Operant Conditioning Essay

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Burrhus Fredric Skinner's theory of operant conditioning was based on the work of Edward Thorndike. Thorndike studied learning in animals using a puzzle box to propose the theory known as the 'Law of Effect'. Skinner believed that the best way to understand behaviour is to look at the causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning. By definition, operant conditioning is behaviour that operates on the environment to produce rewarding or punishing stimuli. It is a learning process that involves an increase or decrease in the likelihood of some behaviour as a result of the consequences that follows them. For example, when an animal or human acts on something to receive a reward they are most likely to repeat the action. Likewise, if an organism receives negative feedback from an action, that organism is unlikely to repeat that action. Some important concepts in operant conditioning are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment. Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box. The box contained a lever and as the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever and a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever. The consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured that they would repeat the action again and again. Positive reinforcement strengthens a behaviour by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding. For example, if a mother gives her son $15 each time he completes his homework he is more likely to repeat this behaviour in the future, thus strengthening the behaviour of completing your homework. When a behaviour (response) is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, thereby increasing that behaviour's frequency, this is known as negative reinforcement. Negative
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