operant conditioning

• operant conditioning is learning by consequences
• positive reinforcement involves giving something pleasant to increase the likelihood of repeating the behaviour
• negative reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of repeating the behaviour
• positive punishment involves giving a negative consequence to stop a behaviour from happening again
• negative punishment involves removing something pleasant
• Thorndike - law of effect


  Did an experiment where he studied how cats learned by using a box with a sting that would allow the cat to escape. He found that the cats would get quicker at earning how to escape over time.
• The idea that learning is just through consequences is very reductionist as it reduces all behaviour down to one factor
• operant conditioning helps us to understand the relationship between behaviour and consequences
• according to the theory of operant conditioning if we display a behaviour and are then punished we are then less likely to display that behaviour in the future
• law of effect - a response followed by a pleasant consequence tends to be repeated, while one followed by an unpleasant consequence tends not to be repeated
• skinners box - a box that could dispense food and electric shocks to a rat
• ABC model of operant conditioning

  Antecedent - The skinner box would present a stimulus (light/noise) that triggers behaviour.

  Behaviour -A response would be made by the animal that can be observed/measured as an outcome of the antecedent.

  Consequence - The reward/punishment that follows the behaviour (shock/food).
• ABC model of operant conditioning - a way of explaining how operant conditioning works showing how the consequences of a behaviour influence the replication of behaviour
• punishment weakens a behaviour by presenting something unpleasant/painful when the behaviour is shown
• positive and negative reinforcement produce repeated behaviour
• in operant conditioning reinforcers increase the likelihood of a behaviour being learned
• primary reinforcers occur naturally and satisfy basic human needs such as food water and shelter
• secondary reinforcers only strengthen the behaviour if they are associated with a primary reinforcer. for example money can be used to buy food.
• Token economies are based on the principles of operant conditioning
• token economies have the aim of trying to encourage desirable behaviour through a system of reward and reduce undesirable behaviour through withdrawal of reward, punishment
• the tokens used in a token economy are are secondary reinforcers as they are exchangeable for primary reinforcers
• when and how often behaviour is reinforced has a big impact of the strength and likelihood of a behavioural response
• a schedule of reinforcement is a rule that dictates the situations in which a behaviour will be reinforced
• continuous reinforcement


  the desired behaviour is reinforced every time it occurs
• partial reinforcement 


  the desired behaviour is only reinforced some of the time
• fixed interval 


  rewarding the first correct response only after a pre-set amount of time has passed eg. skinner box gives the rat food pellets 30s after lever is pressed. learning takes longer but but the response rate is higher toward the end of learning
• variable interval


  the rewarding of the first correct response after a set amount of time has passed; after which a new time period is set
• fixed ratio

  where a response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses eg. the food pellet is given after the lever is pressed 8 times
• variable ratio


  a response may be reinforced after a set number of correct responses is given. After this has been achieved, the number of correct responses in order for reinforcement to be given changes. skinner argued that this form of schedule is good for maintaining behaviour
• successive approximations


  rewarding behaviour for acting in a way that gets closer and closer to the desired behaviour
• role model


  significant individuals in a persons life, you are more likely to imitate a role models such as parents, teachers or idols
• token economies are a successful example of operant conditioning being used in society
• token economies have been used in psychiatry, clinical psychology and education using patterns of rewards to shape behaviour
• ayllon and milan (1979)

  found that token economies are successful for promoting certain behaviours for example keeping rules and control over aggression
• research suggests that the benefits of token economies are relatively short lived