Behaviourism - operant conditioning

• What is operant conditioning?


  Operant conditioning is a theory in which learning is an active process, where behaviour is influenced by its consequences. Behaviour that is reinforced (with positive reinforcement meaning a reward is given when a certain behaviour is performed and negative reinforcement meaning the avoidance of an unpleasant consequence) is more likely to reoccur and behaviour which is punished (a negative consequence is given) is less likely to reoccur.
• How did Skinner research operant conditioning?


  Skinner researched operant conditioning by conducting experiments on rats which he placed in a 'Skinner Box'.
• Who composed and tested ways to deliver schedules of reinforcement, and what do these schedules have different effects on?


  Behaviourists discovered that different schedules of reinforcement have different effects on the rate of learning and the rate of extinction. Skinner and Ferster composed and tested different ways to deliver these schedules.
• What is continuous reinforcement?


  When a behaviour is reinforced every time it occurs. Response rate slow, extinction rate fast.
• What is fixed ratio reinforcement?


  When a behaviour is reinforced only after it is repeated a specified number of times. Response rate fast, extinction rate medium.
• What is fixed interval reinforcement?


  When a behaviour is reinforced after a fixed time interval, provided at least one correct response has been made. Response rate medium, extinction rate medium.
• What is variable ratio reinforcement?


  When a behaviour is reinforced after an unpredictable amount of times. Response rate fast, extinction rate slow.
• What is a negative criticism of operant conditioning? (incomplete explanation)


  A negative criticism of operant conditioning is that it doesn't take into account cognitive and inherited aspects of behaviour, meaning it is an incomplete explanation of human and animal behaviour. There is evidence for this - for example, Kohler found that primates often solve problems in a flash of insight rather than trial and error, and Banduras social learning theory states that humans learn vicariously from personal experiences.
• What is a negative criticism of operant conditioning? (animal research)


  Many of the experiments that behaviourists have conducted around operant conditioning were conducted on animals, which raises the issue of extrapolation. Barnett argues that the use of animal research in explaining human behaviour is outdated and oversimplified as humans are cognitively, biologically, and socially different to other animals. Therefore, operant conditioning research has contributed little to our understanding of human behaviour.
• What is a positive of operant conditioning? (practical applications)


  A positive of operant conditioning is that it has practical applications - its principles have been applied in the real world to promote health and habit change in humans. In a study by Dallery, smokers were given vouchers exchangeable for goods and services as a reward for reducing smoking - many achieved long term abstinence. However, as continuous reinforcement has a fast extinction rate, this behaviour may have died out quickly once the vouchers were removed.
• What is a positive of operant conditioning? (scientific)


  A strength of Skinners' research is his reliance on the scientific method. His use of laboratory experiments was highly controlled, objective, systematic and replicable. This allowed him to establish a causal relationship. This means that his research lends strength to his theory.​
• What is a negative criticism of operant conditioning? (other approaches to hard determinism)


  A criticism is that Skinner famously described free will as 'an illusion' and argued that all behaviour is a result of conditioning. Our experience of 'choice' is merely the sum total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives. This approach is hard determinism and it states humans have no free will. Other approaches such as the humanistic approach suggest that this is not the case. ​