Operant Conditioning Spencer Patrell. History B.F. Skinner is regarded as the father of operant...
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Transcript of Operant Conditioning Spencer Patrell. History B.F. Skinner is regarded as the father of operant...
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.