Jul 1, 2026 · 1 hr 22 min · 8 segments
In this episode, Zach and Caleb discuss the distinction between operant and respondent behavior with Dr. Michael Domjan. - 1.5 General CEU (BACB, IBAO, and/or QABA) is available for this episode. You…
Michael DomjanGuest
Zach BirdHostCaleb DavisHost
I really just wanted to talk to you about how there was a thing that I had never thought about before until Dr. Domjan pointed it out, and I think I'd always conceptualized it as, like, respondent behavior will morph into operant behavior after people have, like, experience.
Like the, like they, the, the contingencies shape up the, the, the responses to now be operant.
They start out respondent crying, and then when they're two years old, you have crocodile tears, and you're like, "That's not even a cry." And because it had picked up the consequences of, you know, mom coming to, to help out or to people try to talk them down or whatever the things are that, um, or people try to give them a lollipop to stop crying.
So like, I thought that there was, like, this transition between respondent and operant behavior, and I think I, I got schooled on that this time.
Well, you mentioned that to Dr. Domjan, and he was like I'm paraphrasing, but he's like, "Yeah, there's no reason why, like, something that's effective, like when you're first, like, born or whatever, that process would just go away." Like-
Um, but I guess the advantage is, like, in addition to that process, you now are learning things probably through operant conditioning, which is prob- probably why as, like, organisms get older, they become more effective [laughs] in their environments-
I really just wanted to talk to you about how there was a thing that I had never thought about before until Dr. Domjan pointed it out, and I think I'd always conceptualized it as, like, respondent behavior will morph into operant behavior after people have, like, experience.
Like the, like they, the, the contingencies shape up the, the, the responses to now be operant.
They start out respondent crying, and then when they're two years old, you have crocodile tears, and you're like, "That's not even a cry." And because it had picked up the consequences of, you know, mom coming to, to help out or to people try to talk them down or whatever the things are that, um, or people try to give them a lollipop to stop crying.
So like, I thought that there was, like, this transition between respondent and operant behavior, and I think I, I got schooled on that this time.
Well, you mentioned that to Dr. Domjan, and he was like I'm paraphrasing, but he's like, "Yeah, there's no reason why, like, something that's effective, like when you're first, like, born or whatever, that process would just go away." Like-
Um, but I guess the advantage is, like, in addition to that process, you now are learning things probably through operant conditioning, which is prob- probably why as, like, organisms get older, they become more effective [laughs] in their environments-
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