Name: ghada sayed abdel – gawad.
Level: four.
English department.
Dr: enas gohar.
Operant conditioning
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.1
For example, when lab rats press a lever when a green light
is on, they receive a food pellet as a reward. When they
press the lever when a red light is on, they receive a mild
electric shock. As a result, they learn to press the lever
when the green light is on and avoid the red light.
But operant conditioning is not just something that takes
place in experimental settings while training lab animals. It
also plays a powerful role in everyday learning.
Reinforcement and punishment take place in natural
settings all the time, as well as in more structured settings
such as classrooms or therapy sessions.
The History of Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning was first described by behaviorist B.F.
Skinner, which is why you may occasionally hear it referred
to as Skinnerian conditioning.1
As a behaviorist, Skinner believed that it was not really necessary to look
at internal thoughts and motivations in order to explain behavior. Instead,
he suggested, we should look only at the external, observable causes of
human behavior.
Through the first part of the 20th century, behaviorism
became a major force within psychology. The ideas of John
B. Watson dominated this school of thought early on.
Watson focused on the principles of classical conditioning,
once famously suggesting that he could take any person
regardless of their background and train them to be
anything he chose.2
Early behaviorists focused their interests on associative
learning. Skinner was more interested in how
the consequences of people's actions influenced their
behavior.
Skinner used the term operant to 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.
His theory was heavily influenced by the work of
psychologist Edward Thorndike, who had proposed what he
called the law of effect.3 According to this principle, actions
that are followed by desirable outcomes are more likely to
be repeated while those followed by undesirable outcomes
are less likely to be repeated.
Operant conditioning relies on a fairly simple premise:
Actions that are followed by reinforcement will be
strengthened and more likely to occur again in the future. If
you tell a funny story in class and everybody laughs, you
will probably be more likely to tell that story again in the
future.
If you raise your hand to ask a question and your teacher
praises your polite behavior, you will be more likely to raise
your hand the next time you have a question or comment.
Because the behavior was followed by reinforcement, or a
desirable outcome, the preceding action is strengthened.
Conversely, actions that result in punishment or undesirable
consequences will be weakened and less likely to occur
again in the future. If you tell the same story again in
another class but nobody laughs this time, you will be less
likely to repeat the story again in the future. If you shout
out an answer in class and your teacher scolds you, then
you might be less likely to interrupt the class again.
Types of Behaviors
Skinner distinguished between two different types of
behaviors
Respondent behaviors are 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.
Operant behaviors, on the other hand, are those
under our conscious control. Some may occur
spontaneously and others purposely, but it is the
consequences of these actions that then influence
whether or not they occur again in the future. Our
actions on the environment and the consequences of
that action make up an important part of the learning
process.
While classical conditioning could account for respondent
behaviors, Skinner realized that it could not account for a
great deal of learning. Instead, Skinner suggested that
operant conditioning held far greater importance.
Skinner invented different devices during his boyhood and
he put these skills to work during his studies on operant
conditioning. He created a device known as an operant
conditioning chamber, often referred to today as a Skinner
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 in order to receive a reward.
In order to track responses, Skinner also developed a
device known as a cumulative recorder. The device
recorded responses as an upward movement of a line so
that response rates could be read by looking at the slope of
the line.
Components of Operant Conditioning
There are several key concepts in operant conditioning. The
type of reinforcement or punishment that is used can have
an effect on how the individual responds and the effect of
conditioning. There are four types of operant conditioning
that can be utilized to change behavior: positive
reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive
punishment, and negative punishment.
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.
1. Positive reinforcers are favorable events or
outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In
positive reinforcement situations, a response or
behavior is strengthened by the addition of praise or a
direct reward. If you do a good job at work and your
manager gives you a bonus, that bonus is a positive
reinforcer.
2. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an
unfavorable events or outcomes after the display of a
behavior. In these situations, a response is
strengthened by the removal of something considered
unpleasant. For example, if your child starts to scream
in the middle of a restaurant, but stops once you hand
them a treat, your action led to the removal of the
unpleasant condition, negatively reinforcing your
behavior (not your child's).
Burrhus Frederic "B.F." Skinner (March 20, 1904 - August 18, 1990) was
an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social
philosopher. He is the most influential specialist in psychology in the
twentieth century. He is the Edgar Pierce Professor of Philosophy at
Harvard University from 1958 AD until his retirement in 1974 AD.
Skinner devised the operant conditioning room, devised his own
philosophy of science called extreme behavior, and founded his school of
experimental research in psychology. It is the experimental analysis of
behavior. Skinner's analysis of human behavior culminated in his work
on verbal behavior, which has recently undergone tremendous
development in empirical and applied settings.
Skinner discovered the response rate and presented it as an independent
variable based on psychological research. He also invented the ascending
recorder to measure response rate as part of his hugely influential work
on reinforcement schedules. In a June 2002 study, Skinner was ranked as
the most influential psychologist of the 20th century. Skinner was a
prolific author, having published 21 books and 180 articles.
