The little Albert experiment showed how classical conditioning works in people. Classical conditioning is the process of developing new behavior through the association of stimuli. In classical conditioning, two stimuli are linked to elicit a reaction. In this experiment, little Albert expressed fear for very loud sound. However, he also associated loud sound with rats and would cry at the sight of a rat even in the absence of loud sound.
Operant conditioning is a process of learning in which the effects of an action are manipulated in order to reduce or increase the occurrence of the same behavior in future. Stimuli that affect operant conditioning include shaping, generalization and discrimination. Shaping influences operant conditioning by slowly molding the desired behavior. This happens through reinforcement of responses that resemble the desired behavior. Generalization influences operant conditioning by transferring a behavior or reaction across several situations that are similar in nature. For instance, a person who is used to typing on a typewriter can transfer the same skills to a computer. Discriminations, on the other hand, impacts operant conditioning by eliciting a reaction to a specified stimulus. It limits the transfer of a reaction across stimuli that are similar in nature (McSweeney 83).
Research has shown that media is only a vehicle or platform that is used to deliver instructions to the students. Media does not influence the achievement of learners in any way.
Operant and Classical conditioning are processes through which people learn and acquire behavior. However, they both work differently. Operant conditioning work by reinforcing a behavior associated with positive outcome while depressing an action associated with a negative outcome. Classical conditioning facilitates learning by associating events in the environment. For instance, people have learned to associate lightning with thunder (McSweeney 99).
Reference
McSweeney, Frances K., and Eric S. Murphy. The Wiley Blackwell handbook of operant and classical conditioning. John Wiley " Sons, 2014.
