We also tend to avoid behaviors that we know will have negative consequences.
When they press the lever when a red light is on, they receive a mild electric shock.
However, operant conditioning is not just something that takes place in experimental prefs while training lab animals.
Verywell / Joshua Seong
It also plays a powerful role in everyday learning.
The History of Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning was first described by behavioristB.F.
Instead, he suggested, we should look only at the external, observable causes of human behavior.
The ideas ofJohn B. Watsondominated this school of thought early on.
Early behaviorists focused their interests on associative learning.
Skinner was more interested in how theconsequencesof people’s actions influenced their behavior.
Skinner used the termoperantto refer to any “active behavior that operates upon the environment to generate consequences.”
Skinner’s theory explained how we acquire the range of learned behaviors we exhibit every day.
Because the behavior was followed by reinforcement, or a desirable outcome, the preceding action is strengthened.
Instead, Skinner suggested that operant conditioning held far greater importance.
He created a unit known as an operant conditioning chamber, often referred to today as aSkinner box.
The chamber could hold a small animal, such as a rat or pigeon.
The box also contained a bar or key that the animal could press so you can receive a reward.
for track responses, Skinner also developed a unit known as a cumulative recorder.
Components of Operant Conditioning
Several key concepts in operant conditioning exist.
The pop in of reinforcement or punishment used can affect how the individual responds and the effect of conditioning.
Reinforcement in Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows.
There are two kinds of reinforcers.
In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.
Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcersare favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior.
In these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of something considered unpleasant.
There are two kinds of punishment.
In both of these cases, the behavior decreases.
It sounds like an oxymoron, but in this instance, positive doesn’t mean ‘good.’
Instead, it suggests that something is added to the situation to act as a punisher.
Spanking for misbehavior is an example of punishment by utility.
Taking away a child’s video game following misbehavior is an example of negative punishment.
Skinner found thatwhenandhow oftenbehaviors were reinforced played a role in the speed and strength ofacquisition.
Learning tends to occur relatively quickly, yet the response rate is quite low.
Extinction also occurs very quickly once reinforcement is halted.
In this bang out of schedule, behaviors are only reinforced sometimes.
This can be based on the number of responses that have occurred or how much time has elapsed.
You may have even used it yourself without even being aware of it.
We can find examples of operant conditioning at work all around us.
This potential for punishment may lead to a decrease in disruptive behaviors.
Sometimes, natural consequences lead to changes in our behavior.
In other instances, rewards and punishments may be consciously doled out to create a change.
Remember that any bang out of learning takes time.
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