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Operant Conditioning

An ‘operant’ is a spontaneous behavior
that affects the environment so as to
produce a consequence (reinforcing or
punishing).
Reinforcement: Increases the behavior (in
the future).
 Punishment: Decreases the behavior (in
the future).

Behavior Present Stim.
Remove Stim.
Increase
Negative
Reinforcement
Positive
Reinforcement
Decrease Aversive
Punishment
Response Cost
(Punishment)
Reinforcement and
Punishment
Example
The Situation:
A child reaches out and grabs a candy
bar.
The father takes it away.
The child cries and has a temper
tantrum.
The father buys the candy.
The child stops crying.
Choose from the following: positive reinforcement,
negative reinforcement, aversive punishment,
response cost (punishment).
The child’s grabbing the candy was
______ by the father taking the candy
away?
The father’s taking the candy away has
been _____ by the child’s crying and
tantrum?
The child’s crying and tantrum was _____
by the father’s buying of the candy?
The father’s buying the candy was ______
by the child’s stopping the crying and
tantrum?
Important Concepts
 Immediate
reinforcement is more
effective than delayed reinforcement.
 Shaping:
reinforcing successive
approximations toward a final
response.
Also in Operant Conditioning:
 Extinction
 Spontaneous
Recovery
 Generalization
 Discrimination
Partial Reinforcement
 Fixed-Ratio
Schedule
 Variable-Ratio Schedule
 Fixed-Interval
Schedule
 Variable-Ratio Schedule