Based on a philosophical and comparative analysis of Edward Thorndike's 'Connectionism', Ivan Pavlov's 'Classical Conditioning', and B.F. Skinner's 'Operant Conditioning' within the psychology of learning, if an organism performs an action (active behavior) of its own accord rather than responding spontaneously to a stimulus, and the frequency of its behavior is determined by the resulting reinforcement, which of the core learning paradigms does this closely resemble and what are its fundamental bases?

Understanding Operant Conditioning

The theory of Operant Conditioning, propounded by B.F. Skinner, is based on the premise that an organism remains active in its environment and performs various responses. The likelihood of repetition of those actions increases or decreases based on positive or negative reinforcement received.

• It is also known as the R-S (Response-Stimulus) paradigm.
• It differs significantly from Pavlov's S-R (Stimulus-Response) classical conditioning.
• Active behavior and consequent reinforcement are the primary determinants of learning in this model.