Key Takeaways: Operant Conditioning
- Operant conditioning is the process of learning through reinforcement and punishment.
- In operant conditioning, behaviors are strengthened or weakened based on the consequences of that behavior.
- Operant conditioning was defined and studied by behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner.
What is operant conditioning and how does it work?
What is operant conditioning and how does it work? Operant conditioning is a way of learning that is made possible using punishments and rewards for behaviour. In simpler words, operant conditioning allows humans to create an association between a behaviour and its consequence.
What are the 4 types of operant conditioning?
Understanding the Four Quadrants of Operant Conditioning
- Positive punishment (P+)
- Negative punishment (P-)-
- Positive reinforcement (R+)-
- Negative reinforcement (R-)-
What are the principles of operant conditioning?
- Discriminative stimulus: This is the controlled stimulus or cue that is present when the desired behavior is reinforced. 5
- Reinforcer: This serves as the "reward" or "punishment" that leads to a change in behavior. ...
- Operant response: This is the behavior that results from the use of a discriminative stimulus and reinforcers.
What is the difference between operant and classical conditioning?
- What Is Classical Conditioning Theory?
- What Is Operant Conditioning Theory?
- Difference Between Classical And Operant Conditioning
- Accelerate Growth
What is operant conditioning in your own words?
Operant conditioning occurs when an association is made between a particular behavior and a consequence for that behavior. This association is built upon the use of reinforcement and/or punishment to encourage or discourage behavior. Operant conditioning was first defined and studied by behavioral psychologist B.F.
What is operant conditioning for dummies?
Operant conditioning, sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning, is a method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence (whether negative or positive) for that behavior.
What is operant behavior in simple terms?
Operant behavior (which goes along with operant conditioning) refers to behavior that "operates" on the environment or is controllable by the individual. Operant behavior is done because it produces some type of consequence.
What is an example of operant behavior?
Operant responses can include everything from a rat's lever press maintained by food, an infant's crying maintained by maternal attention, and small talk maintained by social companionship.
What is an example of operant conditioning in your own life?
A child is scolded (unpleasant event) for ignoring homework (undesirable behavior.) A parent gives a child a time-out (unpleasant consequence) for throwing tantrums (unwanted behavior.) The police gives a driver a ticket (unpleasant stimulus) for speeding (unwanted behavior.)
What does operant mean in psychology?
behavior that produces an effect on the environment and whose likelihood of recurrence is influenced by consequences (see operant). Operant behavior is nearly synonymous with voluntary behavior.
What are some examples of operant conditioning in the classroom?
Positive punishment This is a classic operant conditioning example in the classroom. Operant conditioning examples in the classroom also include a teacher scolding a student publicly for repeating mistakes. It's a positive punishment for coming late to class repeatedly or being too talkative.
Why is operant conditioning important?
Skinner's theory of operant conditioning played a key role in helping psychologists to understand how behavior is learnt. It explains why reinforcements can be used so effectively in the learning process, and how schedules of reinforcement can affect the outcome of conditioning.
What is operant conditioning in psychology quizlet?
operant conditioning. a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. respondent behavior. behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.
How does operant conditioning change behavior?
Behavior modification is a set of therapies / techniques based on operant conditioning (Skinner, 1938, 1953). The main principle comprises changing environmental events that are related to a person's behavior. For example, the reinforcement of desired behaviors and ignoring or punishing undesired ones.
What is operant conditioning theory of learning?
Operant conditioning, sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning, is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for b...
What is Skinner's theory of operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an individual...
What is positive reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement is a term described by B. F. Skinner in his theory of operant conditioning. In positive reinforcement, a response or behavio...
What are some examples of operant conditioning?
Positive ReinforcementFor example, if your teacher gives you £5 each time you complete your homework (i.e., a reward) you will be more likely to re...
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, is a method of learning normally attributed to B.F. Skinner, where the consequences of a response determine the probability of it being repeated. Through operant conditioning behavior which is reinforced (rewarded) will likely be repeated, and behavior which is punished will occur less ...
How can operant conditioning be used to produce complex behavior?
Skinner argues that the principles of operant conditioning can be used to produce extremely complex behavior if rewards and punishments are delivered in such a way as to encourage move an organism closer and closer to the desired behavior each time.
What is behavior modification?
Behavior modification is a set of therapies / techniques based on operant conditioning (Skinner, 1938, 1953). The main principle comprises changing environmental events that are related to a person's behavior. For example, the reinforcement of desired behaviors and ignoring or punishing undesired ones.
What did behavioralists discover about reinforcement?
Behaviorists discovered that different patterns (or schedules) of reinforcement had different effects on the speed of learning and extinction. Ferster and Skinner (1957) devised different ways of delivering reinforcement and found that this had effects on. 1.
Why did the Skinner study show that rats learned to repeat behavior?
In the Skinner study, because food followed a particular behavior the rats learned to repeat that behavior, e.g., operant conditioning. • There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals. Therefore research (e.g., operant conditioning) can be carried out on animals (Rats / Pigeons) ...
What is positive reinforcement?
Skinner in his theory of operant conditioning. In positive reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by rewards, leading to the repetition of desired behavior. The reward is a reinforcing stimulus. Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner ...
How does positive reinforcement help rats?
Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding.
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning is the process of learning through reinforcement and punishment. In operant conditioning, behaviors are strengthened or weakened based on the consequences of that behavior. Operant conditioning was defined and studied by behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner.
Why is operant conditioning considered incomplete?
First, operant conditioning is accused of being an incomplete explanation for learning because it neglects the role of biological and cognitive elements.
What is shaping in behavioral science?
Behavior Shaping. Operant conditioning can lead to increasingly complex behaviors through shaping, also referred to as the “method of approximations.”. Shaping happens in a step-by-step fashion as each part of a more intricate behavior is reinforced. Shaping starts by reinforcing the first part of the behavior.
Why are conditional reinforcers not innately desirable?
Conditioned reinforcers reinforce behavior not because they are innately desirable, but because we learn to associate them with primary reinforcers. For example, Paper money is not innately desirable, but it can be used to acquire innately desirable goods, such as food and shelter.
What is reinforcement schedule?
Schedules of Reinforcement. In the real world, behavior is not constantly reinforced. Skinner found that the frequency of reinforcement can impact how quickly and how successfully one learns a new behavior. He specified several reinforcement schedules, each with different timing and frequencies.
What happens when reinforcement is stopped?
Continuous reinforcement occurs when a particular response follows each and every performance of a given behavior. Learning happens rapidly with continuous reinforcement. However, if reinforcement is stopped, the behavior will quickly decline and ultimately stop altogether, which is referred to as extinction.
What are the two types of reinforcement?
There are two types of reinforcement: Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior results in a favorable outcome, e.g. a dog receiving a treat after obeying a command, or a student receiving a compliment from the teacher after behaving well in class.
Who discovered operant conditioning?
The idea of operant conditioning was first discovered by Edward Thorndike, and analyzed by B.F. Skinner. Operant conditioning is different from Pavlov 's classical conditioning. Operant conditioning deals with the voluntary modification of behaviour; classical conditioning with training a reflex .
What causes the behaviour to occur more often?
This causes the behaviour to occur more often. Punishment: a negative or punishing event. This causes the behaviour to occur less often. Extinction: no event follows, so the behaviour has no consequences. When a behaviour has no consequences, it will occur less frequently. There are four different contexts in operant conditioning.
When is stimulus control effective?
Stimulus control is effective even if the stimulus has no meaning to the respondent. Extinction: operant behaviour undergoes extinction when the reinforcement stops. The reinforcements only occur when the proper response has been made, and may not occur even then.
Why does an individual change its behaviour?
In it, an individual changes its behaviour because of the consequences (results) of the behaviour. The person or animal learns its behaviour has a consequence. That consequence may be. Reinforcement: a positive or rewarding event. This causes the behaviour to occur more often.
Do behaviors weaken or extinguish?
Behaviours do not weaken and extinguish because of this. Results depend partly on how often reinforcement is received. Schedules of reinforcement: the timing of the reinforcements is crucial. Fixed interval schedule: reinforcers are presented at fixed time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made.
What is operant conditioning?
The study of operant conditioning helps to understand relations between a behavior and the consequence it offers. For instance, in the experiment conducted by B.F. Skinner, pressing the lever is the operant behavior that releases food as a consequence.
What is the operation of administering a reinforcer by the experimenter?
The operation of administrating a reinforcer by the experimenter is called reinforcement. It’s the most fundamental and first step to operant conditioning learning. Reinforcers act as stimuli to increase the rate or probability of the responses that follow. After numerous experiments conducted by various psychologists and behaviorists throughout the history, it has been evident that reinforced responses increase in rate while the non-reinforced responses decrease in rate.
What are the two types of reinforcers?
Positive and Negative are two kinds of reinforcers, both of which increase the frequency of an operant. Food and approval are two positive reinforcers, and pain, anxiety, disapproval are among few of the negative reinforcers. The reinforcers that affect the rate of operant can be either primary reinforcer or secondary reinforce.
What is the term for the phenomenon where an organism depicts a similar response when reacted to similar stimuli
Generalization and Discrimination. The phenomenon where an organism depicts a similar response when reacted to similar stimuli is known as generalization . The concept complimentary with generalization is discrimination, which explains the similar response depicted by an organism due to difference in stimuli.
What is it called when a rat in a Skinner box goes to press the lever?
The concept that explains how the rat in the Skinner box automatically goes to press the lever even after being removed from the box for a certain time and the behavior is extinguished, is called spontaneous recovery .
What is the opposite of reinforcement?
Punishment is completely opposite to reinforcement. In contrast to the previous concept, punishment refers to the phenomenon wherein a stimulus is presented to the organism after a certain behavior has been responded. Punishment decreases the rate of the same behavior being repeated again.
Which concept explains the disappearance of a learned response due to the removal of reinforcement from the situation?
The concept which explains the disappearance of a learned response due to the removal of reinforcement from the situation is called extinction. This concept of extinction in operant conditioning learning is similar to that of classical conditioning. For example; in Skinner’s experiment, the rat might stop pressing the lever if food serving is stopped.
What is operant conditioning?
The basic concept behind operant conditioning is that a stimulus (antecedent) leads to a behavior, which then leads to a consequence. This form of conditioning involves reinforcers, both positive and negative, as well as primary, secondary, and generalized.
Who developed operant conditioning theory?
In the 1930s, B. F. Skinner, who had become familiar with the work of these researchers and others, continued the exploration of how organisms learn. Skinner studied and developed the operant conditioning theory that is popular today.
What is classical conditioning?
An easy way to think about classical conditioning is that it is reflexive. It is the behavior an organism automatically does. Pavlov paired a bell with a behavior a dog already does (salivation) when presented with food. After several trials, Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate when the bell dinged.
What is the relationship between the discriminative stimulus, response, and reinforcer?
The relationship between the discriminative stimulus, response, and reinforcer is what influences the likelihood of a behavior happening again in the future. A reinforcer is some kind of reward, or in the case of adverse outcomes, a punishment.
Is Skinner's theory of learning discredited?
Schunk (2016, p. 88) notes that Skin ner’s learning theories have been discredited by more current ones that consider higher order and more complex forms of learning. Operant conditioning theory does not do this, but it is still useful in many educational environments and the study of gamification.
Do organisms need to have conscious awareness of this process for behavior change to take place?
The organism does not need to have conscious awareness of this process for behavior change to take place. As we already learned, reinforcers are critical in operant conditioning. Behaviors that lead to pleasant outcomes (consequences) get repeated, while those leading to adverse outcomes generally do not.
Can a child forget conditioning?
Likewise, if your child has a tantrum, and you ignore it, then your child might stop having tantrums. This differs from forgetting. When there are little to no opportunities to respond to stimuli, then conditioning can be forgotten. Response generalization is an essential element of operant conditioning.
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning tells us how likely we are to repeat a behaviour based purely on its consequences.
How does reinforcement affect operant conditioning?
In operant conditioning, reinforcement increases the strength of a response (more likely to occur in the future). How the reinforcement is provided (reinforcement schedule) influences the strength of the response. 4
What is stimulus generalization?
In classical conditioning, stimulus generalization is the tendency of organisms to elicit the conditioned response when they’re exposed to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus. Think of it this way- the mind tends to perceive similar things as being the same.
What happens when a dog's stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus?
When the neutral stimulus (ringing bell) and the unconditioned stimulus (food) are repeatedly presented together to the dogs, they get paired in the dogs’ minds. So much so, that the neutral stimulus (ringing bell) alone produces the same effect (salivation) as the unconditioned stimulus (food).
What is negative reinforcement?
This type of reinforcement, where something undesirable (strict rule) is taken away from the doer of a behaviour, is called negative reinforcement. You can remember it this way- ‘positive’ always means something is given to the doer of a behaviour and ‘negative’ always means something is taken away from them.
What is classical conditioning?
Classical and operant conditioning are two basic psychological processes that explain how humans and other animals learn. The fundamental concept that underlies both these modes of learning is association. Simply put, our brains are associating machines.
When the consequence of a behaviour makes the behaviour less likely to occur in the future, the consequence is called?
When the consequence of a behaviour makes the behaviour less likely to occur in the future, the consequence is called punishment. So reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour in the future while punishment decreases it.
The History of Operant Conditioning
Types of Behaviors
- Skinner distinguished between two different types of behaviors 1. Respondent behaviorsare those that occur automatically and reflexively, such as pulling your hand back from a hot stove or jerking your leg when the doctor taps on your knee. You don't have to learn these behaviors. They simply occur automatically and involuntarily. 2. Operant behaviors, on the other hand, are those under o…
Examples of Operant Conditioning
- We can find examples of operant conditioning at work all around us. Consider the case of children completing homework to earn a reward from a parent or teacher, or employees finishing projects to receive praise or promotions. More examples of operant conditioning in action include: 1. After performing in a community theater play, you receive applause from the audience. This acts as a …
Origins
Reinforcement and Punishment
- Through his experiments, Skinner identified the different kinds of reinforcement and punishment that encourage or discourage behavior.
Behavior Shaping
- Operant conditioning can lead to increasingly complex behaviors through shaping, also referred to as the “method of approximations.” Shaping happens in a step-by-step fashion as each part of a more intricate behavior is reinforced. Shaping starts by reinforcing the first part of the behavior. Once that piece of the behavior is mastered, reinforceme...
Schedules of Reinforcement
- In the real world, behavior is not constantly reinforced. Skinner found that the frequency of reinforcement can impact how quickly and how successfully one learns a new behavior. He specified several reinforcement schedules, each with different timing and frequencies. 1. Continuous reinforcementoccurs when a particular response follows each and every performan…
Examples of Operant Conditioning
- If you’ve ever trained a pet or taught a child, you have likely used operant conditioning in your own life. Operant conditioning is still frequently used in various real-world circumstances, including in the classroom and in therapeutic settings. For example, a teacher might reinforce students doing their homework regularly by periodically giving pop quizzes that ask questions similar to recent …
Critiques
- While operant conditioning can explain many behaviors and is still widely used, there are several criticisms of the process. First, operant conditioning is accused of being an incomplete explanationfor learning because it neglects the role of biological and cognitive elements. In addition, operant conditioning is reliant upon an authority figureto reinforce behavior and ignore…
Sources
- Cherry, Kendra. “What is Operant Conditioning and How Does it Work?” Verywell Mind, 2 October 2018. https://www.verywellmind.com/operant-conditioning-a2-2794863
- Crain, William. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 5th ed., Pearson Prentice Hall. 2005.
- Goldman, Jason G. “What is Operant Conditioning? (And How Does It Explain Driving Dogs?)” …
- Cherry, Kendra. “What is Operant Conditioning and How Does it Work?” Verywell Mind, 2 October 2018. https://www.verywellmind.com/operant-conditioning-a2-2794863
- Crain, William. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 5th ed., Pearson Prentice Hall. 2005.
- Goldman, Jason G. “What is Operant Conditioning? (And How Does It Explain Driving Dogs?)” Scientific American, 13 December 2012. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/what-is-opera...
- McLeod, Saul. “Skinner – Operant Conditioning.” Simply Psychology, 21 January 2018. https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html#class
