It uses reinforcement or punishment to encourage or deter behavior.
Lets talk about how instrumental conditioning is used in psychology and read some examples of instrumental conditioning.
Sophia gets rewarded with praise from her teacher every time she raises her hand in class.
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The praise reinforces the desired behavior (raising her hand before speaking).
What if the teacher scolds Sophia for talking without raising her hand?
Instrumental conditioning is often used in animal training.
History of Instrumental Conditioning
PsychologistE.L.
The experiments involved placing a hungry cat in a puzzle box.
To free itself, the cat had to figure out how to escape.
Thorndike noted how long it took the cats to free themselves in each experimental trial.
Eventually, trial and error led the cats to successfully push or pull the escape route.
Thorndike referred to his observations as theLaw of Effect.
On the other hand, an action will get weaker if it is immediately followed by unpleasant effects.
In Thorndike’s puzzle box experiments, escaping the box was the satisfier.
Thorndike’s work had a tremendous effect on B.F. Skinner’s later research on operant conditioning.
How Instrumental Conditioning Works
Skinner identified two types of behaviors: respondent and operant.
Classical conditioning focuses on respondent behaviors.
InPavlov’s classic experiments,the dogs salivating at the presentation of the food was respondent behavior.
Instead, he proposed that it was the consequences of voluntary actions that led to the most learning.
The consequences of our actions play an important role in the learning process.
Reinforcement and Punishment
Skinner identified two key aspects of the operant conditioning process: reinforcement and punishment.
B.F. Skinner Foundation.Biographical information.
London: Oxford University Press; 1927.
APA.Negative reinforcement
APA.Positive punishment.
