Unit 5 Written Assignment: Learning

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is defined in the text as “a process by which we learn to associate stimuli and,
consequently, to anticipate events.” (Study Plan: Classical Conditioning)

As a young kid, I experienced bullying from kids who were older than me. In most cases, I identified the
bullies with their bikes which they rode carelessly. By their sight, I experienced so much fear. This
caused a natural fear reflex. For a long time, anytime I saw young boys with bikes, whether in a movie or
real life, fear used to run within me, resulting in every part of my body shaking. Experiencing fear when
seeing boys with bikes was a conditioned, learned reflex.

Unconditional stimulus is seeing boys with bikes.

Unconditional response is experiencing extreme fear.

Conditional stimulus is seeing boys with their bikes in movies or real life.

Conditional response is experiencing extreme fear.

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is defined in the text as “extinction of a reinforced behavior occurs at some point
after reinforcement stops, and the speed at which this happens depends on the reinforcement
schedule.” (Study Plan: Reinforcement Schedule)

Negative Reinforcement

As a kid, I used to throw tantrums at my father if he did not get me a candy bar when coming from work.
To avoid this, my father developed a routine of coming with a candy bar every evening. This
automatically stopped the tantrums.

The stimulus was my father receiving tantrums from me.

The response that was strengthened was my father developing the habit of coming with a candy bar
every evening.

This was an example of negative reinforcement, as if my father did not bring along a candy bar, he
would receive tantrums from me. Therefore, he always brought the candy bar to avoid a negative
outcome from me.
 Positive Reinforcement

At my workplace, the employer always rewards those who complete their assignments on time without
compromising the quality of the project. The reward is through increased bonuses and promotions. To
ensure I get the reward, I spend a lot of time on my assignments to ensure I complete them on time
without compromising quality. This has earned me bonuses severally.

The stimulus is the bonuses I receive when I complete an assignment on time without compromising
quality.

The response is spending a lot of time on my assignments to ensure I deliver on time without
compromising quality.

This is a positive reinforcement because it encourages me to develop a positive behavior to attain a

positive outcome resulting in a reward. By delivering quality on time, I receive a reward which is a
positive reinforcement.

Negative Punishment

When I was in grade five, I had developed a behavior of failing to do my homework in the evening as all I
thought about after school was watching TV. After realizing my behavior, my parents introduced a policy
where I could not watch TV for two weeks until I learned to do my homework on time. As a result, I
learnt to prioritize doing my homework before watching TV.

The stimulus was introducing a policy disallowing me to watch TV for two weeks.

The response that was weakened was prioritizing watching TV over doing my homework.

This is an example of a negative punishment because by disallowing me to watch TV for two weeks, the
behavior, prioritizing watching TV over doing my homework, was made less likely to occur. The behavior
was no more.
 Positive Punishment

When I was 12 years old, I remember my teacher giving us a lot of math’s works which we were
supposed to submit after two days. Unfortunately, I failed to complete the work on time. Thus, I did not
turn in my assignment on time. After realizing it, the teacher gave me an extra assignment to complete
in few hours, and that taught me a lesson. Since then, I am always keen on keeping time.

The stimulus was giving me extra work after I failed to turn in my work on time.

The response was always being keen on keeping time.

This is an example of a positive punishment because, by the teacher giving me extra assignment after
failing to turn in the initial assignment on time, the response was being keen on keeping time. It
involved the addition of something unpleasant to discourage a bad behavior.

Observational Learning

Observational Learning is defined in the text as “we learn by watching others and then imitating, or
modeling, what they do or say.” (Study Plan: Observational Learning)

Prior to knowing about the hide-and-seek game, I had never participated in the game and thus knew
nothing about it. One day, I joined a group of pupils playing and was not sure what to do. One of my
friends explained the basic rules of the game.

The model was my friend.

The behavior was learning the rules of the game and participating.

After 5 minutes, I mastered the rules and joined the group of pupils.

I was motivated by the desire to understand the game and participate.