What is the difference between a CLASSICAL and OPERANT conditioning?

Question

And please identify if the ff. examples are CLASSICAL or OPERANT conditioning:

1.) First, we touch the cat gently. Second, we hurt him by slapping him, etc... On the third time, he already gets scared just by seeing our hands..

2.) The cat bites everything... When we laid him down and placed his own tail near his mouth, he bit it. But when he experienced pain, he stopped biting it and realized it was his own tail.

Answer 1

1 is an example of classical conditioning.

here, neutral stimulus [your hand stroke] becomes a conditioned stimulus [slapping] causing a conditioned response [fear].

#2 is an example of operant conditioning.

when the Consequences of the cat's actions are 'revealed' to him, he changes his response/gets conditioned to stop biting.

thus, Classical conditioning forms an association between two stimuli while Operant [instrumental] conditioning forms an association between a behavior and a consequence.

primary stimuli such as food & pain are hardwired into us - we respond through our natural reflexes/instincts. but when a secondary or conditioned stimulus is introduced [the bell in Pavlov's experiment with dog] it has to be learned [hence, learned behavior].

the CS should follow the UCS as quickly & as frequently as possible to create a stronger & longer lasting conditioned response.

classical conditioning is especially important in animal training since animals are nonverbal.

in Thorndike's operant conditioning, some consequences strengthen behavior and some consequences weaken behavior. Skinner constructed a more detailed theory of operant conditioning based on reinforcement [positive & negative] and punishment. these are Instrumental in modifying behaviour over time.

while Pavlovian conditioning deals with involuntary behavior triggered by its antecedents; operant conditioning deals with voluntary behavior explained by its consequences.

Consequences have to be immediate, or clearly linked to the behavior. Altho', with verbal humans, we can explain the connection between the consequence and the behavior, even if they are separated in time.

operant conditioning is being employed in behavior intervention models in special education - eg. for autistic children, etc.

hope this helps

all the best