Operant Conditioning

Skinner began his research on operant conditioning in the 1930’s. He started his experimentation on the behavior of animals. His goal was to observe the relationship between observable stimuli and response. He was interested in knowing why animals behave the way that they do. He created the “Skinner Box”, which he used for all of his experiments. The Skinner box was a contraption that would automatically dispense food pellets and electric shocks. The main principles of operant conditioning are reinforcement, punishment, shaping, extinction, discrimination and generalization. Skinner believed that human behaviors were controlled by rewards and punishment and that their behaviors can be explained by principles of operant conditioning. 

MAIN POINTS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

Reinforcement: The process in which a behavior is strengthened

Positive Reinforcement: Making a behavior stronger by following the behavior with a pleasant stimulus.

Negative Reinforcement: Making a behavior stronger by taking away a negative stimulus.

Punishment- The process in which a behavior is weakened and is less likely to happen again.

Negative Punishment- Reducing a behavior by removing a pleasant stimulus when the behavior occurs.

Positive Punishment- Reducing a behavior by presenting an unpleasant stimulus when the behavior occurs.

Shaping- Technique of reinforcement used to teach new behaviors.

Extinction- The elimination of behavior by stopping reinforcement of the behavior.

Generalization- In generalization, a behavior may be performed in more then one situation.

Discrimination- Learning that a behavior will be rewarded in one situation but not another.