What type of conditioning is reinforcement associated with?

Reinforcement is associated with operant conditioning. This type of conditioning involves learning through the consequences of behavior, where behaviors are strengthened or weakened based on the results that follow them. When a behavior is followed by a favorable outcome, or reinforcement, it is more likely to be repeated in the future. This is a key principle of operant conditioning, developed by B.F. Skinner, which emphasizes the role of rewards and punishments in shaping behavior.

The other types of conditioning, such as classical conditioning, Pavlovian conditioning, and respondent conditioning, focus primarily on associating automatic responses with new stimuli rather than actively changing behavior through consequences. In those frameworks, the emphasis is on responses that are involuntary or reflexive, contrasting with the volitional behaviors that operant conditioning addresses through reinforcement mechanisms.