Operant conditioning

• Operant conditioning - Learning that occurs when a behaviour is followed by an event, and the nature of this event increases or decreases the probability of the behaviour being repeated.
• Reinforcement - Takes place when a behaviour is followed by an event and this increases the probability of that behaviour being repeated.
• Positive reinforcement - Occurs when something nice is introduced to the individual following a behaviour, increasing the probability of that behaviour being repeated.
• Negative reinforcement - Occurs when something unpleasant is removed from the individual following a behaviour, increasing the probability of that behaviour being repeated.
• Punishment - Takes place when an event follows a behaviour and this decreases the probability that the behaviour will be repeated.
• Primary reinforcement -Takes place when the thing that acts as a reinforcer has biological significance, such as food.
• Secondary reinforcement - Takes place when the thing that acts as a reinforcer has become associated with something of biological significance, such as money which is associated with being able to buy food.
• Positive punishment - Occurs when something unpleasant is introduced to the individual following a behaviour, decreasing the probability of that behaviour being repeated.
• Negative punishment - Occurs when something nice is removed from an individual following a behaviour, decreasing the probability of that behaviour being repeated.
• Operant conditioning forms an

  association between a behaviour and a

  consequence.
• The learning Operant Conditioning comes as a result of the consequences whereas in Classical conditioning the learning comes through association before the response.
• One difference between operant and classical conditioning

  is when the learning occurs

  E.g. Operant, The learning Operant Conditioning comes as

  a result of the consequences whereas

  e.g. In Classical conditioning the learning comes through

  association before the response
• Operant conditioning was introduced by Thorndike and later developed by Skinner (1957) and is a type of learning in which future behaviour is determined by the consequences of past behaviour.

  The probability of behaviour being repeated can be made more likely using reinforcement. Reinforcement involves presenting a pleasant consequence, (such as giving a treat or removal of something unpleasant). Punishment has the effect of decreasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences, (such as a adding an unpleasant consequence or taking away something pleasant).
• A strength of operant conditioning is that it is supported by research. E.g, In B F Skinner’s (1948) study on rats Skinner was able to train the animals to learn target behaviours such as pushing a lever which was reinforced with a food pellet only when a green light came on and using punishment for pushing the lever when a red light came on, using a mild electric shock. The rats consistently learned only to push the lever when the green light came on.
• However, there is refuting research by Watson and Rayner who conditioned Little Albert to be scared of a white rat, which initially he was unafraid of. They paired the presentation of the white rat with a very loud noise which Albert was naturally afraid of. Watson and Rayner concluded learning happens by pairing stimuli repeatedly to produce an learned (Conditioned) response. Watson and Rayner’s findings of how the learning happened in Albert cannot be explained by the theory of OC.