operant conditioning

• What is operant conditioning?

  -the likelihood of future behaviour is determined by the consequences of past behaviour

  -learning from consequences, an explanation for voluntary behaviour
• 3 types of reinforcement

  positive reinforcement

  negative reinforcement

  punishment
• positive reinforcement


  a pleasant consequence encourages behaviour to be repeated
• negative reinforcement


  changing/stopping something in order to prevent a negative consequence
• punishment


  an unpleasant consequence decreases the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated
• which study supports operant conditioning

  skinners rat box
• skinners rat box outline

  -put a hungry rat into a box and observed its behaviour
• skinners rat box - positive reinforcement example


  rat presses lever = food released

  -it learned the connection and increased the amount of presses
• skinners rat box - negative reinforcement example


  rat presses lever = stops an unpleasant environmental stimuli (loud noise) = increased lever presses
• skinners rat box - punishment example


  rat presses lever = electric shock

  -learned the connection and presses decreased
• what is shaping?


  a method of learning where a complex behaviour is broken down into a series of complex behaviours to achieve a desired complex behaviour

  -using all operant conditioning techniques together to shape behaviour
• skinners rat box AO3 - use of experiments to test

  -objectivity = control over variables + measurements = can infer cause and effect

  -replicable = can do with other animals e.g. pigeons
• skinners rat box AO3 - irl application

  -valuable contribution to society = explanations for the development of behaviours > development of treatments

  -simplicity = easily applied to real life

  -parents/teachers use positive reinforcement (stickers etc)
• skinners rat box AO3 - generalisability + ethics


  -cant generalise animals behaviour to humans due to complex thought processes and emotions

  ethical issues:

  • exposed to stressful/harmful conditions, arguably unnecessary procedures
  • adverse conditions could have an effect on the reactions lowering validity
• skinners rat box AO3 - ignores biological factors


  hormones = melatonin, adrenaline affect behaviour

  genes = MAOA gene - aggression