Download Operant Conditioning

04.02 Reinforcement: You deserve a cookie
Objectives: After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Compare and contrast the principles of operant and classical conditioning.

Differentiate between reinforcement and punishment.
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning - Conditioning that results from actions and consequences
resulted from the actions.
B.F. Skinner - A psychologist best known for his work with operant conditioning.
Operant Box - A chamber (also called the Skinner box) containing a bar that an animal
can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer with attached devices to
record the animal’s rate of bar pressing.
Classical and Operant Conditioning Terms
Generalization
The tendency for similar stimuli to elicit similar response (after the response has been
conditioned.)
Example: Baby Sophia has a dog and calls him "Spot." Each time she sees a dog, she
will call the dog "Spot," as she cannot make the distinction between her dog and the
other dogs.
Discrimination
The ability to tell the difference between two like events or objects (the reverse of
generalization).
Example: Karen, a two-year-old calls all men "Dada." When Karen does not receive any
positive reinforcement for using this name with all men, she learns to only use this name
for her own daddy.
Extinction
When a response is no longer followed by reinforcement, the person or animal will lose
the association between the two.
Example: When Betsy’s mom is about to leave, she carries her purse. Betsy would
always begin to cry. Betsy’s mom no longer carries a purse when she leaves the house.
When Betsy’s mom goes to leave, Betsy is not aware and does not cry.
Shaping
Successive reinforcement that gradually and successively reinforces a desired outcome.
Example: When teaching a child to play golf, first set up a hula hoop on the floor. Use a
large ball so the child builds confidence to play the sport. This is reinforced by positive
praise or by a favorite treat. Next, the child is reinforced for getting the small ball into the
hoop. The hoop gets smaller and smaller coupled with praise and/or a favorite snack.
This process continues until the child can use a golf club and a golf ball on a golf course.
Chaining
Reinforcement by connecting different parts of the sequence.
Examples: When you learn a dance, you learn each step, one at a time; the gradual and
successive mastery of each step will eventually lead into a dance (the desired outcome).
Seeing-eye dogs are also excellent examples of what chaining and shaping can
produce, as the dogs can find curbs, doors, and holes that the owner may trip into or any
other thing the owner may need to "see" for themselves.
Most learning does not occur in a classical stimulus-response sequence; it is usually the
result of a voluntary action taken by the learner. This type of learning is called operant
conditioning. Operant conditioning is attributed to a psychologist named B.F. Skinner.
Skinner is also known for his operant box experiment.
In classical conditioning, there is an automatic response trained with a neutral
stimulus whereas operant conditioning relies upon the organism (person, animal, etc) who is
involved.
Example of Classical Conditioning
You are walking from your room to the kitchen when your mom sneaks up behind you and shoves
a strawberry (which you normally like) into your mouth while talking into your ear about something that
makes you nauseous. After running into your mom like this several times, you will begin to dislike
strawberries. You have been classically conditioned to not like strawberries as they are paired with an
unpleasant thought.
Example of Operant Conditioning
You usually write your first name only on school papers. Your teacher now requires everyone to
print their first and last name on papers or she will not grade them. After getting no grade on a paper you
learn to write your full name. You have been operantly conditioned to write your full name.
Reinforcement
Have you ever received a reward? A reward can be a trophy, a candy bar, even a sticker on your
homework. The reason the reward was given was to reward your hard work and to elicit (elicit -> to call
forth or draw out.) the same behavior again. If you were to study really hard, earn a perfect score on your
psychology test, but then receive a mean note from your teacher, you may lose the desire to do well on
your psychology tests. However, if your grandmother promises you money for your perfect score, you will
tend to repeat these actions and strive for perfect scores on all of your tests. Can you think of times in
your life that you were rewarded for something? Reinforcement is the most important part of operant
conditioning.
If every time Polly the bird speaks his owner gives him a cracker, the bird is going to
want to speak again to earn another cracker. If the voluntary response (talking) is followed by
reinforcement (cracker), the same voluntary response is likely to occur again. So, since Polly
does want a cracker, she will talk again.
One type of reinforcement is called primary reinforcement (Primary Reinforcement 
Something necessary for psychological/physical survival that is used as a reward. Examples
include love, food, water, and shelter.) . The most important would be food, water, and shelter—
the basics we all need for survival. The possibility of earning one of these when you perform an
action is the greatest incentive (Incentive  Something that motivates.) to learn.
While we cannot live without water, food, and shelter, we do have a desire for other
items in our world. One of the biggest motivators in the world is money. Many people would do
some pretty insane things for money. Since you cannot eat or drink money, it is known as a
secondary reinforcement (Secondary Reinforcement Anything that comes to represent a
primary reinforcer. One example is money. Since money can buy food, it represents a primary
reinforcer. All secondary reinforcers are used to represent primary ones. For example, you work for a
paycheck (money) to purchase the groceries you need to survive.
Positive and Negative Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement  Strengthening the possibility to repeat a response by following it
with something that is pleasant.
Negative Reinforcement  Strengthening a response by following it with taking away or
avoiding something unpleasant.
Punishment  The process of weakening a response by imposing unpleasant consequences.
We have spoken about reinforcement, but what exactly is reinforcement? Reinforcement can be
positive or negative and as you have read, it is the most important ingredient in operant
conditioning.
Positive Reinforcement: Studying for a test and earning an "A" will most likely send the
message that studying is the best way to earn an "A" on a test.
Negative Reinforcement: John, a high school junior, has the chore of taking out the recycling.
Each and every night when his mom nags on and on about the recycling, John finally
gets the chore completed. His mom’s nagging is the negative reinforcer as it strengthens
a response (taking out the recycling).
Remember, the reinforcer strengthens the connection between the behavior and the
reward. Try not to think of negative reinforcement as punishment. Many students confuse
negative reinforcement with punishment.
The key factor with punishment is that the purpose is to weaken the response, not to reinforce it.
Here are some additional examples of negative reinforcement and punishment:
Elijah has received several parking tickets. Now, he is extra careful to read the signs
before parking and depositing enough money into his meter to avoid the tickets. The parking
tickets (reinforcer) strengthens the response of reading signs and depositing money into the
meter. (Negative reinforcement)
Billy, a high school senior, is planning his senior trip. His parents have been clear that he
will not be able to go on the trip if he earns any detentions for not making it to school on time.
When Billy’s mom finds out Billy got a detention, Billy is no longer allowed on the senior trip.
Something that Billy desired was taken away. (This is actually punishment, not negative
reinforcement.)
It can also be taken a step further and something unwanted can be added in. Jasmine, a
high school sophomore, takes the bus to school. She was warned by the bus driver not to talk on
her cell phone while she is on the bus. After the second time the bus driver told her to put her
phone away, the driver took her phone away (punishment) and required her to write a two page
essay on why it is not safe to talk on the phone while on a school bus (adding in something
unwanted.) (Punishment)
The key here is: punishment can be positive punishment (giving something unwanted to
decrease a behavior) or negative punishment (taking something wanted or desired away to
decrease a behavior).
Negative reinforcement is increasing a behavior, usually by taking away
something unpleasant or unwanted such as taking aspirin each time to relieve a headache
or putting on a coat each time it’s cold outside.
Check out the chart below to help you understand better the difference between reinforcement
and punishment, both negative and positive.
Positive ( add something…)
Reinforcement (increase a
behavior)
Punishment (decrease a
behavior)
+ R = Add something GOOD to
increase a behavior
+ P = Add something BAD to
decrease a behavior
Negative (take away
something…)
- R = Take away something BAD
to increase a behavior
- P = Take away something
GOOD to increase a behavior
Assessment 04.02 Conditioning and Reinforcement
1.
2.
Complete the reading for this lesson.
Access and take the "04.02 Conditioning and Reinforcement" quiz.
Quiz Preparation and Study:
1.
___________________ is the founder of classical conditioning.
2. ___________________ is the founder of the removal of phobias.
3. ___________________ believed that people as well as rats could be emotionally conditioned.
4. ___________________ is the founder of Operant Conditioning.
5.
Toddlers who are taught to fear speeding cars may also begin to fear speeding trucks and
motorcycles. This best illustrates:
6. Two-year-old Carmen is delighted to see her dad when he returns from work, but not by the sight
of her dad’s friends when they come in. This best illustrates:
7.
Paula developed an intense fear of flying five years ago when she was in a plane crash. Five years
later, Paula can fly again without distress. This best illustrates:
8. After learning to fear a white rat, Little Albert responded with fear to the sight of a rabbit. This
best illustrates:
9. Stimuli that naturally triggers a response is called:
10. The previously neutral stimulus that now elicits a response is called:
11. A response to a stimulus that is brought about by learning is called:
12. Strengthening the possibility of repeated behavior as a result of rewards is called:
13. Weakening a response by imposing unpleasant consequences is called:
14. (True/False) James walks into his first period algebra class. His adrenaline starts pumping
because he has to take a test because he failed the last algebra test. This is an example of
Classical Conditioning.
15. (True/False) When Sam failed the history test, he used his old pen. Today, he came prepared for
the test with a brand new pencil. This is an example of Classical Conditioning.
16. (True/False) Sara does not ask Mr. Smith any questions during class because the last time Sara
asked a question he ridiculed her. This is an example of Operant Conditioning.
17. (True/False) Every time Paul sees someone who represents Ms. Town, he begins to sweat
uncontrollably. This is an example of Operant Conditioning.
18. (True/False) Simon’s teacher gave him a pencil at the end of week because he did so well on the
spelling test. As a result, his grades continue to get better each week. This is an example of
Operant Conditioning.
19. (True/False) While walking through the mall, a blonde girl smiled at Rick and said hello. Rick’s
blood pressure immediately rose. The next time he was in the mall, he spoke with another blond
and his blood pressure rose again. This is an example of Classical Conditioning.