Chapter 8 pt. 2: Operant
Conditioning and Observational
Learning
B.F.
SKINNER
Type of Learning 2: Operant
Conditioning
 Operant Conditioning: type of
learning in which behavior is
strengthened by reinforcement
or weakened by
punishment….related to
consequences.
 Operant Conditioning builds on
Thorndike’s principle of Law of
Effect: rewarded behavior is
likely to recur .
Operant vs. Classical Conditioning

Respondent Behavior: behavior
that occurs as an automatic
response to some stimulus. Occurs
in classical conditioning.
 Ex:

salivating to meat.
Operant Behavior: behavior that
operates on the environment,
producing consequences.
 Ex: Stealing and getting arrested
may discourage the crime.
King of Operant Conditioning
 B.F.
Skinner: developed
most operant conditioning
techniques.
 Skinner Box (Operant
Chamber): major tool
used in operant
conditioning research.
Chamber containing a bar or
key that an animal can
manipulate to obtain
reinforcement.
Skinner Box
Shaping
 Shaping
refers to an
operant conditioning
technique in which
reinforcers guide
behavior closer and
closer towards a
desired goal.
 Uses successive
approximations.
How would you have
trained this cat to
become potty trained?
Terms
 Reinforcement
- Increases a
behavior
 Punishment- Decreases a
behavior
 Negative- takes away a
stimuli
 Positive- Adds a stimuli
 Need to isolate the behavior first
Reinforcement
All Reinforcement
INCREASE THE
LIKELYHOOD that a
particular behavior will
occur.
 Positive Reinforcement:

encourages a certain
behavior by offering
a positive stimulus
(reward).
 Getting an A
Negative Reinforcement IS NOT
Punishment

Negative Reinforcement
also ENCOURAGES a
particular behavior by
removing an aversive
(negative) stimulus.
 Advil

Punishment: DISCOURAGES
a particular behavior by usually
adding an aversive stimulus.
Punishment
Punishment decreases
a behavior
 Positive Punishmentadds stimuli to
decrease the behavior
 Spanking
 Ticket
 Negative Punishmenttaking away stimuli to
decrease the behavior
 Timeout

Criticisms of Punishment?
Good if it comes with
reasoning

 Increases aggression
 Creates fear
 Creates a feeling of
helplessness
 Does not guide or
model correct behavior
 Main Point- swift and
sure punishment
decreases behavior

Effective Punishment – Do Not Write
Should be swift and brief – don’t
wait too long after the undesired
behavior to punish
2. CONSISTENT – punish EVERY time
undesired behavior occurs; when it
1.
fails to occur the effect can be rewarding
3.
4.
5.
Target the behavior, not the person
Don’t send mixed messages – ex:
spanking a child for hitting his/her
sibling
Negative punishment (taking away
privileges) works better than positive
punishment (adding pain)
ALTERNATIVES TO PUNISHMENT
Do not Write
 Extinction
– a behavior will
usually diminish if the reward
goes away
 Temper
tantrums
 Premack
principle – a more
preferred activity can be used
to reinforce a less preferred
activity
 Prompting & Shaping
Behavior
Examples –
Positive Punishment ,
Positive Ren., Neg. Rein, Neg. Punishment.
Touching a burning hot stove
 When your parents take away a
misbehaving teen’s car keys

The police officer gives you a
speeding ticket
 Your mom gives you allowance
for cleaning your room
 Your teacher says if you
behave in class you won’t have
any homework

Types of Reinforcers
Primary Reinforcer: an innately
reinforcing stimulus, such as one that
satisfies a biological need.
 Ex: Food, sex.
 Conditioned Reinforcer (Secondary
Reinforcer): reinforcer that you have
to learn usually through its
association with a primary reinforcer.
 Ex: Money, Applause, lever in
skinner box.

Types of Reinforcement
 Continuous
Reinforcement:
reinforcing the desired behavior
everytime it occurs.
 Learning
happens very quickly.
 Extinction happens very quickly if
reinforcement is stopped.
 Partial
(Intermittent)
Reinforcement: reinforcing a desired
behavior only part of the time.
 Learning
takes longer (slower acquisition)
 TAKES LONGER for extinction to occur.
Immediate vs. Delayed
Reinforcement

In rats, if you delay reinforcement, virtually no
learning will occur.
 Although humans do recognize
delayed reinforcement, immediate
gratification sometimes move us into
risky behavior.
 EX: smoking, drinking, unprotected sex.
Reinforcement Schedules
CONCEPTS within Schedules
 Fixed
means the
same/constant.
 Variable means changes.
 Ratio refers to responses.
 Interval refers to time.
Reinforcement Schedules
 Fixed
Ratio: A
response is
reinforced only after
a specified number
of responses.
 Ex: Paid $1 for every
20 fruits you pick.
 Work hardest under
this schedule.
Reinforcement Schedules
Variable-Ratio: a
response is reinforced
after an unpredictable
amount of responses.
 Ex: Slot machine payoff.
 Produces high rate of
response since reinforcement
increases with number of
responses.

Reinforcement Schedules
 Fixed-Interval:
reinforces a
response after a
specified time has
passed.
 Ex: Checking oven
when meal timer is
about up.
 High responses near
time elapse.
Reinforcement Schedules
Variable-Interval:
response is reinforced
at unpredictable time
intervals.
 Ex: Pop Quiz
 Responses are steady
throughout….study
frequently cause you
don’t know when quiz is.

Reinforcement Schedule
Patterns
Warm Up
Pick up on the overhead- page 7
Cognition’s Effect on Operant
Conditioning
Cognitive map: a mental representation of
one’s environment that is developed without
the aid of reinforcement.
 Latent learning: learning that occurs (like
cognitive map) that is not apparent until
there is an incentive to justify it.
 Ex: rats that were not reinforced while in a
maze could navigate it just as fast when
there was a reward put at the end.

Cognition’s Effect on Operant
Conditioning

Overjustification Effect:
the effect of promising
a reward for something
someone already likes
to do may hamper
enjoyment of the
activity.
 May cognitively change
behavior from intrinsic
motivation to focus on
reward (extrinsic).
Biological Predispositions
 Just
like classical
conditioning, animals
more easily learn
behaviors that are
natural or
conducive to
survival during
operant
conditioning.
Terms from last time applied to
Operant Conditioning

Acquisition: when behavior is first
strengthened by a reinforcer.

Extinction: behavior decreases because a
behavior is no longer reinforced.
 Temper tantrums

Spontaneous Recovery: reappearance of
behavior after rest period when no longer
reinforced.
Monkey See, Monkey Do:
Observational Learning
Observational
learning describes
process of learning
by observing others.
 Modeling is an
example of
observational
learning by which
we imitate a specific
behavior.

Learning by Observation
 Mirror
Neurons- - provide the
neural basis for observational
learning
 Seeing
or actually doing a task
activate the same part of the brain
 Help children learn to read and
speak
Mimic
lips and tongue
Bandura’s Experiment on Modeling
Experiment that showed
children could easily learn
through observational
learning modeling.
 Frustrated children go to beat
on the clown after seeing
adult model do the same.
 Reinforcements and
punishments may influence
what we imitate


Applications of Observational
learning
Positive Observational Learning
 Prosocial – positive, helpful behaviors
Gandhi and MLK
“Do As I say , not as I Do” – bad
parenting
Applications of Observational
learning

Television and
Observational learning
 3 violent acts per hour of
TV programming during
prime time
 18 per hour on children’s
Saturday morning
programming
 Most violent interactions
do not show the victim’s
pain
Television and Observational
learning
Correlation studies do link
violence–viewing with
violent behavior
 More violent TV= more
at risk for aggression
and crime
 US homicide rates
doubled between 19571974- same pattern in
South Africa
 Power Rangers
