Operant Conditioning

Spencer Patrell

History

• B.F. Skinner is regarded as the father of operant conditioning.

• Operant conditioning was the result of Skinner seeking a form of learning other than the classical conditioning that had already been studied earlier in the 20th century.

• Skinner was dedicated to studying operant conditioning as it was readily observable behavior as opposed to internal mental processes.

• Based on Thorndike’s Law of Effect.

(McLeod, 2015)

The Basics

• Asserts that actions followed by reinforcement will be strengthened and will happen more frequently while those punished will occur less frequently.

• Two types of behavior:• Respondent – Automatic

• Example: Pulling hand away from a hot stove

• Operant – Learned

• Rats pulling a lever to get food

(Cherry, 2015)

Components

• Reinforcement – Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.• Positive – Presentation of a favorable stimulus.

• Negative – Removal of a stimulus that is unfavorable.

• Punishment – Adverse event that decreases behavior it follows.• Positive – Presentation of unfavorable stimulus.

• Negative – Removing a positive stimulus.

(Cherry, 2015)

Examples

• Positive Reinforcement:• Praising kids for getting good grades

• Negative Reinforcement:• Doing a chore in order to keep your mom quiet

• Positive Punishment:• Receiving a ticket for going over the speed limit

• Negative Punishment:• Being grounded after coming home late at night.