Comparison Between Classical And Operant Conditioning

A student in my first-grade class throws a temper tantrum each time he is asked to work on his math worksheets. He starts crying and kicking when I tell him free choice time is over and that it is time for math; his behavior has been going on for about one month and is dangerous for both myself and the other students.
This particular student must learn that temper tantrums are unacceptable and that math homework is a necessity, especially if he wishes to move onto the second grade. He must learn to behave appropriately by either classical conditioning or operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an individual learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate the following events. Classical conditioning would not be an effective measure to change my student’s behavior because classical conditioning does not decrease the probability that my student will engage in this bad behavior in the future. Operant conditioning, on the other hand, is a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcement or diminished if followed by a punishment. Operant conditioning would be the most effective way to teach my student that temper tantrums are not acceptable because a punishment …show more content…
Two other important learning styles are vicarious conditioning and observational learning. Vicarious conditioning is defined as learning the consequences of an action from observing its consequences for someone else. While observational learning is described as learning by observing and imitating the behaviors of others. Instead of operant conditioning I could have used vicarious conditioning to change my student’s behavior. If I were to reward my other students with prizes or treats when they successfully finish their homework the student who throws temper tantrums will take notice and will act similar to his classmates so he too can be