| | Classical Conditioning | Operant Conditioning |
|---|
| Type of behavior | Reflexive, involuntary behaviors | Nonreflexive, voluntary behaviors |
| Source of behavior | Elicited by stimulus | Emitted by organism |
| Basis of learning | Associating two stimuli: CS + UCS | Associating a response and the consequence that follows it |
| Responses conditioned | Physiological and emotional responses | Active behaviors that operate on the environment |
| Extinction process | Conditioned response decreases when conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented alone | Responding decreases with elimination of reinforcing consequences |
| Cognitive aspects | Expectation that CS reliably predicts the UCS | Performance of behavior influenced by the expectation of reinforcement or punishment |
| Evolutionary influences | Innate predispositions influence how easily an association is formed between a particular stimulus and response | Behaviors similar to natural or instinctive behaviors are more readily conditioned |