The fundamental difference between respondent classical conditioning and operant conditioning lies in the type of contingency that governs the learning process Respondent Conditioning This type of learning often associated with Pavlov focuses on involuntary reflexive behaviors respondents The core mechanism involves a stimulusstimulus SS pairing where a neutral stimulus NS is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus US that naturally elicits an unconditioned response UR Through this pairing the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus CS capable of eliciting a conditioned response CR that is similar to the UR The contingency is between two stimuli Operant Conditioning Developed largely by Skinner this type of learning focuses on voluntary behaviors operants that are influenced by their consequences The core mechanism involves a responseconsequence RC pairing often described within an antecedentbehaviorconsequence ABC framework Here a behavior response is followed by a consequence eg reinforcement or punishment that affects the future probability of that behavior occurring again under similar antecedent conditions The contingency is between a behavior and its outcome