Which statement describes operant conditioning?

Which statement describes operant conditioning?

• A. Learning through consequences
• B. Learning through association
• C. Learning through modeling
• D. Innate reflex

Answer: (A)

Operant conditioning is learning through consequences that follow a behavior. When a behavior is followed by a rewarding outcome, it tends to be repeated; when it’s followed by a punishing outcome, it tends to be reduced. This focuses on how consequences shape voluntary actions. This differs from learning through association, where a neutral stimulus becomes linked with something meaningful (classical conditioning), and from learning by modeling, where you acquire behavior by watching others (observational learning). Innate reflexes are automatic and not learned. So the statement that describes operant conditioning is learning through consequences.

Operant conditioning is learning through consequences that follow a behavior. When a behavior is followed by a rewarding outcome, it tends to be repeated; when it’s followed by a punishing outcome, it tends to be reduced. This focuses on how consequences shape voluntary actions. This differs from learning through association, where a neutral stimulus becomes linked with something meaningful (classical conditioning), and from learning by modeling, where you acquire behavior by watching others (observational learning). Innate reflexes are automatic and not learned. So the statement that describes operant conditioning is learning through consequences.