Classical & Instrumental
Conditioning
By: Kristen Pesavento, Danielle Sorrentino and Paige Lane
Behaviorism
Every behavior that a child does is learned. Everything you do
in your classroom can affect your child’s behavior.
(Ormrod, 2014)
Behaviorism
● Theoretical perspective in which learning and behavior are described and
explained in terms of stimulus-response relationships.
o Stimulus: Specific object or event that influences an individual’s learning or
behavior.
o Response: Specific behavior that an individual exhibits.
(Ormrod, 2014)
All behaviors are acquired through conditioning. (Waston, 1977)
Classical Conditioning/Respondent Conditioning
● “We sometimes learn involuntary responses as a result of two stimuli being
present at approximately the same time” (Ormrod, 2014 p. 267).
○ Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)- stimulus that elicits a particular response
without prior learning.
○ Unconditioned response(UCR)- response that is evoked by a particular
unconditioned stimulus without prior learning.
○ Conditioned stimulus (CS)- stimulus that elicits a particular response when
paired with the unconditioned stimulus.
○ Conditioned response (CR)- response that results from the pairing of the UCS
and CS.
US, UR, CS, CR
Classical Conditioning Worksheet
● Work in pairs for the next three minutes and complete the worksheet.
When your worksheet is completed, we will share it as a class.
Instrumental Conditioning
● Increasing or decreasing behaviors as a result of
reinforcement or punishment.
Instrumental Conditioning
Instrumental Conditioning
● Positive Reinforcement: A student is praised for writing an assignment in cursive.
She begins to write other assignments in cursive as well.
● Negative Reinforcement: A student worries about a research paper he has coming
due. He completes the paper several days before the due date. Because he removed
his worry feeling, he begins to do his assignments ahead of time whenever
possible.
● Presentation Punishment: Student is ridiculed for what classmates think is a
“stupid” question→ student stops asking questions.
● Removal Punishment: A student loses points on a test for answering a question in
a creative way. She takes fewer risks on future tests.
What to take away from Instrumental Conditioning:
● Teachers should focus on reinforcing desirable behaviors.
● Punishment is ineffective in the classroom.
● Extrinsic reinforcers lose their effectiveness when used repeatedly.
● By using reinforcement you can shape positive classroom behaviors.
Ways to Implement Behaviorism in the Classroom
● Create a classroom environment that fosters desirable student behaviors.
o Praise a student every time s/he completes an assignment without having to
be prompted.
● Conclude learning has occurred when students exhibit a change in
classroom performance.
o Implementing regular assessments.
Exit Slip
How could you implement conditioning in your
classroom to ensure student success?