Operant Conditionin

g
ED 101
Operant Conditioning

 is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments

for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made be

tween a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.

 BEHAVIOR > CONSEQUENCES > BEHAVIOR

Operant Conditioning

 is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments

for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made be

tween a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.

 BEHAVIOR > CONSEQUENCES > BEHAVIOR

 Consequences of people's actions influenced their future behavior.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner

 an American psychologist,
behaviorist, author, inventor,
and social philosopher
Burrhus Frederic Skinner

 Skinner used the term operant

to refer to any "active behavior
that operates upon the
environment to generate
consequences." In other words,
Skinner's theory explained how
we acquire the range of
learned behaviors we exhibit
each and every day.
Operant Conditioning

 His theory was heavily influenced by the work of psychologi

st Edward Thorndike, who had proposed what he called the
law of effect.
 Law of Effect - actions that are followed by desirable outco
mes are more likely to be repeated while those followed by
undesirable outcomes are less likely to be repeated.
Operant Conditioning

 Operant conditioning relies on a fairly simple premise

 - actions that are followed by reinforcement will be strength
ened and more likely to occur again in the future.
 - actions that result in punishment or undesirable conseque
nces will be weakened and less likely to occur again in the f
uture.
 Reinforcement
 Punishment
SKINNER BOX

 The chamber was ess

entially a box that coul
d hold a small animal
such as a rat or pigeo
n. The box also contai
ned a bar or key that t
he animal could press
in order to receive a re
ward.
SKINNER BOX

 In order to track respo

nses, Skinner also dev
eloped a device know
n as a cumulative reco
rder. The device recor
ded responses as an u
pward movement of a l
ine so that response r
ates could be read by l
ooking at the slope of t
he line
Reinforcement

 is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it fol

lows.
 Example - If you tell a funny story in class and everybody la
ughs, you will probably be more likely to tell that story again
in the future. If you raise your hand to ask a question and y
our teacher praises your polite behavior, you will be more li
kely to raise your hand the next time you have a question o
r comment.
 BEHAVIOR > REINFORCEMENT > SAME BEHAVIOR
Two Kinds of Reinforcement

 Positive reinforcement - a response or behavior is strength

ened by the addition of something, such as praise or a dire
ct reward. For example, if you do a good job at work and yo
ur manager gives you a bonus.
- ADDITION > INCREASE BEHAVIOR
 Negative reinforcement – a response is strengthened by th
e removal of something considered unpleasant. For exampl
e, although you’re doing good at work your boss noticed yo
u’re getting badly distracted and annoyed by your co-worke
rs, so he designated you away from them.
- REMOVAL > INCREASE BEHAVIOR
Punishment

 is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that cau

ses a decrease in the behavior it follows.
 Example – If you tell the same story again in another class
but nobody laughs this time, you will be less likely to repeat
the story again in the future. If you shout out an answer in c
lass and your teacher scolds you, then you might be less lik
ely to nterrupt the class again.
 BEHAVIOR > PUNISHMENT > DIFFERENT BEHAVIOR
Two kinds of Punishment:

 Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment

by application, presents an unfavorable event or outcome i
n order to weaken the response it follows. Spanking for mis
behavior is an example of punishment by application.
- ADDING > DECREASE BEHAVIOR
 Negative punishment, also known as punishment by remov
al, occurs when a favorable event or outcome is removed a
fter a behavior occurs. Taking away a child’s video game fol
lowing misbehavior is an example of negative punishment.
- REMOVAL > DECREASE BEHAVIOR
Schedules of Reinforcement

 Reinforcement is not necessarily a straightforward p

rocess and there are a number of factors that can in
fluence how quickly and how well new things are lea
rned. Skinner found that when and how often behavi
ors were reinforced played a role in the speed and s
trength of acquisition. In other words, the timing and
frequency of reinforcement influenced how new beh
aviors were learned and how old behaviors were mo
dified.
Schedules of Reinforcement

 Continuous reinforcement involves delivery a reinforcement

every time a response occurs. Learning tends to occur relat
ively quickly, yet the response rate is quite low. Extinction al
so occurs very quickly once reinforcement is halted.
 Partial (or intermittent) reinforcement, the reinforcement is
dependent on time or number of responses. Learned behav
iors are acquired more slowly with partial reinforcement, but
the response is more resistant to extinction.
Types of Partial Reinforcement

 RATIO – Amount of Responses

 INTERVAL - Time
 1. Fixed-ratio schedules responses are reinforced only after
a specific number of responses have occurred.
- 5 pull lever – Food pellet
 2. Fixed-interval schedules reinforcement occurs only after
a certain interval of time has elapsed. Response.
- Every 3 hours – Food pellet
Types of Partial Reinforcement

 4. Variable-ratio schedules involve reinforcing behavior afte

r a varied number of responses.
- Varied no. of pulling the lever – Food pellet
 5. Variable-interval schedules involves delivering reinforce
ment after a variable amount of time has elapsed.
- Varied Interval in time – Food pellet
Variable-ratio high response rate and
slow extinction rates. (VR)
Fixed-ratio fairly steady response rat
e.(FR)
Variable-interval fast response rate a
nd slow extinction rate. (VI)
Fixed-interval response rates remain
fairly steady and start to increase as
the reinforcement time draws near, b
ut slow immediately after the reinforc
ement has been delivered. (FI)
THANKS