Operant conditioning

• Classical conditioning is the process of learning by association
• Operant conditioning is the process of learning by consequences
• Skinner is the psychologist associated with operant conditioning
• Reinforcement: any activity which has the effect of increasing the

  likelihood of the behaviour being repeated
• Positive reinforcement: any activity which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using positive consequences
• Negative reinforcement: any activity which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using a lack of negative punishment
• Punishment: any behaviour which has the effect of decreasing the likelihood

  of the behaviour being repeated by using unpleasant consequences
• There are two different schedules of reinforcement:

  • Fixed (continuous) reinforcement: the desired behaviour is reinforced every time it occurs
  • Variable (partial) reinforcement: the response is reinforced only part of the time it occurs
• Skinner created the Skinner box to examine operant conditioning in rats and pigeons. The animal would move around the cage, and when it pressed the lever (by accident), it would be rewarded with a food pellet. The animal would learn, through positive reinforcement, that each time it pressed the lever, it would be rewarded with food. It, therefore, learnt a new voluntary behaviour which is repeated to receive the reward again.