Operant Conditioning

1
OPERANT CONDITIONING Learning in which a certain
action is reinforced or punished, resulting in
behavioral change
2
B.F. Skinner is best known for his work with the
operant conditioning theory.
Believed that how we turn out is a direct result
of what we learn from all of the operations
(operant) that we make over the years
Skinner Box
3
(No Transcript)
4
Reinforcement is something that follows a
response and strengthens the tendency to repeat
that response
PRIMARY SECONDARY REINFORCERS
Primary reinforcement is something that is
necessary for survival. Ex food or water
Secondary reinforcement is a stimulus that we
have learned to value (linked to a primary
reinforcer)
5
Positive Reinforcement

• Positive consequence that increases the chance of
  desired behavior because something is added ()
  or presented.
• Can be thought of as a reward!
• Getting a present on X-mas for being
• Good all year

6
Negative reinforcement is when something that is
unpleasant is stopped or taken away when
something is done
Headache stops when you take Tylenol so you
strengthened the behavior of taking Tylenol
Reinforcement always strengthens a response,
rather than weakening it.
7
Punishment involves decreasing the frequency of a
behavior.
Punishment always weakens a response, rather than
strengthening it.
8
Operant Conditioning
There are two types of consequences

• positive (sometimes called pleasant)

• negative (sometimes called aversive)

9
Operant Conditioning
Two actions can be taken with these stimuli

• they can be ADDED to the learners environment.

• they can be SUBRACTED from the learners
  environment.

10
Operant Conditioning
Changing behaviors..
Reinforcement, Increase Behavior
Punishment, Decrease Behavior
Add ()
Add ()
Positive An Item added
Positive Reinforcement
Positive Punishment
Subtract (-)
Subtract (-)
Negative An Item Take away
Negative Reinforcement
Negative Punishment
11
REINFORCEMENT (STRENGTHENS) (Increase a behavior) PUNISHMENT (WEAKENS) (Decrease behavior)
POSITIVE (ADDED) To situation Clean the house and earn 5 You get a mint for answering a question in class a paycheck for working 10 for getting an A on your report card You get praised for coming home before curfew. You get your mouth washed out with soap when you say a bad word. Getting a ticket for speeding Doing push-ups for being late to Mr. Friths class. You get a detention for being late to classfor the 5th time.
NEGATIVE (SUBTRACTED) From situation Faking a stomach ache to avoid school (avoidance) Turning down the volume of a very loud radio studying for the next exam in Psych to avoid getting another bad grade in Mr. Fruhwirths class You lose your driving privileges for breaking curfew Time out, or the loss of freedom to combat bad behavior You lose your cell phone because of last months phone bill
12
Analyzing An Example
Billy likes to campout in the backyard. He
camped-out on every Friday during the month of
June. The last time he camped out, some older
kids snuck up to his tent while he was sleeping
and threw a bucket of cold water on him. Billy
has not camped-out for three weeks.
1. What behavior was changed?
Camping out
13
Analyzing An Example
Billy likes to campout in the backyard. He
camped-out on every Friday during the month of
June. The last time he camped out, some older
kids snuck up to his tent while he was sleeping
and threw a bucket of cold water on him. Billy
has not camped-out for three weeks.
2. Was the behavior strengthened or weakened?
Weakened (Behavior decreased)
We Eliminate positive and negative reinforcement
14
Analyzing An Example
Billy likes to campout in the backyard. He
camped-out on every Friday during the month of
June. The last time he camped out, some older
kids snuck up to his tent while he was sleeping
and threw a bucket of cold water on him. Billy
has not camped-out for three weeks.
3. What was the consequence?
Having water thrown on him.
4. Was the behavior consequence added or
subtracted?
Added
15
Analyzing An Example
Billy likes to campout in the backyard. He
camped-out on every Friday during the month of
June. The last time he camped out, some older
kids snuck up to his tent while he was sleeping
and threw a bucket of cold water on him. Billy
has not camped-out for three weeks.
Since a consequence was ADDED and the behavior
was WEAKENED (REDUCED), the process was Positive
Punishment.