Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning is a form of associative learning in which organisms associate their actions with outcomes. Unlike classical conditioning that creates associations between stimuli, operant conditioning involves actions acting on the environment to produce reinforcing or punishing stimuli. In this type of learning, the actions of those who reinforcement followed increases and that followed by punishment decreases. Thus, operant behavior refers to actions that are strongly influenced by consequences.
By the End of this section, you should know about:
- Skinner’s Contribution to Operant Conditioning
- Shaping Behavior
- Everyday Reinforcement and Shaping
- Types of Reinforcers
- Primary and Conditioned Reinforcers
- Immediate vs. Delayed Reinforcers
- Reinforcement Schedules
- Key Concepts of Operant Conditioning
- Contrasting classical and operant conditioning
Let’s take a closer look at them.
Skinner’s Contribution to Operant Conditioning
B.F. Skinner, a leading figure in modern behavioral psychology, greatly expanded the concepts of operant conditioning. Inspired by Edward Thorndyke’s law of effect—which states that rewarded actions are likely to be repeated. Skinner designed an experimental design for studying behavioral control and created a “Skinner box”. A room that levers and key-like mechanisms of reinforcement were analyzed by Skinner through this process, including any events that reinforced or raised the possibility of… actions that ate the bae.
Operant conditioning – Shaping Behavior
The process consists of strengthening a series of approximations of the target behavior, gradually directing the behavior of the organism towards the desired outcome. For example, in order to teach rats to squeeze a tree, Skinner rewarded the rats for walking towards the tree, then just approaching, and finally repelling.
Everyday Reinforcement and Shaping
Skinner noted that unintended energy often occurs in everyday life. For example, if a child collectively demands attention, the parent may eventually respond to end the behavior, reinforcing the child’s tantrums and the parent’s avoidance. Similarly teachers could reinforce desirable behaviors in students by rewarding good performance. Skinner emphasized that understanding how reinforcement works could improve such everyday interactions, suggesting that behaviors such as whispering or anger. Those are generally reinforced if they are unintentional, leading to undesirable behavior.
Operant conditioning – Types of Reinforcers
There are two main types of reinforcement: positive and negative. Positive reinforcement reinforces behavior by providing a desirable stimulus following a response, such as praising the child for “please” while negative reinforcement reinforces behavior by aversive stimuli such as aspirin taken to prevent headache elimination or reduction. Both types of commands work to make it possible to repeat a behavior, but they differ in the nature of the stimulus involved.
Primary and Conditioned Reinforcers
Reinforcers can also be classified as primitive or conditioned. Basic reinforcers, such as food or pain relief, are easily satisfied and do not require learning. Conditional reinforcers, on the other hand, derive their reinforcing properties from association with primary reinforcers. Understanding how these reinforcers work helps explain the complexity of human and animal behavior.
Immediate vs. Delayed Reinforcers
Timing also plays an important role in learning. Immediate reinforcement leads to faster learning, whereas delayed reinforcement requires more self-regulation. For example, a rat learns to press a lever to search for food more efficiently when a reward is given immediately. But people can respond to shared energy, such as working hard for a paycheck now or studying for future grades.
Operant conditioning – Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner identified systems of reinforcement that affect how behavior is learned and maintained. Continuous reinforcement, where each response is reinforced, leads to faster learning but also fades faster when the reinforcement stops. In contrast, partial or intermittent reinforcement, where responses are only intermittently reinforced, requires slower learning but greater extinction resistance. Skinner examined several types of partial reinforcement schemes, including fixed shapes, adaptive shapes, fixed intervals, and variable structures.
Fixed-ratio schedules reinforce behavior after a set number of responses, leading to high rates of responding.
Variable-ratio schedules provide reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses, producing steady and high rates of behavior, similar to gambling on a slot machine.
Fixed-interval schedules reinforce the first response after a fixed amount of time, resulting in a choppy, stop-start pattern of responding.
Variable-interval schedules reinforce the first response after varying intervals, producing slow, steady responding.
Each of these schedules has distinct effects on behavior, with ratio schedules tending to produce higher response rates than interval schedules, and variable schedules leading to more consistent behavior than fixed ones.
Key Concepts of Operant Conditioning:
Reinforcement: This increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. It can be positive (adding a pleasant stimulus, like giving a treat) or negative (removing an unpleasant stimulus, like stopping an annoying noise).
Punishment: This decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. It can be positive (adding an unpleasant stimulus, like a shock) or negative (removing a pleasant stimulus, like taking away a toy).
Shaping: This involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior.
Schedules of Reinforcement: Behavior is affected by how reinforcement is applied. Continuous reinforcement (reinforcing every time a behavior occurs) leads to quick learning but also quick extinction. Partial reinforcement (reinforcing only some responses) results in slower learning but greater resistance to extinction.
Operant conditioning – Skinner’s contributions
B.F. Skinner showed how animals can learn complex behaviors through operant conditioning with Skinner’s Skinner Box, which extended Edward Thorndike’s law of influence to repeat behaviors followed by rewards and inactivated by punishments. He used food-like reinforcers to shape animal behavior and demonstrated that different species exhibit similar responses to reinforcement.
Operant conditioning – Penalties and consequences
Punishment differs from indirect coercion in that its purpose is to reduce behavior, whereas indirect coercion reinforces behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus. Although punishment can be effective at undesirable behavior if it is prevented, but it has several drawbacks:
Temporary suppression: Punished behavior is often suppressed but not forgotten, meaning it can resurface later.
Discrimination: Punishment may lead individuals to learn when and where certain behaviors are acceptable, without actually changing their behavior.
Fear: Punishment can create fear, not just of the undesirable behavior but also of the person or environment delivering the punishment.
Modeling aggression: Punishment can teach individuals to cope with problems through aggression, increasing the likelihood of aggressive behavior in the future.
Operant conditioning – Parenting and Punishment
From a parental perspective, although punishment (especially corporal punishment) can prevent immediate unwanted behavior, it can have long-term negative consequences. Such as increased aggression, panic attacks and psychologists argue that reinforcement and positive thinking are more effective in encouraging desirable behaviors in children.
Operant conditioning – Reinforcement vs. Punishment
Coercion focuses on desirable behaviors that are beneficial and encouraged.
Punishment focuses on restraining undesirable behavior through the use of negative consequences.
In summary, operant conditioning emphasizes the importance of reinforcing positive behavior while encouraging undesirable behavior through punishment, prioritizing reinforcement as the most constructive and effective strategy for long-term behavior change.
Operant conditioning – Skinner’s legacy and controversy
B.F. Skinner’s theories generated considerable controversy, mainly due to his belief that behavior was shaped by external influences rather than internal thoughts or emotions He advocated the use of operant conditioning principles to control and improve human behavior, arguing that positive energy reinforcement can be a more humane alternative to punishment.
Applications of operant conditioning
Skinner’s operant conditioning theories have found utility in a variety of contexts, including education, sports, work, and the home environment.
At school
Skinner envisioned a future in which educational tools like machine learning and textbooks could provide personalized learning, adjust to each student’s pace and provide immediate feedback. His idea was that machines could teach mathematics, for example, by reinforcing correct answers and advancing lessons according to each student’s progress.
In Sports
In sports, operant conditioning principles can be applied to improve athletic performance by reinforcing small successes and gradually increasing the difficulty. For example, novice golfers might start with short putts and gradually work up to longer ones as they improve. Similarly, beginner baseball players might start with large balls and short distances before progressing to standard equipment and distances. This method has been shown to lead to faster skill improvement compared to traditional training methods.
At Work
In the workplace, Skinner’s principles of reinforcement have been used to improve productivity. Many organizations incentivize employees with rewards or even offer ownership shares in the company. Reinforcers are most effective when they are linked to specific, achievable behaviors, and are delivered immediately. For example, when an employee makes a significant achievement, offering an immediate reward, like a bonus or recognition, can reinforce the desired behavior.
At Home
At home, parents can apply operant conditioning by reinforcing positive behaviors and using strategies like time-outs for negative behaviors. For example, when children behave well, parents should acknowledge and reinforce that behavior, which will increase its frequency. In contrast, when children misbehave, parents should not yell or hit but explain the misbehavior and give a time-out. This method disrupts cycles of negative reinforcement and promotes healthier parent-child relationships.
Personal Self-Improvement
Skinner’s principles can also be applied to personal growth and self-improvement. For example, to improve study habits or quit smoking, individuals can set realistic, measurable goals, monitor their progress, and use positive reinforcement when they achieve their desired behaviors. Gradually reducing the rewards as the behavior becomes habitual will help solidify the new behavior.
Contrasting classical and operant conditioning
Although both classical and operant conditioning are associative studies, they differ in several important ways:
Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian Conditioning): In classical conditioning, individuals learn to associate uncontrollable stimuli, resulting in spontaneous involuntary responses similar to how Pavlov’s dogs learned to clock sound will stick to food, resulting in saliva.
Operant conditioning: In operant conditioning, individuals learn to associate voluntary actions with outcomes.