Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

Edward Thorndike formulated the law of effect theory. His theory was the starting point for B.F. Skinner and the formulation of operant conditioning (Wood, Wood,  & Boyd, 2011). B. F. Skinner began using the term operant conditioning in 1937. The purpose of Skinner’s work was reflex physiology (Starring & Cerutti, 2003). Skinner’s views were different than the views of behaviorism that came before him. The primary element in Skinner’s work was operant behavior, or behavior that was controlled by its consequences. Many people would call this behavior a habit. Skinner’s theories have become an important component in psychology and child-rearing. The uses of Skinner’s operant behavior theories are evident in various aspects of psychology including behavior modification therapy.  

Operant Conditioning Theory

From his research, Skinner concluded that living organisms were conditioned by their environment (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009). Skinner developed the operant conditioning theory where behavior and the resulting consequences are the emphasis. In operant conditioning, behavior changes because of the resulting consequences of the said behavior. This new theory was important to learning as one could learn a broader range of responses. According to Skinner, “we are what we have been reinforced for being” (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 76). In other words, he believed reinforcements were needed to condition behavior. Operant conditioning does such. Reinforcement can be a reward or punishment depending on the behavior desired.

Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Consequences, often called reinforcements, are a crucial component of operant conditioning. Reinforcement can be either positive or negative. A positive reinforcement causes an increase in a behavior as a result of the consequence. Positive reinforcements include praise and a reward. A negative reinforcement causes an increase in behavior in order to remove an unwanted stimulus. An example of this is using anti-itch cream to relieve itching. Both positive and negative reinforcement increase a behavior.

Effective Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is viewed as the most effective reinforcement. Positive reinforcement provides a person with a positive outlook on behavior and consequences. Skinner argued against the use of punishment as it only lasts as long as it is enforced. Punishment also did not show the model behavior desired. Reinforcement for acceptable behavior is more effective because of these reasons. Punishment was viewed as a quick solution whereas reinforcement was viewed as learning the behavior.

Operant Conditioning Scenario

As a parent, I have the opportunity to use operant conditioning on behavior. As a home schooling parent, I have the opportunity to expand operant conditioning even further. When schooling your own children, particularly at home, there is conflict. My children would decide to play rather than do their lessons. This became frustrating as they needed to learn these lessons in order to pass the state tests. I then decided to implement some sort of programs to reinforce the good behavior associated with doing assignments. For each child I set up a reward system. Each time a child completed the daily work for a class, he or she received a star. At the end of the week, he or she could exchange the stars for rewards such as video game time, computer time, etc. This system is an example of positive reinforcement. The behavior of completing work increased in order to gain the reward.

Reinforcement Schedule for Scenario

In the above scenario, for good behavior (completing assignments) the behavior was positively reinforced by the rewarding of a star. This is an example of continuous reinforcement schedule since a star was rewarded for each completed assignment. This schedule was effective for the children once they understood that the good behavior would be rewarded and the bad behavior would not be. More emphasis was placed on the rewarding of the star rather than on not receiving the star. This keeps them focused on the positive reinforcement (reward) rather than the negative punishment (no reward).

Conclusion

Operant conditioning is used in daily lives. Many of a person’s behaviors are influenced by the consequences resulting from the behavior. An increase of behavior to obtain a reward or avoid a punishment happens in different aspects of life at various ages. Parents use Skinner’s operant conditioning theory in child-rearing to obtain the behaviors accepted for children. Operant conditioning can be used as a behavior modification tool; conditioning behavior to rid a person of an addiction. Skinner’s creation of the operant conditioning theory was valuable in the science of psychology.

References

Olson, M. H., & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to theories of learning (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Starring, J. E., & Cerutti, D. T. (2003). Operant Conditioning. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 115-144. doi:10.1146/annurev.psycho.54.101601.145124

Wood, S. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2011). The world of psychology (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

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