Operant Conditioning The second great learning theory in modern psychology!

 People and animals learn how to do certain things and not others because of the consequences of what they do.  “Everything we do and are is determined by our history of rewards and punishments.” -B.F. Skinner  To what extent do you agree? The main idea of operant conditioning:

The Operant Chamber (Or Skinner Box)

Reinforcement is:

Types of Reinforcers  Primary reinforcers:  Secondary reinforcers:

 Positive reinforcers:  Negative reinforcers: Positive vs. negative

 Fixed ratio schedule:  Variable-ratio schedule: Ratio schedules of reinforcement

 Fixed interval schedule:  Variable interval schedule: Interval schedules of reinforcement

 Teaching complex behaviors to animals by reinforcing small steps in the right direction  “Successive approximations”  Skinner taught pigeons to walk in a figure 8, play ping-pong, etc.  Skinner’s Original Experiments: Shaping

 At school  Skinner dreamed of a future where teaching machines and textbooks shaped learning in small steps, immediately reinforcing correct responses   Sports  Reinforce small successes and gradually increase the challenge Other uses of Skinner’s theory

 At work  Reward specific, achievable behaviors, not vaguely defined “merit”  Reinforcement should be immediate  At home  Parents who give in to protests or defiance reinforce whining and arguing  Always notice kids doing something right and commend them for it Other applications (cont.)

 Reinforcement increases a behavior; punishment diminishes it.  Punishment tells you what not to do; reinforcement tells you what to do.  Why does punishment often fail and/or create more problems? A word about punishment

The downside of Skinner: The Overjustification Effect  “If I have to be bribed into doing this, it must not be worth doing for its own sake.”  Extrinsic rewards can damage intrinsic motivation  Read this:  i/The_Overjustification_Effect i/The_Overjustification_Effect