Difference between classical conditioning theory and operant conditioning theory

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning: What’s the Difference?

Updated June 25, 2022

Many facets of human psychology play an important part in business whether in employee productivity and loyalty, economic shifts or consumer behavior. You may find two psychological concepts—classical conditioning and operant conditioning—frequently used in professional and business settings. Understanding what these concepts are, how they were discovered and how they're applied in business can help you become a more effective professional and better understand your own habits. In this article, we discuss classical conditioning and operant conditioning, explore their differences and how they’re used in business.

What is classical conditioning?

Classical conditioning, also called Pavlov behaviorism, involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an involuntary or natural reaction, creating an association that results in a conditioned reaction. For example, a neutral stimulus might be a specific ring tone on your smartphone. When you hear it, you smile because you know your best friend is calling. After a while, classical conditioning takes over. You smile whenever you hear the ring tone even if it’s from someone else’s phone. That smile is your conditioned reaction. 

Classical conditioning in business refers to generating responses favorable to the product even though there might not be a direct relationship between the product and the desired response. For example, a customer might buy a certain shampoo not because it works better but because the bottle is pretty.

What is operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, uses positive or negative reinforcement to change behaviors. For example, you want to encourage your child to wash their hands after petting the family dog. Every time they wash and wipe their hands, they receive a chocolate kiss. No wash equals no treat. They soon routinely wash their hands without being reminded—or treated. 

Operant conditioning in business refers to generating behavior responses based on rewards or negative results with a direct relationship between the two. For example, an employee may respond to more service calls to earn a bonus. A customer might eat at a certain restaurant more often because each visit earns a discount for the next meal.

Depending on the amount, frequency and type of reinforcements, humans develop, modify and abandon behaviors at different rates, known as schedules of reinforcement. Five types of reinforcement schedules that impact the behavior change rates include:

Continuous reinforcement: This schedule involves positively reinforcing a desired behavior each time it occurs. This results in a slow response rate, which is the frequency of the behavior occurring, and a fast extinction rate at which the behavior decreases completely.

Fixed-ratio reinforcement: This schedule involves positively reinforcing a desired behavior after it has occurred a certain number of times. This results in a fast response rate and a medium-speed extinction rate.

Fixed-interval reinforcement: This schedule involves providing a positive reinforcement once at a consistent time interval as long as the desired behavior occurs at least once during that timeframe. This results in both the response and extinction time increasing at a medium rate.

Variable-ratio reinforcement: This schedule involves positive reinforcement after a desired behavior occurs randomly and unpredictably. The response rate is fast, but the extinction rate is slow as the trainee likely realizes there is still a chance to be rewarded.

Variable-interval reinforcement: After the desired behavior occurs once, a positive reinforcement is given randomly and unpredictably. This results in a fast response rate and a slow extinction rate.

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Classical vs. operant conditioning

Here are some key differences between classical conditioning and operant conditioning to help you better understand the two concepts in behavior psychology.

Origin

Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov developed and studied classical conditioning in the late 1890s. He discovered it by ringing a bell every time his test subjects—dogs—got food. When they were fed, they would salivate, which is a natural reaction. The dogs soon developed a conditioned response, also called a Pavlovian response. Anytime the dogs heard a bell, they salivated whether they were fed or not. 

American psychologist B. F. Skinner discovered operant conditioning in 1937 when studying Pavlovian responses and reflex physiology. He sought to study the way learned behaviors are developed, modified and eliminated through consistent reinforcement and punishment. 

Skinner believed that classical conditioning was too simple to describe something as complex as human behavior. He set out to prove cause and effect led to intentional behavior. Skinner invented the Skinner Box, a chamber to expose pigeons or rats to carefully controlled stimuli. Simple repeatable responses as well as the rate of response became the foundation for operant conditioning as a behavior measure.

Skinner’s theory was reinforced by American psychologist Edward L. Thorndike’s law of effect theory. He studied the behavior of cats trying to escape a puzzle box. Thorndike found that responses that produce a satisfying effect are more likely to be repeated while responses with unfavorable effects are less likely to reoccur. 

How each works

In classical conditioning, the stimulus comes before the behavior to develop a relationship between the two. 

In operant conditioning, the behavior comes first and the negative or positive reinforcement comes after. The behavior either increases (if it results in a positive reinforcement), modifies (if it results in a neutral reinforcement or negative punishment) or decreases (if it results in a negative punishment).

Related: What Is Progressive Discipline in the Workplace?

Benefits in business settings

Here are some benefits to using classical conditioning in business:

It can help companies better understand how consumer habits impact their reaction to products.

Classical conditioning can help investors better navigate severe shifts in the stock market after instantaneous reactions from weary investors.

Businesses can improve their marketing and advertising efforts by more effectively appealing to consumer habits and behaviors regarding natural responses including thirst, hunger, desire for love and the need for shelter.

Here are some of the best reasons to apply operant conditioning in business:

Employers and company leaders can better establish a rewards system that promotes hard work and loyalty from employees and a fair punishment system to help eliminate unwanted behaviors.

Businesses can establish a company culture that naturally rewards positive behaviors, creating an environment that promotes effectiveness, efficiency, productivity and timeliness, among other positive traits.

Companies can improve employee satisfaction when they reward and recognize team members for regularly and consistently exhibiting wanted behaviors and positive qualities.

Uses in business settings

You can find both classical and operant conditioning in the workplace or in different business settings.

Uses of classical conditioning in business

Here are some ways classical conditioning can be used in business settings:

Consumer behavior: Marketing, product development and other departments may study how classical conditioning affects customer reactions to products, especially in cases where there are little to no relationship between the product and the consumer reaction.

Advertising: Many companies and organizations apply classical conditioning to advertising strategies that reinforce the perceived value of a product or brand to create positive correlations to things consumers want. 

Stock market and investor behavior: The widely believed idea of "when the economy grows, so do investment returns" influences the majority of investors' decisions to buy or sell stock. When a company provides financial reports that show unexpectedly low numbers when they should be higher (stimuli), investors react to these numbers and sell their stock (conditioned response) instead of fully reviewing the report.

Related: 7 Psychological Factors in Marketing That Influence Consumer Behavior

Uses of operant conditioning in business

Operant conditioning is primarily used in organizational leadership theory to influence employee behaviors. It involves creating an environment that inherently reinforces desired behaviors and modifies unwanted behaviors.

Here are some ways leaders may use operational conditioning to guide employee behavior:

Promotions or demotions

Pay raises or pay decreases

Bonuses for reaching goals or working a certain number of years at a company

Recognitions such as employee of the month or year

Many facets of human psychology play an important part in business whether in employee productivity and loyalty, economic shifts or consumer behavior. You may find two psychological concepts—classical conditioning and operant conditioning—frequently used in professional and business settings. Understanding what these concepts are, how they were discovered and how they're applied in business can help you become a more effective professional and better understand your own habits. In this article, we discuss classical conditioning and operant conditioning, explore their differences and how they’re used in business.

: What Is Organizational Behavior?

What is classical conditioning?

Classical conditioning, also called Pavlov behaviorism, involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an involuntary or natural reaction, creating an association that results in a conditioned reaction. For example, a neutral stimulus might be a specific ring tone on your smartphone. When you hear it, you smile because you know your best friend is calling. After a while, classical conditioning takes over. You smile whenever you hear the ring tone even if it’s from someone else’s phone. That smile is your conditioned reaction. 

Classical conditioning in business refers to generating responses favorable to the product even though there might not be a direct relationship between the product and the desired response. For example, a customer might buy a certain shampoo not because it works better but because the bottle is pretty.

What is operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, uses positive or negative reinforcement to change behaviors. For example, you want to encourage your child to wash their hands after petting the family dog. Every time they wash and wipe their hands, they receive a chocolate kiss. No wash equals no treat. They soon routinely wash their hands without being reminded—or treated. 

Operant conditioning in business refers to generating behavior responses based on rewards or negative results with a direct relationship between the two. For example, an employee may respond to more service calls to earn a bonus. A customer might eat at a certain restaurant more often because each visit earns a discount for the next meal.

Depending on the amount, frequency and type of reinforcements, humans develop, modify and abandon behaviors at different rates, known as schedules of reinforcement. Five types of reinforcement schedules that impact the behavior change rates include:

Continuous reinforcement: This schedule involves positively reinforcing a desired behavior each time it occurs. This results in a slow response rate, which is the frequency of the behavior occurring, and a fast extinction rate at which the behavior decreases completely.

Fixed-ratio reinforcement: This schedule involves positively reinforcing a desired behavior after it has occurred a certain number of times. This results in a fast response rate and a medium-speed extinction rate.

Fixed-interval reinforcement: This schedule involves providing a positive reinforcement once at a consistent time interval as long as the desired behavior occurs at least once during that timeframe. This results in both the response and extinction time increasing at a medium rate.

Variable-ratio reinforcement: This schedule involves positive reinforcement after a desired behavior occurs randomly and unpredictably. The response rate is fast, but the extinction rate is slow as the trainee likely realizes there is still a chance to be rewarded.

Variable-interval reinforcement: After the desired behavior occurs once, a positive reinforcement is given randomly and unpredictably. This results in a fast response rate and a slow extinction rate.

Are you looking for a job now?

Classical vs. operant conditioning

Here are some key differences between classical conditioning and operant conditioning to help you better understand the two concepts in behavior psychology.

Origin

Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov developed and studied classical conditioning in the late 1890s. He discovered it by ringing a bell every time his test subjects—dogs—got food. When they were fed, they would salivate, which is a natural reaction. The dogs soon developed a conditioned response, also called a Pavlovian response. Anytime the dogs heard a bell, they salivated whether they were fed or not. 

American psychologist B. F. Skinner discovered operant conditioning in 1937 when studying Pavlovian responses and reflex physiology. He sought to study the way learned behaviors are developed, modified and eliminated through consistent reinforcement and punishment. 

Skinner believed that classical conditioning was too simple to describe something as complex as human behavior. He set out to prove cause and effect led to intentional behavior. Skinner invented the Skinner Box, a chamber to expose pigeons or rats to carefully controlled stimuli. Simple repeatable responses as well as the rate of response became the foundation for operant conditioning as a behavior measure.

Skinner’s theory was reinforced by American psychologist Edward L. Thorndike’s law of effect theory. He studied the behavior of cats trying to escape a puzzle box. Thorndike found that responses that produce a satisfying effect are more likely to be repeated while responses with unfavorable effects are less likely to reoccur. 

How each works

In classical conditioning, the stimulus comes before the behavior to develop a relationship between the two. 

In operant conditioning, the behavior comes first and the negative or positive reinforcement comes after. The behavior either increases (if it results in a positive reinforcement), modifies (if it results in a neutral reinforcement or negative punishment) or decreases (if it results in a negative punishment).

Related: What Is Progressive Discipline in the Workplace?

Benefits in business settings

Here are some benefits to using classical conditioning in business:

It can help companies better understand how consumer habits impact their reaction to products.

Classical conditioning can help investors better navigate severe shifts in the stock market after instantaneous reactions from weary investors.

Businesses can improve their marketing and advertising efforts by more effectively appealing to consumer habits and behaviors regarding natural responses including thirst, hunger, desire for love and the need for shelter.

Here are some of the best reasons to apply operant conditioning in business:

Employers and company leaders can better establish a rewards system that promotes hard work and loyalty from employees and a fair punishment system to help eliminate unwanted behaviors.

Businesses can establish a company culture that naturally rewards positive behaviors, creating an environment that promotes effectiveness, efficiency, productivity and timeliness, among other positive traits.

Companies can improve employee satisfaction when they reward and recognize team members for regularly and consistently exhibiting wanted behaviors and positive qualities.

Uses in business settings

You can find both classical and operant conditioning in the workplace or in different business settings.

Uses of classical conditioning in business

Here are some ways classical conditioning can be used in business settings:

Consumer behavior: Marketing, product development and other departments may study how classical conditioning affects customer reactions to products, especially in cases where there are little to no relationship between the product and the consumer reaction.

Advertising: Many companies and organizations apply classical conditioning to advertising strategies that reinforce the perceived value of a product or brand to create positive correlations to things consumers want. 

Stock market and investor behavior: The widely believed idea of "when the economy grows, so do investment returns" influences the majority of investors' decisions to buy or sell stock. When a company provides financial reports that show unexpectedly low numbers when they should be higher (stimuli), investors react to these numbers and sell their stock (conditioned response) instead of fully reviewing the report.

Related: 7 Psychological Factors in Marketing That Influence Consumer Behavior

Uses of operant conditioning in business

Operant conditioning is primarily used in organizational leadership theory to influence employee behaviors. It involves creating an environment that inherently reinforces desired behaviors and modifies unwanted behaviors.

Here are some ways leaders may use operational conditioning to guide employee behavior:

Promotions or demotions

Pay raises or pay decreases

Bonuses for reaching goals or working a certain number of years at a company

Recognitions such as employee of the month or year