Operant conditioning

Cards (10)

What is operant conditioning?
Learning through consequences
State the three types of consequences
Positive and negative reinforcement and punishment
Which two consequences increase the likelihood of behaviour?
Positive and negative reinforcement
Which consequence decreases the likelihood of behaviour?
Punishment
Name the psychologist who investigated operant conditioning
B.F. Skinner (1938) - Skinner’s rats
What was the punishment in Skinner's box?
Receiving an electric shock if the rat pressed the lever
What was the positive reinforcement in Skinner's box?
Receiving a food pellet when the rat pressed the lever
What was the negative reinforcement in Skinner's box?
Pressing the lever to stop the electric shock
What did Skinner find?
x Positive reinforcement - Rat learnt to press lever if repeatedly given food pellet when they press it x Negative reinforcement - rat learns to press lever if the electric shock repeatedly stops when they press it x Punishment - the rat learns to stop pressing the lever if repeatedly given an electric shock when they press it
State one real-life example of operant conditioning
Gambling, video game addiction, token economy systems