Learning and Language
Module 15
Operant Conditioning
Module Overview
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The Nature of Operant Conditioning
The Law of Effect
Reinforcement
Punishment
Reinforcement Procedures
Schedules of Reinforcement
New Understandings of Operant Conditioning
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Module 15: Operant Conditioning
The Nature of Operant
Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
• A type of learning in which the
frequency of a behavior depends on the
consequence that follows that behavior.
• The frequency will increase if the
consequence is reinforcing to the subject.
• The frequency will decrease if the
consequence is not reinforcing to the
subject.
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
The Law of Effect
Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)
• Author of the law of effect, the principle
that forms the basis of operant
conditioning.
• Behaviors with favorable consequences
will occur more frequently.
• Behaviors with unfavorable
consequences will occur less
frequently.
• Created puzzle boxes for research
on cats
Thorndike’s Puzzle Box
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
• Behavioral psychologist who developed
the fundamental principles and
techniques of operant conditioning and
devised ways to apply them in the real
world.
• Designed the Skinner Box, or
operant chamber
Skinner Box
Skinner’s Air Crib
Reinforcement/Punishment
• Reinforcement - Any consequence
that increases the future likelihood of
a behavior.
• Punishment - Any consequence that
decreases the future likelihood of a
behavior.
• The subject determines if a consequence
is reinforcing or punishing
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement
• In operant conditioning, anything that
increases the likelihood of a behavior by
following it with a desirable event or state.
• The subject receives something they want
• Will strengthen the behavior
Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
• In operant conditioning, anything that
increases the likelihood of a behavior by
following it with the removal of an
undesirable event or state.
• Something the subject doesn’t like is
removed
• Will strengthen the behavior
Negative Reinforcement
Positive/Negative Reinforcement
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement:
Immediate Versus
Delayed Reinforcement
Immediate/Delayed Reinforcement
• Immediate reinforcement is more
effective than delayed reinforcement
• Ability to delay gratification predicts
higher achievement
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement: Primary
Versus Secondary
Reinforcement
Primary Reinforcement
• Something that is naturally
reinforcing, such as food
(if you are hungry),
warmth (if you are cold),
and water (if you are
thirsty).
• The item is reinforcing in
and of itself
Secondary Reinforcement
• Something that you have learned to
value,
• like money.
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Punishment
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Punishment:
The Process of
Punishment
Types of Punishment
• An undesirable event
following a behavior
• A desirable state or
event ends following a
behavior
Types of Punishment
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Punishment:
Problems with
Punishment
Negative Effects of Punishment
• Doesn’t prevent the
undesirable behavior when
away from the punisher
• Can lead to fear, anxiety,
and lower self-esteem
• Children who are punished
physically may learn to use
aggression as a means to
solve problems.
Positive Effects of Punishment
• Punishment can effectively
control certain behaviors.
• Especially useful if
teaching a child not to do a
dangerous behavior
• Most still suggest
reinforcing an incompatible
behavior rather than using
punishment
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement Procedures
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement
Procedures:
Shaping
Shaping
• Reinforcement of behaviors that are
increasingly similar to the desired one;
• the operant technique used to establish a
new behaviors.
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement
Procedures:
Discrimination and
Extinction
Discrimination
• The ability to distinguish between two
similar signals or stimuli and
• produce different responses.
• Learning to respond to one stimuli but
not to a similar stimuli
Extinction
• In operant conditioning, the loss of a
behavior when no consequence
follows it.
• The subject no longer responds since
the reinforcement or punishment has
stopped.
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Schedules of
Reinforcement
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Schedules of
Reinforcement:
Continuous
Reinforcement
Continuous reinforcement
• In operant conditioning, a schedule of
reinforcement in which a reward
follows every correct response.
• Most useful way to establish a behavior
• The behavior will extinguish quickly
once the reinforcement stops.
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
Schedules of
Reinforcement:
Partial Reinforcement
Partial Reinforcement
• In operant conditioning, a schedule of
reinforcement in which a reward
follows only some correct responses.
• Includes the following types:
– Fixed-interval and variable interval
– Fixed-ratio and variable-ratio
Fixed-Interval Schedule
• In operant conditioning, a partial
reinforcement schedule that rewards
only the first correct response after
some defined period.
• i.e. weekly quiz in
a class
Variable-Interval Schedule
• In operant conditioning, a
partial reinforcement
schedule that rewards the
first correct response
after an unpredictable
amount of time.
• i.e. “pop” quiz in a class
Fixed-Ratio Schedule
• In operant conditioning, a partial
reinforcement schedule that rewards
a response only after some defined
number of correct responses.
• The faster the subject responds, the
more reinforcements they will receive.
Variable-Ratio Schedule
• In operant conditioning, a partial
reinforcement schedule that rewards an
unpredictable number of correct responses.
• This schedule is very resistant to extinction.
• Sometimes called the “gambler’s schedule”;
similar to a slot machine
Schedules of Reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
New Understanding of
Operant Conditioning
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
New Understanding of
Operant Conditioning:
The Role of Cognition
Latent Learning
• Learning that occurs but is not apparent
until the learner has an incentive to
demonstrate it.
• Tolman and Honzik’s study on maze learning
Tolman and Honzik
Cognitive Map
• The mental representation of a place.
• Experiments showed rats could learn a
maze without any reinforcements
Overjustification Effect
• The effect of promising a reward for
doing what one already likes to do;
• the reward may lessen and replace the
person’s original, natural motivation,
so that the behavior stops if the
reward is eliminated.
Module 15: Operant Conditioning
New Understanding of
Operant Conditioning:
The Role of Biology
Biological Predisposition
• Research suggests
some species are
biologically
predisposed to learn
specific behaviors
The End
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Kent Korek
Germantown High School
Germantown, WI 53022
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