Classical Conditioning

After I read the part about classical conditioning I found myself thinking about examples in my own life where classical conditioning is found. I thought about training the new puppy to sit, but that is operant conditioning. For some reason I could wrap my head around operant conditioning much more easily until I realized that there are so many little things that I am classically conditioned to do. For example, whenever I smell cinnamon I get excited and happy, because that is what the house would smell like when she baked cinnamon rolls.

So there are tons of little things like that in life that one can look at when thinking about classical conditioning. While there are some very clear examples of classical conditioning, like Ivan Pavlov’s experiment with the dogs, sometimes it can be more difficult to relate it to your life than B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning.

On another note, I am also taking a teaching reading class for my degree program, and I was thinking about what kind of conditioning would be the most effective for a student learning to read. Some schools implement extrinsic, operant conditioning programs such as gaining plastic currency to use at the school store or even small prizes. These programs had a bad reputation in Stayer Hall, because there is nothing that will make kids hate reading that “paying” them for it. Classical conditioning, however, seems like a better avenue to take. For example, when I pick up a book that interests me, I expect to have fun reading it, so I feel happy and want to read more.