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OPERANT
CONDITIONING
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How Do We Learn
New Behaviors by
Operant Conditioning?
In operant conditioning, the
consequences of behavior,
such as rewards and
punishments, influence the
chance that our behavior will
occur again
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
• With classical
conditioning, you
can teach a dog to
salivate, but you
can’t teach it to sit
up or roll over
• “Voluntary’
behaviors are really
controlled by
rewards and
punishments
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Rewards and Punishments
• Common Rewarding Consequences:
money, praise, food, good grades,….
= encourage behaviors
• Common Punishment Consequences:
pain, loss of privilege, low grades,…
= discouraged behaviors
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Operant
• An operant is an observable, voluntary
behavior that an organism uses to
‘operate’ in the environment or have an
effect upon its environment.
• Example: If you are reading a class
textbook to get a better grade, reading
is an operant behavior
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Operant Conditioning
• Learning occurs as a result
of reinforcement where
specific rewards or
punishments are given in
order to achieve or
discourage the behavior to
be changed.
1. Accounts for a much wider
spectrum of behavior than
classical conditioning
2. It explains new behaviors,
not simply reflective
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
behaviors (like salivation)
The central idea of operant conditioning is
that behavior becomes more likely or less
likely depending on its consequences
A response can lead to three types of
consequences:
Neutral Consequence: no impact
Reinforcement: Encouraging the response
Punishment: Discouraging the response
Edward Thorndike
The most basic form of learning
is trial and error learning.
Change in behavior based on
the outcome of previous trials
Inefficient behaviors are
eliminated for more
successful ones… As in
the ‘cat in the box’
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Cat in a Box
• The cat was confined inside
the chamber.
• The cat’s task was to learn to
escape from the box.
• However, only by pulling a
particular device could the cat
escape.
• Since there were several
devices, the task was difficult.
• Still, the cat usually escaped
after a number of minutes.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Cat in a Box
• As trials proceeded,
the escape response
occurred more
quickly.
• The learning was
gradual and orderly.
• Thorndike
concluded that the
cats did not use
reasoning to solve
this problem but
rather slow trial-anderror learning.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Edward Thorndike’s
Law of Effect
Behavior is controlled by its
consequence
a) Responses to a situation that are followed
by satisfaction are strengthened
b) Responses that are followed by discomfort
are weakened.
Essentially, organisms will learn to
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
perform responses
that are REWARDED
How Do We Learn New Behaviors by
Operant Conditioning?
• Trial-and-Error Learning
• Learner gradually discovers
the correct response by
attempting many behaviors
and noting which ones
produce the desired
consequences
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Thorndike’s Law of Effect
• TRIAL AND ERROR
Shooting a basketball free
throw
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Watch the video
Malachi learning by trial and error
On Youtube
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
B.F. Skinner
Skinner was the leading
supporter of the school
of psychology known as
behaviorism
Skinner maintained that
learning occurred as a
result of the organism
responding to, or
operating on, its
environment
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism
• Believed that the most
powerful influences on
behavior are its
consequences
• Refused to consider
what happens in an
organism's mind because
you can’t verify it by
observation
For example: hunger or pleasure
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Behaviorism
Explains the
behavior of
humans in
terms of the
physiological
responses of
the organism
to external
stimuli in
their
environment.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Piano Stairs; Funtheory .com
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
World’s Deepest Trashcan;
Funtheory.com
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007