OPERANT

CONDITIONING
The heart of operant conditioning is the effect of consequences on
behavior.

Whereas, in classical conditioning, learning an involuntary behavior really

depends on what comes before the response—the unconditioned stimulus
(UCS) and what will become the conditioned stimulus (CS). These two stimuli
are the antecedent stimuli (antecedent means something that comes before
another thing).

But in operant conditioning, learning depends on what happens after the

response—the consequence. In a way, operant conditioning could be
summed up as this: “If I do this, what’s in it for me?”
OPERANT CONDITIONING

the learning of voluntary behavior

through the effects of pleasant and
unpleasant consequences to responses.

Operant conditioning is based on the

research of Edward L. Thorndike and B. F.
Skinner.

IT IS CALLED Stimulus-response
conditioning.
 THORDIKE’S LAW OF EFFECT

Thorndike placed a hungry cat inside a “puzzle box” from which the only escape
was to press a lever located on the floor of the box. Thorndike placed a food dish
outside the box, so the hungry cat was highly motivated to get out.

Thorndike observed that the cat would move around the box, pushing and
rubbing up against the walls in an effort to escape.

Eventually, the cat would accidentally push the lever, opening the door. Upon
escaping, the cat was fed from a dish placed just outside the box.

The lever is the stimulus, the pushing of the lever is the response, and the
consequence is both escape (good) and food (even better)
 THORDIKE’S LAW OF EFFECT

The cat did not learn to push the lever and escape right away.

After a number of trials (and many errors) in the puzzle box, the cat took less and
less time to push the lever that would open the door.

It’s important not to assume that the cat had “figured out” the connection
between the lever and freedom—Thorndike kept moving the lever to a different
position, and the cat had to learn the whole process over again.

The cat would simply continue to rub and push in the same general area that led
to food and freedom the last time, each time getting out and fed a little more
quickly
 THORDIKE’S LAW OF EFFECT

Based on this research, Thorndike developed the law of effect:

“If an action is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be

repeated. If an action is followed by an unpleasant consequence, it will tend
not to be repeated (Thorndike, 1911; 1927).”

This is the basic principle behind learning voluntary behavior.

In the case of the cat in the box, pushing the lever was followed by a pleasurable
consequence (getting out and getting fed), so pushing the lever became a
repeated response.
 OPERANT CONDITIONING

An American psychologist B.F.Skinner (1938) developed the

concept of operant conditioning, which is also called as
instrumental conditioning. Operant conditioning as classical
conditioning is also a form of associative learning, wherein the
outcome of behaviour predicts the likelihood of the occurrence
of that behaviour. The term Operant refers to the behaviour that
is emitted by an organism.
This behaviour operates on the environment and the
environment in turn operates on the behaviour. Operant
conditioning is actually an expansion of Thorndike’s law of
effect. Stmulus emitts behaviour.
B.F SKINNER

Skinner’s views were slightly less extreme than those of Watson (1913). Skinner
believed that we do have such a thing as a mind, but that it is simply more
productive to study observable behavior rather than internal mental events.

The work of Skinner was rooted in the view that classical conditioning was far
too simplistic to be a complete explanation of complex human behavior. He
believed that the best way to understand behavior is to look at the causes of
an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning.

Skinner introduced a new term into the Law of Effect – Reinforcement.

behavior that is reinforced tends to be repeated (i.e., strengthened); behavior
that is not reinforced tends to die out or be extinguished (i.e., weakened).
Skinner (1948) studied operant conditioning by conducting experiments using animals which
he placed in a “ Skinner Box ” also known as an operant conditioning chamber, is a device
used to objectively record an animal’s behavior in a compressed time frame. An animal can
be rewarded or punished for engaging in certain behaviors, such as lever pressing (for rats)
or key pecking (for pigeons).
Skinner identified three types of responses, or operant, that can follow behavior.

Neutral operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the
probability of a behavior being repeated.

Reinforcers : Responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behavior
being repeated. Reinforcers can be either positive or negative.

Punishers: Responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behavior being
repeated. Punishment weakens behavior.
 REINFORCEMENT
POSITIVE NEGATIVE
it is the removal of an
In positive reinforcement, a
adverse stimulus which is
response or behavior is
‘rewarding’ to the animal or
strengthened by rewards,
person. Negative
leading to the repetition of
reinforcement strengthens
desired behavior. The
behavior because it stops
reward is a reinforcing
or removes an unpleasant
stimulus.
experience.
 POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
Primary reinforcers are stimuli that are naturally reinforcing because they are not learned
and directly satisfy a need, such as food or water.
Secondary reinforcers are stimuli that are reinforced through their association with a
primary reinforcer, such as money, school grades.
Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence an individual
finds rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you £5 each time you complete your
homework (i.e., a reward), you will be more likely to repeat this behavior in the future, thus
strengthening the behavior of completing your homework.
The Premack principle is a form of positive reinforcement in operant conditioning. It
suggests using a preferred activity (high-probability behavior) as a reward for completing a
less preferred one (low-probability behavior).
This method incentivizes the less desirable behavior by associating it with a desirable
outcome, thus strengthening the less favored behavior.
Suppose you are a coach and want your team to improve their passing accuracy in soccer.
When the players execute accurate passes during training, you praise their technique. This
positive feedback encourages them to repeat the correct passing behavior.
 NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

Skinner showed how negative reinforcement worked by placing a rat in his Skinner box and
then subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused it some discomfort. As the
rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever.
Immediately it did so the electric current would be switched off. The rats quickly learned to
go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box. The consequence of
escaping the electric current ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.
In fact, Skinner even taught the rats to avoid the electric current by turning on a light just
before the electric current came on. The rats soon learned to press the lever when the light
came on because they knew that this would stop the electric current from being switched
on.
These two learned responses are known as Escape Learning and Avoidance Learning .
If you notice your team working together effectively and exhibiting excellent team spirit
during a tough training session, you might end the training session earlier than planned,
which the team perceives as a relief. They understand that teamwork leads to positive
outcomes, reinforcing team behavior.
 PUNISHMENT
Punishment is the opposite of reinforcement since it is designed to weaken or eliminate a response
rather than increase it. It is an aversive event that decreases the behavior that it follows.

Like reinforcement, punishment can work either by directly applying an unpleasant stimulus like a
shock after a response or by removing a potentially rewarding stimulus, for instance, deducting
someone’s pocket money to punish undesirable behavior.

Punished behavior is not forgotten, it’s suppressed – behavior returns when punishment is no
longer present.
Causes increased aggression – shows that aggression is a way to cope with problems.
Creates fear that can generalize to undesirable behaviors, e.g., fear of school.
Does not necessarily guide you toward desired behavior – reinforcement tells you what to do, and
punishment only tells you what not to do.
 Punishment by adding

Punishment by application occurs when something unpleasant (such as a spanking, scolding, or other
unpleasant stimulus) is added to the situation or applied.

This is the kind of punishment that most people think of when they hear the word punishment. This is
also the kind of punishment that many child development specialists strongly recommend parents
avoid using with their children because it can easily escalate into abuse (Dubowitz & Bennett, 2007;
Durrant & Ensom, 2012; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Gershoff et al., 2017).

A spanking might be physically harmless if it is only two or three swats with a hand, but if done in anger
or with a belt or other instrument, it becomes abuse, both physical and emotional.
 Punishment by removing

Punishment by removal, on the other hand, is the kind of punishment most often confused with
negative reinforcement. In this type of punishment, behavior is punished by the removal of something
pleasurable or desired after the behavior occurs.

“Grounding” a teenager is removing the freedom to do what the teenager wants to do and is an
example of this kind of punishment.

Other examples would be placing a child in time-out (removing the attention of the others in the
room), fining someone for disobeying the law (removing money), and punishing aggressive behavior by
taking away Internet privileges.

This type of punishment is typically far more acceptable to child development specialists because it
involves no physical aggression and avoids many of the problems caused by more aggressive
punishments.
SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
 SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
The goal of using reinforcement is to increase the likelihood that the behaviour will happen
again in the future, so therefore, it's important to know what best meets the needs of the
individual.

CONTINUOUS REINFORCEMENT

In continuous schedules, reinforcement is provided every single time after the desired
behavior. Candy machines are examples of continuous reinforcement because every time we
put money in (behavior), we receive candy in return. Continuous rates of reinforcement are
most effective during the early stages of any reinforcement program and are best used when
students are learning new skills/behaviors. To support the maintenance of a skill once it has
been learned, an intermittent schedule should be introduced.
 SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

PARTIAL REINFORCEMENT

Unlike continuous schedules, partial schedules only reinforce the desired behavior
occasionally rather than all the time. This leads to slower learning since it is initially more
difficult to associate behavior with reinforcement.

However, partial schedules also produce behavior that is more resistant to extinction.
Organisms are tempted to persist in their behavior in hopes that they will eventually be
rewarded.
 SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

PARTIAL REINFORCEMENT

Unlike continuous schedules, partial schedules only reinforce the desired behavior
occasionally rather than all the time. This leads to slower learning since it is initially more
difficult to associate behavior with reinforcement.

However, partial schedules also produce behavior that is more resistant to extinction.
Organisms are tempted to persist in their behavior in hopes that they will eventually be
rewarded.

Intermittent schedules do support the maintenance of positive behaviours over time,

prevents satiation of reinforcement, teaches delayed gratification, and behaviours are
less likely to decrease once reinforcement is removed.
 SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

Intermittent schedules can be categorized into a ratio or an interval schedule at a fixed

or variable rate:

A ratio schedule requires that a completion of a number of responses occur before

reinforcement is received.

A interval schedule requires the occurrence of at least one correct response after a set
period of time before reinforcement is received.
 OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

The main proponent of observational learning was Albert Bandura.

Unlike classical conditioning and operant conditioning, according to
observational learning the cognitive processes plays important role in
learning behaviour.
Based on his work with phobic patients and the famous Bobo doll
experiment (1963), Bandura propounded 'Social Learning Theory'.
According to social learning theory, learning occurs in a social setting
by observing others behaviour and its outcome. This observational
learning can occur in two ways: (i) direct observation, and (ii) indirect
observation.
 BOBO-DOLL EXPERIMENT

Bandura and his colleagues conducted an experiment on children to

investigate the role of observational and imitation in learning social
behaviour, such as aggression.

They selected 72 children between the age group of three to six years.
Children were randomly assigned to three groups: one control and two
experimental conditions.

In one group of experiment condition, children were shown a movie

with an aggressive model, beating, hitting and abusing a bobo doll.
 BOBO-DOLL EXPERIMENT
In another experimental condition, a non-aggressive model was shown playing
peacefully and in a friendly way with a Bobo doll. Whereas, in control condition
children were not shown any movie.

Later, all groups of children were placed in a room full of varieties of toys.

It was observed that children who were exposed to the aggressive model imitated
the model's behaviour. They also punched, hit, and used abusive words for Bobo
dolls. In contrast, the children of the second experimental group, who were
exposed to non-aggressive model, did not demonstrate any aggression with bobo
doll. This was one of the landmark studies in psychology.

It suggested that observation and imitation play a crucial role in learning.

OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
Thank You
So Much
 Cognitive learning
Cognitive learning refers to understanding, knowing, anticipating, or otherwise
making use of information-rich higher mental processes. Cognitive learning
extends beyond basic conditioning into the realms of memory, thinking, problem-
solving, and language.

Three important figures often cited as key theorists in the early days of the
development of cognitive learning theory were the Gestalt psychologists Edward
Tolman and Wolfgang Kohler, and modern psychologist Martin Seligman.
 Latent learning
Cognitive learning refers to understanding, knowing, anticipating, or otherwise
making use of information-rich higher mental processes. Cognitive learning extends
beyond basic conditioning into the realms of memory, thinking, problem solving, and
language.