B.F. Skinner
• Skinner believed that
the best way to
understand behavior
is to look at the
causes of an action
and its consequences.
He called this
approach operant
conditioning.
Skinner believed
that we do have
such a thing as a
mind, but that it is
simply more
productive to
study observable
behavior rather
than internal
mental events.
is a method of
learning that occurs through rewards and
punishments for behavior. Through operant
conditioning, an association is made between
a behavior and a consequence for that
behavior.
• In other words, Skinner's theory explained
how we acquire the range of learned
behaviors we exhibit each and every day.
Components of Operant
Conditioning
Reinforcement
Punishment
is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows.
Positive
• Favorable events or
outcomes that are
presented after the
behavior. In situations that
reflect positive
reinforcement, a response
or behavior is strengthened
by the addition of
something, such as praise or
a direct reward.
Negative
• Involve the removal of an
unfavorable events or
outcomes after the display
of a behavior. In these
situations, a response is
strengthened by the
removal of something
considered unpleasant.
Schedules of Reinforcement
Continuous
Partial
• the desired behavior is
reinforced every single time it
occurs.
• this schedule is best used
during the initial stages of
learning in order to create a
strong association between
the behavior and the
response.
• the response is reinforced
only part of the time.
Learned behaviors are
acquired more slowly with
partial reinforcement, but
the response is more
resistant to extinction (a
loss of a learned response).
Fixed-Ratio
Fixed-Interval
• Are those where a response
is reinforced only after a
specified number of
responses.
• Example:
-Making your bed everyday
and by the end of the week,
your parents give you an
allowance.
• Are those where the first
response is rewarded only
after a specified amount of
time has elapsed.
• Example:
-Having a math test every
month.
Variable-Ratio
• Occur when a response is
reinforced after an
unpredictable number of
responses.
• Example:
-Boys that take their
chances asking a girl to dance.
Variable-Interval
• Occur when a response is
rewarded after an
unpredictable amount of
time has passed.
• Example:
-Pop quizzes
the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in
the behavior it follows
Positive
• sometimes referred to as
punishment by application,
involves the presentation of
an unfavorable event or
outcome in order to weaken
the response it follows.
Negative
• also known as punishment
by removal, occurs when an
favorable event or outcome
is removed after a behavior
occurs.
Skinner Box
•Is a chamber that contains a bar or
key that an animal can press or
manipulate in order to obtain food
or water as a type of reinforcement.
•Using the device researchers
could carefully study behavior in a
very controlled environment.
•Researchers could utilize the
Skinner box to determine which
schedule of reinforcement led to the
highest rate of response in the
study subjects.
Sources:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/operantconditioning.html
http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology
/a/introopcond.htm
http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology
/a/schedules.htm