Which type of learning strengthens behavior when followed by reinforcement?

Operant conditioning is the process by which behaviors are strengthened or weakened through the use of reinforcement or punishment. When a behavior is followed by a reinforcing stimulus, the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future increases. This concept was primarily developed by B.F. Skinner, who demonstrated that rewards, such as food or praise, enhance the frequency of behaviors.

In operant conditioning, reinforcement can be positive, where a desirable stimulus is presented after a behavior (like giving a child a treat for cleaning their room), or negative, where an unpleasant stimulus is removed following the behavior (like taking away a chore for completing homework). This contrasts with classical conditioning, where learning occurs through associations between stimuli rather than through reinforcement of voluntary behaviors. Observational learning involves acquiring behaviors by watching others, and a conditioned response refers specifically to the learned response to a previously neutral stimulus in classical conditioning, neither of which directly involve the reinforcement process that is foundational in operant conditioning.