Operant conditioning

• Operant conditioning 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.
• • Positive reinforcement involves presenting a pleasant consequence, (such as a reward)
• • Negative reinforcement involves taking an unpleasant consequence away when the desired behavior is being displayed.  
• • Punishment has the effect of decreasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences
• • Positive punishment using consequences that are unpleasant and negative punishment involves removing something pleasant.
• A strength of operant conditioning is that it is supported by research. Skinner believed that the best way to look at the causes of an action and its concerquences. He called this approach operant  conditioning. 

  The Skinner box was essentially a box that would dispense food and electric shocks to animals, such as rats or pigeons, to observe how learning works. This is a strength because it shows that behaviour is acquired through consequence. 
• However, a weakness of operant conditioning has refuting research. Pavlov studied the   salvation of dogs to associate a neutral stimulus with food and remeasuring their salvation. His results showed that classical conditioning is a type of learning that is caused by repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditional stimulus. This is a weakness because it shows that behaviour is acquired through classical conditioning. 
• A behaviour is said to be continuously reinforced when the reinforcer always follows a behaviour. Though this may lead to a rapid change in behaviour the effects of continuous reinforcement tend not to last. The alternative to continuous reinforcement is partial reinforcement, when reinforcement is irregular. In a reinforcement schedule we can vary either the ratio of the behaviour or the interval between reinforcements. In either case this can fixed (consistent) or variable (unpredictable).  
• Ratio reinforcement schedules reward after a certain number of behaviours and this is either fixed or variable.  Interval reinforcement schedules reward after a time period has elapsed and only one behaviour is required per interval.  The time interval can be either fixed, e.g. once a week, or variable (unpredictable time).
• A strength of the theory of reinforcement schedules to modify behaviour more effectively than continuous reinforcement is that it is supported by research. A study by Latham and Dossett showed that beaver trappers responded better to a variable ratio pay rather than a fixed ratio pay. This shows that using variable ratio is more effective in changing behaviour than fixed ratio
• A weakness of Operant Conditioning schedules of reinforcement is that there is refuting research. A study which could show this is Little Albert. He was conditioned through classical conditioning through association of negative sounds and certain objects which changed his behaviour through causing him to develop a phobia. This shows that operant conditioning is not the only way to alter behaviour.