Question

Give an example of a human activity that seems to you difficult to explain solely in terms of classical or operant conditioning. Why doesn't this kind of activity fit easily into the conceptual framework of conditioning?

Answer 1

Classical conditioning includes making associations between stimulus and exhibiting behaviour which yields positive expereinces. Operant conditioning on the other hand involves reinforcement to negate undesirable behaviour through punishment and reinforcement in the form of rewards for reoccurance of desirable behaviour. However, there is another form of learning known as observation.

Violent behaviour cannot be explained through classical or operant conditioning.

Witnessing family violence can cause a child to grow up violent or may not cause a child to grow up violent. It depends from person to person. A child who witnesses violence may not likely grow up to be violent because watching violence in the family can make the child very submissive. A child is most likely to withdraw and not exhibit emotions. They may not be very good at expressing their emotions which includes anger. However, there is a possibility of the child growing up violent because the child imitates the behaviour learnt. He is more likely to grow up to be violent because he witnessed family violence and learnt the behaviour which was observed.

Tom grew up in a family where his father was an alcoholic. His father used to come back home drunk every night. Tom's mother would put him to sleep, but Tom could hear his father yelling and screaming in the other room. His father would sometimes throw things around or beat his mother up. Most days Tom would witness his father beating up his mother. This led Tom to withdraw himself and keep his emotions in control. He never exhibited any emotion because he did not want to be like his father. In the same situation above, Tom could have as well been violent growing up as he often witnessed violence in his family.

Violence in the above example is a learnt behaviour, however, it is learnt through observation and not through association or reinforcement.