Final answer:
Operant conditioning focuses on shaping voluntary behavior through the use of consequences, reinforcements, and punishments, as opposed to classical conditioning which associates involuntary responses with stimuli.
Step-by-step explanation:
False. Operant conditioning theory, devised by B.F. Skinner, is fundamentally about shaping behavior rather than the affective domain (feelings, attitudes, and emotions). Operant conditioning involves an organism learning to associate a voluntary behavior with its consequences. This form of learning utilizes reinforcements (positive or negative) to increase a behavior's frequency, and punishments (also positive or negative) to decrease it. The shaping process, which is a part of operant conditioning, involves reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior to guide an organism towards a desired behavior.
On the other hand, classical conditioning, discovered by Ivan Pavlov, involves learning to associate an involuntary response with a new stimulus. This is a form of learning where a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with a previously neutral stimulus. Over time, the organism begins to elicit a conditioned response to the neutral stimulus. Therefore, while classical conditioning focuses on involuntary responses, operant conditioning is all about voluntary behaviors and their outcomes.