Conditioning:
Learning is the process through which individuals acquire new knowledge,
behaviours, attitudes and ideas. Humans must be sensitive to both meaningful
and coincidental relationships between events in the environment to survive. The
learning process happens through both unconscious and conscious pathways.
According to conditioning theory, learning is a process of change that occurs
because of the conditions which then cause a reaction (Basri et al., 2020).
Classical conditioning is an unconscious process where an automatic,
conditioned response becomes associated with a specific stimulus. Pavlov
observed that the dogs’ physical response to food gradually changed. Initially,
the dogs only salivated when the food was directly presented. However, he later
noticed that the dogs began to salivate slightly before the food arrived in
response to sounds consistently associated with feeding, such as the sound of
the food cart. To test his theory, Pavlov conducted an experiment where he rang
a bell shortly before presenting food to the dogs. Initially, the dogs did not
salivate in response to the bell. However, as they learned to associate the sound
of the bell with the arrival of food, they began to salivate at the sound alone
(Sanvictores et al., 2024).
In contrast, operant conditioning, a concept introduced by B.F. Skinner in 1937,
focuses on behaviour that operates on the environment and is shaped by its
consequences. Operant behaviour is controlled by reinforcement or punishment,
which either increases or decreases the likelihood of the behaviour recurring.
Skinner also introduced the idea of reinforcement schedules, referring to
systematic procedures that deliver reinforcers to an organism according to
specific, well-defined rules (Staddon & Cerutti, 2002).
Principles of conditioning can be applied to understand and influence client
behaviour. For example, classical conditioning can help practitioners recognise
how individuals may develop emotional or behavioural responses to certain
environmental cues. A client who has experienced trauma, for instance, might
display anxiety in response to specific sounds or settings that unconsciously
remind them of distressing experiences. By identifying these conditioned
responses, social workers can implement strategies such as gradual exposure or
desensitisation to reduce anxiety and promote emotional regulation.
Learning is the process through which individuals acquire new knowledge,
behaviours, attitudes and ideas. Humans must be sensitive to both meaningful
and coincidental relationships between events in the environment to survive. The
learning process happens through both unconscious and conscious pathways.
According to conditioning theory, learning is a process of change that occurs
because of the conditions which then cause a reaction (Basri et al., 2020).
Classical conditioning is an unconscious process where an automatic,
conditioned response becomes associated with a specific stimulus. Pavlov
observed that the dogs’ physical response to food gradually changed. Initially,
the dogs only salivated when the food was directly presented. However, he later
noticed that the dogs began to salivate slightly before the food arrived in
response to sounds consistently associated with feeding, such as the sound of
the food cart. To test his theory, Pavlov conducted an experiment where he rang
a bell shortly before presenting food to the dogs. Initially, the dogs did not
salivate in response to the bell. However, as they learned to associate the sound
of the bell with the arrival of food, they began to salivate at the sound alone
(Sanvictores et al., 2024).
In contrast, operant conditioning, a concept introduced by B.F. Skinner in 1937,
focuses on behaviour that operates on the environment and is shaped by its
consequences. Operant behaviour is controlled by reinforcement or punishment,
which either increases or decreases the likelihood of the behaviour recurring.
Skinner also introduced the idea of reinforcement schedules, referring to
systematic procedures that deliver reinforcers to an organism according to
specific, well-defined rules (Staddon & Cerutti, 2002).
Principles of conditioning can be applied to understand and influence client
behaviour. For example, classical conditioning can help practitioners recognise
how individuals may develop emotional or behavioural responses to certain
environmental cues. A client who has experienced trauma, for instance, might
display anxiety in response to specific sounds or settings that unconsciously
remind them of distressing experiences. By identifying these conditioned
responses, social workers can implement strategies such as gradual exposure or
desensitisation to reduce anxiety and promote emotional regulation.
