Thinking About Psychology
The Science of Mind and Behavior 3e
Charles T. Blair-Broeker & Randal M. Ernst
PowerPoint Presentation Slides
by Kent Korek
Germantown High School
Worth Publishers, © 2012
Development and Learning Domain
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
Click on the any of the above hyperlinks to go to that section in the presentation.
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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• Scientific Inquiry Domain
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• Hyperlink Slides - Immediately after the unit title slide, a page (usually
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• Please feel free to contact me at korek@germantown.k12.wi.us with any
questions, concerns, suggestions, etc. regarding these presentations.
Kent Korek
Germantown High School
Germantown, WI 53022
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