Operant Conditioning

Wendy L Greenidge, Ph.D., NCC, CFM

Law of Effect

Behaviors followed by positive

consequences are
strengthened while behaviors
followed by negative
consequences are weakened.

E.L. Thorndike

Operant Conditioning

Type of learning in which an

individual performs some behavior,
and the following consequence
(reward or punishment) increases
or decreases the chance that the
individual will perform that same
behavior again.

B.F. Skinner

Operant Conditioning

An operant response

A response that can be modified by

its consequences and is a meaningful
unit of ongoing behavior that can be
easily measured.

Shaping & Operant Conditioning

Shaping

A procedure in which an experimenter

successively reinforces behavior that lead up
to or approximate the desired behavior.

Immediate Reinforcement
Operant Conditioning

Target Behavior
Preparation
Reinforcers
Shaping

Classical vs Operant

Operant
Conditioning
Goal
Voluntary
Response
Emitted Response
Contingent on
Behavior
Consequences

Classical
Conditioning
Goal
Involuntary
Response
Elicited Response
Conditioned
Response
Expectancy

Reinforcers

Reinforcement

A consequence that occurs after a

behavior and increases the chance
that the behavior will occur again

Punishment

A consequence that occurs after a

behavior and decreases the chance
that the behavior will occur again.

Reinforcers

Positive Reinforcement

The presentation of a stimulus that

increases the probability that a
behavior will occur again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=fLoHH03QAAI

Positive Reinforcer

A stimulus that increases the likelihood

that a response will occur again

Positive Reinforcement

We may continue to go to work each

day because we receive a paycheck on
a weekly or monthly basis.If we
receive awards for writing short
stories, we may be more likely to
increase the frequency of writing short
stories.Receiving praise for our
karaoke performances can increase
how often we sing.These are all
examples of positive reinforcement.

Reinforcers

Negative Reinforcement

An aversive (unpleasant) stimulus whose

removal increases the likelihood that the
preceding response will occur again
(Loud buzz in some cars when ignition key is
turned on; driver must put on safety belt in
order to eliminate irritating buzz the buzz is a
negative reinforcer for putting on the seat-belt.)

Both positive and negative reinforcers

increase the frequency of the responses
they follow.

Negative Reinforcement

Imagine that you decided to open a window in your

home.However, you are not happy with the noise from
the traffic. Thus, you decide to turn on the radio and
listen to music.This makes the traffic noise less
noticeable.The frequency in which you turn on the radio
when the window is open has increased.This would be an
example of negative reinforcement. Turning on the radio
has resulted in a decrease in the unpleasantness of the
traffic noise.

Before heading out for a day at the beach, you slather on

sunscreen in order to avoid getting sunburned.

You decide to clean up your mess in the kitchen in order

to avoid getting in a fight with your roommate.

On Monday morning, you leave the house early in order

to avoid getting stuck in traffic and being late for class.

Negative Reinforcement
Negative Stimulus Behavior that is reinforced
Insect bite itches

Scratch it.

Eyes itch

Rub them.

Lights too bright

Squint or shade them

Cold draft of air

Close the window

Too much noise

Turn down your hearing aid (my mother's

solution)

Too much nagging

Drown it out with the radio

or
Give in and do what they want

Boring class

Daydream, doodle, tune out

Worry about a test

Watch TV;
or
Study to relieve guilt.

Have a headache

Take a pain reliever

Nervous

Deep breathing relaxation exercises

Reinforcers

Primary Reinforcers

A stimulus that is innately satisfying and

requires no learning on the part of the
subject to become pleasurable

Secondary Reinforcers

Any stimulus that has acquired its

reinforcing power through experience.
Secondary reinforcers are learned, such as
being paired with primary reinforcers or
other secondary reinforcers

Punishment

Positive Punishment

Presenting an aversive (unpleasant)

stimulus after a response. The aversive
stimulus decreases the chances that the
response will recur.
Timmy is supposed to clean his room every Saturday
morning. Last weekend, he went out to play with his
friend without cleaning his room. As a result, his father
made him spend the rest of the weekend doing other
chores like cleaning out the garage, mowing the lawn
and weeding the garden, in addition to cleaning his
room.

Negative Punishment

Negative Punishment

Removing a reinforcing stimulus (a childs

allowance) after a response. This removal
decreases the chances that the response will
recur.
E.G. Time-out > reinforcing stimulus being
removed is freedom to play; Undesirable
behavior decreased is noncompliance.

Both positive and negative punishment decrease

the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Negative Punishment

After getting in a fight with his sister over who gets to play with a
new toy, the mother simply takes the toy away.

A teenage girl stays out for an hour past her curfew, so her parents
ground her for a week.

A third-grade boy yells at another student during class, so his

teacher takes away "good behavior" tokens that can be redeemed
for prizes.

The frequency in which an employee is late for work deceases as a

result of losing the right to listen to music while he or she works.

When a child "talks back" to his/her mother, the child may lose the
privilege of watching her favorite television program. Therefore,
the loss of viewing privileges will act as anegative punisherand
decrease the likelihood of the child talking back in the future.

Negative punishment is most effective when:

It immediately follows a response

It is applied consistently

Schedules of
Reinforcement

Continuous Reinforcement

Every occurrence of the operant

response results in delivery of the
reinforcer

Partial Reinforcement

Refers to a situation where

responding is reinforced only some of
the time.

Partial Reinforcement
Schedules

Fixed-Ratio Schedule
Fixed-Interval Schedule
Variable-Ratio Schedule
Variable-Interval Schedule