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Operant
Conditioning
• What is Operant Conditioning?
• Who are the leading scholars?
• What is a reinforcement v.
punishment?
• What are the schedules of
reinforcement?
How did you learn to learn?
Have you ever been grounded before? How long?
Did it work?
How do you think schools get you to learn?
Why do people break laws?
Have you ever cheated before? Why?
Knowing that there is no way to win at a casino why
do you think people still gamble?
Operant Conditioning
Learning that occurs when the
participant must make a response to
produce a change in the environment.
Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)
 Introduced
the “Law of Effect”
Behaviors with favorable consequences will
occur more frequently.
 Behaviors with unfavorable consequences
will occur less frequently.
 Developed into Operant Conditioning

• Created puzzle boxes for research on cats
Thorndike’s Puzzle Box:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDujDOLre-8
Operant Conditioning



A type of learning in which the frequency of a
behavior depends on the consequence that
follows that behavior
The frequency will
if the consequence is
reinforcing to the subject.
The frequency will
if the consequence is
not reinforcing to the subject.
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
Developed the fundamental principles and
techniques of operant conditioning.
 Devised ways to apply these principles in
the real world.
 Designed the Skinner
Box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA&feature=related
Reinforcement v Punishment

Reinforcement - Any
consequence that increases
the likelihood of the
behavior to be repeated.
• Punishment - Any consequence
that decreases the likelihood
of the behavior to be repeated.
I. Reinforcement
A. Types of
Reinforcement
1. Positive Reinforcement

Anything that increases the likelihood of a
behavior by following it with a desirable
event or state
• The subject receives something they
want
• Will strengthen the behavior
Positive Reinforcement
Operant Conditioning Activity:
Positive Reinforcement
Get in groups of three. Choose who
will be the recorder, the experimenter,
and the subject.
Subjects please leave the room for a
moment.
Directions……
2. Negative Reinforcement

Anything that increases the likelihood of a
behavior by following it with the removal of an
undesirable event or state
• Something the subject doesn’t like is
removed
XX
OR
• Will strengthen
the behavior (Definition of Reinforcement)
Negative Reinforcement
Positive/Negative Reinforcement
A. What is a the difference?
B. Give an example of each.
C. Which do you think is more effective?
Ways of Reinforcement:
 Primary
 Secondary
Primary Reinforcement
Something that is naturally reinforcing
 Examples: food, warmth, water, etc.
 The item is reinforcing in and of itself

Secondary Reinforcement
Something that a person has learned to
value or finds rewarding because it is
paired with a primary reinforce
 Money is a good example
 Cooking utensil

What is Shaping?
• Step by step reinforcement of behaviors
that are more and more similar to the one
you want to occur.
(Progress Reports, etc)
•Technique used to
establish a new
behavior
Question:

How many of you live within 5-7 miles of the
school?

Why did you raise your hand? I didn’t ask you
to…

Connect raising your hand to operant
conditioning…
Ways of Reinforcement
Immediate
v
Delayed
Immediate/Delayed
Reinforcement

Immediate reinforcement is more effective
than delayed reinforcement
• Ability to delay gratification predicts
higher achievement
Ways of Reinforcement
Continuous
Reinforcement
Continuous reinforcement
A schedule of reinforcement in which a
reward follows every correct response
 Most useful way to establish a behavior
 The behavior will extinguish quickly once
the reinforcement stops.

Schedules of ….
Reinforcement:
Partial
Reinforcement
Partial Reinforcement
A schedule of reinforcement in which a
reward follows only some correct
responses
 Includes the following types:
 Fixed-interval and variable interval
 Fixed-ratio and variable-ratio

Fixed- Interval
Schedule
A partial reinforcement schedule that
rewards only the first correct response after
some defined period of time
 i.e. weekly quiz in a class

Variable-Interval Schedule
A partial reinforcement
that rewards the first
correct response after an
unpredictable amount of
time
 i.e. “pop” quiz in a class

Fixed-Ratio Schedule
A partial reinforcement schedule that
rewards a response only after some
defined number of correct responses
(attempts)
 The faster the subject responds, the more
reinforcements they will receive.

Variable-Ratio Schedule
A partial reinforcement schedule that
rewards an unpredictable number of
correct responses (attempts)
 This schedule is very resistant
to extinction.
 Sometimes called the “gambler’s
schedule”; similar to a slot machine

Schedules of Reinforcement
Punishment:
The Process of
Punishment
Decrease a behavior
from happening again
by following it with a
negative consequence
Types of Punishment
(1) An undesirable
event following a
behavior
(2) A desirable state
or event ends
following a behavior
Problems with
Punishment….
Negative Effects of Punishment
Doesn’t prevent the undesirable behavior
when away from the punisher
 Can lead to fear, anxiety, and lower selfesteem
 Children who are punished physically may
learn to use aggression as a means to solve
problems.

Positive Effects of Punishment
Punishment can effectively control
certain behaviors.
 Especially useful if teaching a child not
to do a dangerous behavior
 Most still suggest reinforcing an
incompatible behavior rather than using
punishment

The Role of
Cognition: New
Understandings of
Operant
Conditioning
Latent Learning

Learning that takes place in absence of an
apparent reward
Cognitive Map
A mental representation of a place
 Experiments showed rats could learn a
maze without any reinforcements


PsychSim: Operant Conditioning
Over justification Effect
The effect of promising a reward for doing
what someone already likes to do
 The reward may lessen and replace the
person’s original, natural motivation, so
that the behavior stops if the reward is
eliminated

Operant Conditioning
Computer Lab & Activities

PsychSim Operant Conditioning Maze Lab
Apply Operant Condition


How can an individual’s use of alcohol or other
drugs be explained as positive or negative
reinforcements? Include terms such as primary or
Secondary and schedule of reinforcements.
How could a high school student use the principles
of operant conditioning their parents to set a later
curfew? Consider the effectiveness of positive
reinforcement, shaping, and the use of schedule
reinforcements in your answer.
Review of Operant
Conditioning


1. If you were doing a crossword puzzle on
the subject of behavior modification and were
asked for a synonym for negative
reinforcement, what word would you select?
2. When you supply negative reinforcement,
it usually results in:


A. Weakening a behavior that you wanted
weakened.
B. Strengthening a behavior you wanted
strengthen

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3. Do people usually look forward to receiving
negative reinforcement? (Yes or No)
4. Do you anticipate regularly supplying
positive reinforcement to those you might
manage in the future? How so?
5. Do you anticipate regularly supplying
negative reinforcement to those you might
manage in the future? How so?
Consequence Matrix
Type of Stimulus Supply a
Stimulus
Desirable
(Appetitive)
Undesirable
(Aversive)
Remove a
Stimulus
Consequence Matrix
Type of Stimulus Supply a
Stimulus
Remove a
Stimulus
Desirable
(Appetitive)
Positive
reinforcement
Time out
Undesirable
(Aversive)
Punishment
Negative
Reinforcement
(this results in a
weakened behavior)
Review of Schedules….
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What is the gambler’s schedule?
If you were to get paid on the 15th of every
month, what type of reinforcement schedule
are you on?
If I paid you 5$ for every 4 hours that you
worked, what type of reinforcement schedule
are you on?
If you work you will get paid sometime that
week.
The End