Operant conditioning

There are many explanations that can be used to help people understand the Behaviorist Point of View. Some are very factual, others argue towards practical concerns, and still others are highly philosophical. This is the first in a series of posts trying to show these styles of explanation in a compact and easy-to-digest form. Feedback is welcome. Because of a guest lecture that I must give soon, the first post will focus on outlining operant and That said, they are surprisingly reliable processes, and they can explain much, much, more about human and non-human behavior than anyone would have thought before extensive study of those processes began. It is probably best to think about operant and classical conditioning as offering two different types of developmental stories. They are not stories about what a behavior is, now, but rather stories about how that behavior got to be that way. Classical conditioning stories are about things happening around the animal, no matter what the animal does. Operant conditioning stories involve consequences of the animal's action, i.e., what happens when the animal operates upon the world as an active agent. There is some debate about whether we need two types of stories. There are good reasons to go either way, including Note below that "stimulus" can refer to any object, event, or situation that an organism could potentially respond to. Note also that "response" can be anything the organism does. For now, a "response" could be an overt...

Learning is a process of gaining new and relatively persisting information or behaviours. There are many different types of learning theories. Key learning theories are classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning. Source: Dusan Kostic/Adobe Stock Classical Conditioning Classical Conditioning is another useful and popular theory of learning. It was given by Ivan Pavlov. The theory states that learning can occur when an individual learns to associate two or more stimuli and can predict events based on that association. Pavlov built a machine that would accurately determine the response of the dog while feeding. He rang a bell (neutral stimulus) before providing food to the dog. After several trials, the dog learnt to associate the ringing of a bell with food. This experiment was a pioneer for Social Learning Theory Social learning theory is another useful and popular theory of learning. It was given by Albert Bandura. It states that individuals learn new behaviours through observing and imitating others. For example, Isla watches Kim goes near a candle and burn his finger. She notices he is in pain. Isla avoids going too close to candles now. She has learnt from Kim’s actions and the consequences. Social Learning Theory has 5 steps. • Firstly, an individual must observe a particular action. • He/she needs to pay attention to that particular action. • He/she also needs to retain the memory of that action. • He/she would then reproduce that action if there...

Learning Objectives • Define and give examples of operant conditioning The previous section of this module focused on the type of associative learning known as classical conditioning. Remember that in classical conditioning, something in the environment triggers a reflex automatically, and researchers train the organism to react to a different stimulus. Now we turn to the second type of associative learning, operant conditioning. In operant conditioning, organisms learn to associate a behavior and its consequence (Table 1). A pleasant consequence makes that behavior more likely to be repeated in the future. For example, Spirit, a dolphin at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, does a flip in the air when her trainer blows a whistle. The consequence is that she gets a fish. Table 1. Classical and Operant Conditioning Compared Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Conditioning approach An unconditioned stimulus (such as food) is paired with a neutral stimulus (such as a bell). The neutral stimulus eventually becomes the conditioned stimulus, which brings about the conditioned response (salivation). The target behavior is followed by reinforcement or punishment to either strengthen or weaken it, so that the learner is more likely to exhibit the desired behavior in the future. Stimulus timing The stimulus occurs immediately before the response. The stimulus (either reinforcement or punishment) occurs soon after the response. Psychologist B. F. Skinner saw that classical c...

Operant conditioning is a well-known theory, but how do you put it into practice in your everyday life? How do you use your knowledge of its principles to build, change, or break a habit? How do you use it to get your children to do what you ask them to do – the first time? The study of behavior is fascinating and even more so when we can connect what is discovered about behavior with our lives outside of a lab setting. Our goal is to do precisely that; but first, a historical recap is in order. Before you read on, we thought you might like to This Article Contains: • • • • • • • • • • • • • Our Protagonists: Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, and Skinner Like all great stories, we will begin with the action that got everything else going. A long time ago, Pavlov was trying to figure out the mysteries surrounding salivation in dogs. He hypothesized that dogs salivate in response to the presentation of food. What he discovered set the stage for what was first called Pavlovian conditioning and later, classical conditioning. What does this have to do with operant conditioning? Other behavior scientists found Pavlov’s work interesting but criticized it because of its focus on reflexive learning. It did not answer questions about how the environment might shape behavior. E. L. Thorndike was a psychologist with a keen interest in education and learning. His theory of learning, called connectionism, dominated the United States educational system. In a nutshell, he believed that learning ...

Learning Objectives • Explain the difference between reinforcement and punishment (including positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative punishment) • Define shaping • Differentiate between primary and secondary reinforcers In discussing operant conditioning, we use several everyday words—positive, negative, reinforcement, and punishment—in a specialized manner. In operant conditioning, positive and negative do not mean good and bad. Instead, positive means you are adding something, and negative means you are taking something away. Reinforcement means you are increasing a behavior, and punishment means you are decreasing a behavior. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, and punishment can also be positive or negative. All reinforcers (positive or negative) increase the likelihood of a behavioral response. All punishers (positive or negative) decrease the likelihood of a behavioral response. Now let’s combine these four terms: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment (Table 1). Table 1. Positive and Negative Reinforcement and Punishment Reinforcement Punishment Positive Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Something is added to decrease the likelihood of a behavior. Negative Something is removed to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior. Reinforcement The most effective way to teach a person or animal a new behavior...

Operant conditioning, sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning, is a method of learning that uses For example, when you are rewarded at work with a performance bonus for exceptional work, you will be inclined to continue performing at a higher level in hopes of receiving another bonus in the future. Because this behavior was followed by a positive outcome, the behavior will likely be repeated. Operant Behavior In operant behavior, stimuli can be appetitive or aversive. Appetitive stimuli are the ones that you voluntarily approach while aversive stimuli are those you try to avoid or escape. Responses to such stimuli can either be positive or negative reinforcement. In this case positive and negative do not mean good or bad. Instead, positive reinforcement means introducing stimulus to increase the probability of recurrence of behavior, while negative reinforcement involves removing stimulus to encourage good behavior. The Operant Conditioning Theory Operant conditioning was first described by behaviorist B.F. Skinner. His theory was based on two assumptions. First, the cause of human behavior is something in a person’s environment. Second, the consequences of a behavior determine the possibility of it being repeated. Behavior that is followed by a pleasant consequence is likely to be repeated and behavior followed by an unpleasant consequence is less likely to be repeated. Although Skinner was the pioneer of the operant conditioning theory, his ideas were based on...

Operant conditioning is a process in which people learn to behave in a certain way in order to get rewards and avoid punishment. It's a type of behavior change that occurs because of a purposeful cause-and-effect reinforcement. When applied in behavioral therapy, operant conditioning can be used to create change based on rewards and punishments. • Discriminative stimulus: This is the controlled stimulus or cue that is present when the desired behavior is reinforced. • Reinforcer: This serves as the "reward" or "punishment" that leads to a change in behavior. A negative reinforcer could lead a subject to avoid repeating the behavior, while a positive reinforcer may motivate a subject to continue a particular behavior. • Operant response: This is the behavior that results from the use of a discriminative stimulus and reinforcers. For example, a dog learns to shake hands when you use edible treats as a reward. If the treats are no longer offered, it's unlikely the dog would continue shaking hands—although it might take a number of "failures" for the dog to get the message that the treat is no longer coming. As long as the reward continues, though, the dog is likely to keep shaking hands. A Word From Verywell Chances are, you have used operant conditioning—or had it used on you—without even realizing it. When children lose privileges because of a bad behavior, prompting them to choose better behaviors in the future, this is an example of operant conditioning. Similarly, a chil...

Learning Objectives • Outline the principles of operant conditioning. • Explain how learning can be shaped through the use of reinforcement schedules and secondary reinforcers. In classical conditioning the organism learns to associate new stimuli with natural, biological responses such as salivation or fear. The organism does not learn something new but rather begins to perform in an existing behavior in the presence of a new signal. learning that occurs based on the consequences of behavior and can involve the learning of new actions. Operant conditioning occurs when a dog rolls over on command because it has been praised for doing so in the past, when a schoolroom bully threatens his classmates because doing so allows him to get his way, and when a child gets good grades because her parents threaten to punish her if she doesn’t. In operant conditioning the organism learns from the consequences of its own actions. How Reinforcement and Punishment Influence Behavior: The Research of Thorndike and Skinner Psychologist Edward L. Thorndike (1874–1949) was the first scientist to systematically study operant conditioning. In his research Thorndike (1898) observed cats who had been placed in a “puzzle box” from which they tried to escape ( Observing these changes in the cats’ behavior led Thorndike to develop his the principle that responses that create a typically pleasant outcome in a particular situation are more likely to occur again in a similar situation, whereas response...