviors are elicited by preceding stimuli. The stimuli that originally elicits a respondent is called an eliciting stimulus. One gets respondent behavior by presenting an eliciting stimulus before the behavior, and not by controlling the consequences of what happens after the behavior occurs.

An example of an eliciting stimulus is a bright light that is shined into an animal's eye. An example of the corresponding respondent behavior is the animal's pupils constricting. From this example we can see that the animal did not need to learn to constrict its pupils in the presence of a bright light. Pupil constriction is part of the animals biological structure or function.

The frequency at which respondents occur are fairly predictable, in that they regularly occur when their eliciting stimuli are presented.

Respondent conditioning takes place when stimulus that does not elicit a response (neutral stimuli) is presented at the same time or slightly before an eliciting stimulus. When the new stimulus is able to elicit the respondent, the new stimulus is called a conditioned stimulus. Respondent conditioning has occurred when a neutral stimulus becomes able to elicit the respondent.

Respondent conditioning does not deal with increasing the number of responses or the frequency of responses, or teaching new behaviors. Respondent conditioning is concerned with turning neutral stimuli into conditioned stimuli that can elicit respondent behavior.

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning allows us to teach new behaviors and to increase the rates at which behaviors are emitted.

Operants can be thought of as behaviors that operate on the environment to produce reinforcement. With operant behaviors what happens after the behavior will determine the frequency of the behavior. The event that fallows a behavior and makes that behavior more probable in the future is called a reinforcer or reinforcing stimulus. Reinforcing stimuli, whether positive or negative, always make a behavior stronger and more likely to occur again.

Operants are not elicited by a preceding stimulus as are respondents, however operants are preceded by a discriminative stimulus, that is said to control the operant behavior by setting the occasion for its reinforcement. When the operant is under control of the discriminating stimulus, all one needs to do to increase the operant behavior is present the controlling stimulus. To decrease the operant response, don't present the controlling stimulus. The controlling stimulus comes before the behavior and can be quite reliable at getting behavior (almost approaching 100%), however it does not elicit behavior as is done with the eliciting stimuli and respondents. Here the controlling stimuli only increases or decreases the probability that a response will occur.

The controlling stimuli never guarantee that an operant behavior will occur. With respondent behavior, presenting the eliciting stimuli almost always gets a response.

To make a neutral stimulus into a discriminative stimuli one must reinforce the operant behavior only when the neutral stimuli has been presented and do not reinforce the behavior if the neutral stimulus has not been presented.