OPERANT CONDITIONING

Operant Conditioning• Learning in which a certain action is reinforced/punished,

resulting in an increase or decrease of that action• Different from Classical Conditioning because the

participant operates on their environment in some way.• The participant associates their own behavior with a certain

outcome• Ex. a student studies for an exam. She gets an ‘A’. She does this a

few more times with the same result and learns to associate her behavior (studying) with the reward (the ‘A’)

B.F. Skinner• Behavioral Psychologist who studied the effects of

reinforcement on behavior.• Studied rats and pigeons because their simple brains/behaviors

give us a clear view of conditioned behaviors

• Would place them in a “Skinner Box” where they had to complete a simple task in order to receive the reinforcement.

Reinforcement• Reinforcement: stimulus or event that occurs after a

behavior to increase its likelihood in the future• Positive: adding something, like food• Negative: taking away something, like pain, discomfort

• Primary Reinforcer: satisfies a biological need like hunger, thirst, sleep

• Secondary Reinforcer: stimulus that is rewarding because of its link to our biological needs.• Ex. Money, Driver’s License, Scholarship

Reinforcement• Reinforcers need to occur quickly after the target behavior

if you wan the connection to be made• The simpler the action, the shorter you should make the

time between behavior and reward• The more complex the behavior, the more delayed a

reward can be• Pay-check at the end of the week for fast food jobs, every two

weeks for Mr. Phelps, Major CEOs paid in stock options/etc. less frequently

• Humans in general are better than other animals at delaying gratification.

Punishment• Punishment: an unpleasant consequence that leads to a

decrease in the frequency of the associated behavior• Positive punishment: a negative stimulus is added

• Your coach gives you additional laps for being late to practice, in the hopes of you arriving on time in the future

• Negative punishment: when a desired item (including emotional support) is taken away.• A smart parent takes away the car keys when their teen’s grades

begin to drop.

Problems with Punishment• Punishment can lead to side effects: rage, aggression,

fear.• Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads

to hate; hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.” Yoda

• Spanking has been linked to increased tendency towards aggression towards other children

• People avoid the punisher, makes it difficult to build a relationship of trust.

• Ultimately, reinforcements and modeling are better methods of teaching.

Schedules of Reinforcement• Timing and frequency of reinforcement is critical.• Continuous: behavior is reinforced every time. Not nearly

as effective as partial schedules because participant loses interest in the reinforcement

Schedules of Reinforcement• Partial: behavior reinforced part of the time. Slower to

change behavior, but the change is stronger• Fixed-ratio: specific number of correct responses is

required. Ex. every tenth sub earns you a free one on your Subway card!

• Fixed-interval: first correct behavior after a set amount of time is reinforced. Ex. Wrapping up in aluminum foil only earns you a free burrito at Chipotle on Halloween.

Schedules of Reinforcement• Variable Ratio: unpredictable number of correct

responses is required before reinforcement.• Ex. slot machines! Just one more pull…

Schedules of Reinforcement• Variable-interval: reinforcer will be given at a random

time• This is why you check Facebook so consistently: you never know

when there might be a new ‘important’ thing on your newsfeed.

Shaping• Shaping: Rewarding behavior that is closer and closer to

the desired behavior until it is achieved.• Ex. Reward freshmen for having their homework page, then writing

their name on it, then filling it in, then grading it for correctness.

Practice Scenarios: Operant Conditioning

For each scenario, write out whether it is positive/negative punishment/reinforcement. Then identify the reinforcement schedule

1. Brenda checks her email 7 times a day. Sometimes, there is a new email there from a friend

2. George is shouted at every time he passes his boss’s office. Now, he avoid the boss

3. Mike is a house painter. He drives into work every other Friday (payday) because his employer buys everyone pizza

4. Celina hundreds of the same type of enemy in World of Warcraft in the hopes of finding a rare axe