1. Learning > Operant Conditioning
Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Thorndike's Law of Effect
Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Skinner
Shaping
Reinforcement and Punishment
Schedules of Reinforcement
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at

2. Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Thorndike's Law of Effect
Learning > Operant Conditioning
Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Thorndike's Law of Effect
The law of effect states that responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again, while responses that produce a discomforting effect are less likely to be repeated.
Edward L. Thorndike first studied the law of effect by placing hungry cats inside puzzle boxes and observing their actions. He quickly realized that cats could learn the efficacy of certain behaviors and would repeat those behaviors that allowed them to escape faster.
The law of effect is at work in every human behavior as well. From a young age, we learn which actions are beneficial and which are detrimental through a similar trial and error process.
While the law of effect explains behavior from an external, observable point of view, it does not account for internal, unobservable processes that also affect the behavior patterns of human beings.
Thorndike's puzzle box
View on Boundless.com
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at

3. Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Skinner
Learning > Operant Conditioning
Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Skinner
B. F. Skinner, a behavioral psychologist and a student of E. L. Thorndike, contributed to our view of learning by expanding our understanding of conditioning to include operant conditioning.
Skinner theorized that if a behavior is followed by reinforcement, that behavior is more likely to be repeated, but if it is followed by punishment, it is less likely to be repeated.
Skinner conducted his research on rats and pigeons by presenting them with positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or punishment in various schedules that were designed to produce or inhibit specific target behaviors.
Skinner did not include room in his research for ideas such as free will or individual choice; instead, he posited that all behavior could be explained using  learned, physical aspects of the world, including life history and evolution.
B. F. Skinner
View on Boundless.com

4. Learning > Operant Conditioning
Shaping
B. F. Skinner used shaping—a method of training by which successive approximations toward a target behavior are reinforced—to test his theories of behavioral psychology.
Shaping involves a calculated reinforcement of a "target behavior": it uses operant conditioning principles to train a subject by rewarding proper behavior and discouraging improper behavior.
The method requires that the subject perform behaviors that at first merely resemble the target behavior; through reinforcement, these behaviors are gradually changed or "shaped" to encourage the target behavior itself.
Skinner's early experiments in operant conditioning involved the shaping of rats' behavior so they learned to press a lever and receive a food reward.
Shaping is commonly used to train animals, such as dogs, to perform difficult tasks; it is also a useful learning tool for modifying human behavior.
Dog show
View on Boundless.com

5. Reinforcement and Punishment
Learning > Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement and Punishment
"Reinforcement" refers to any consequence that increases the likelihood of a particular behavioral response; "punishment" refers to a consequence that decreases the likelihood of this response.
Both reinforcement and punishment can be positive or negative. In operant conditioning, positive means you are adding something and negative means you are taking something away.
Reinforcers can be either primary (linked unconditionally to a behavior) or secondary (requiring deliberate or conditioned linkage to a specific behavior).
Primary—or unconditioned—reinforcers, such as water, food, sleep, shelter, sex, touch, and pleasure, have innate reinforcing qualities.
Secondary—or conditioned—reinforcers (such as money) have no inherent value until they are linked or paired with a primary reinforcer.
Operant conditioning
View on Boundless.com

6. The Reinforcement – Punishment Grid

7. Schedules of Reinforcement
Learning > Operant Conditioning
Schedules of Reinforcement
A reinforcement schedule is a tool in operant conditioning that allows the trainer to control the timing and frequency of reinforcement in order to elicit a target behavior.
Continuous schedules reward a behavior after every performance of the desired behavior; intermittent (or partial) schedules only reward the behavior after certain ratios or intervals of responses.
Intermittent schedules can be either fixed (where reinforcement occurs after a set amount of time or responses) or variable (where reinforcement occurs after a varied and unpredictable amount of time or responses).
Intermittent schedules are also described as either interval (based on the time between reinforcements) or ratio (based on the number of responses).
Different schedules (fixed-interval, variable-interval, fixed-ratio, and variable-ratio) have different advantages and respond differently to extinction.
Simple reinforcement-schedule responses
View on Boundless.com

8. Appendix
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at

9. Learning
Key terms
aversive Tending to repel, causing avoidance (of a situation, a behavior, an item, etc.).
behavior modification The act of altering actions and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement or punishment.
extinction When a behavior ceases because it is no longer reinforced.
interval A period of time.
latency The delay between a stimulus and the response it triggers in an organism.
Law of Effect A law developed by Edward L. Thorndike that states, "responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation."
paradigm An example serving as a model or pattern; a template, as for an experiment.
punishment The act or process of imposing and/or applying a sanction for an undesired behavior when conditioning toward a desired behavior.
ratio A number representing a comparison between two things.
shaping A method of positive reinforcement of behavior patterns in operant conditioning.
successive approximation An increasingly accurate estimate of a response desired by a trainer.
trial and error The process of finding a solution to a problem by trying many possible solutions and learning from mistakes until a way is found.

10. Thorndike's puzzle box Learning
This image shows an example of Thorndike's puzzle box alongside a graph demonstrating the learning of a cat within the box.

11. Learning
B. F. Skinner
Skinner was responsible for defining the segment of behaviorism known as operant conditioning—a process by which an organism learns from its physical environment.

12. Simple reinforcement-schedule responses
Learning
Simple reinforcement-schedule responses
The four reinforcement schedules yield different response patterns. The variable-ratio schedule is unpredictable and yields high and steady response rates, with little if any pause after reinforcement (e.g., gambling). A fixed-ratio schedule is predictable and produces a high response rate, with a short pause after reinforcement (e.g., eyeglass sales). The variable-interval schedule is unpredictable and produces a moderate, steady response rate (e.g., fishing). The fixed-interval schedule yields a scallop-shaped response pattern, reflecting a significant pause after reinforcement (e.g., hourly employment).
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at
Wikimedia. CC BY-SA View on Boundless.com

13. Operant conditioning Learning
In the context of operant conditioning, whether you are reinforcing or punishing a behavior, "positive" always means you are adding a stimulus (not necessarily a good one), and "negative" always means you are removing a stimulus (not necessarily a bad one. See the blue text and yellow text above, which represent positive and negative, respectively. Similarly, reinforcement always means you are increasing (or maintaining) the level of a behavior, and punishment always means you are decreasing the level of a behavior. See the green and red backgrounds above, which represent reinforcement and punishment, respectively.

14. A Diagram of Operant Conditioning
Learning
A Diagram of Operant Conditioning
This diagram explains the types of reinforcement and punishment methods (positive and negative) with examples of each.

15. Learning
Dog show
Dog training often uses the shaping method of operant conditioning.

16. Learning
Law of effect
Initially, cats displayed a variety of behaviors inside the box. Over successive trials, actions that were helpful in escaping the box and receiving the food reward were replicated and repeated at a higher rate.

17. Learning
The idea that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend to be repeated is one of the main tenets of what theory?
A) Operant conditioning.
B) Behaviorism.
C) Classical conditioning.
D) The law of effect.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at

18. Learning
The idea that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend to be repeated is one of the main tenets of what theory?
A) Operant conditioning.
B) Behaviorism.
C) Classical conditioning.
D) The law of effect.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at
Boundless - LO. "Operant conditioning." CC BY-SA 3.0

19. Learning
Dr. McCoy wants to measure how quickly rats undergo operant conditioning in his experiment. Why should he use a Skinner box for this task?
A) It includes a maze for the rat to solve.
B) It records the number of lever presses the rat makes.
C) Being in the box is rewarding for the rat.
D) Being in the box is punishment for the rat.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at

20. Learning
Dr. McCoy wants to measure how quickly rats undergo operant conditioning in his experiment. Why should he use a Skinner box for this task?
A) It includes a maze for the rat to solve.
B) It records the number of lever presses the rat makes.
C) Being in the box is rewarding for the rat.
D) Being in the box is punishment for the rat.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at
Boundless - LO. "Boundless." CC BY-SA 3.0

21. Learning
Which of the following is an accurate definition of successive approximation?
A) Only the desired behavior is rewarded.
B) No reward is given for behavior.
C) Responses that approach desired behaviors are rewarded.
D) Reward is given for any behavior.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at

22. Learning
Which of the following is an accurate definition of successive approximation?
A) Only the desired behavior is rewarded.
B) No reward is given for behavior.
C) Responses that approach desired behaviors are rewarded.
D) Reward is given for any behavior.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at
Boundless - LO. "Boundless." CC BY-SA 3.0

23. Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?
Learning
Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?
A) Tommy learns that if he takes a bath he will get dessert.
B) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he won't get his dessert.
C) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he will have to go straight to bed.
D) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he won't have to take a bath.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at

24. Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?
Learning
Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?
A) Tommy learns that if he takes a bath he will get dessert.
B) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he won't get his dessert.
C) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he will have to go straight to bed.
D) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he won't have to take a bath.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at
Boundless - LO. "Boundless." CC BY-SA 3.0

25. Learning
Dog A is rewarded with a biscuit as soon as she follows the "Sit" command. Dog B does not get her biscuit for 10 minutes following her "Sit" command. What will most likely be Dog B's reaction to the next command?
A) She will sit, because she has linked behavior and reward.
B) She won't sit until she is given the biscuit.
C) She will sit, because she doesn't need a reward.
D) She won't sit, because she hasn't linked behavior and reward.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at

26. Learning
Dog A is rewarded with a biscuit as soon as she follows the "Sit" command. Dog B does not get her biscuit for 10 minutes following her "Sit" command. What will most likely be Dog B's reaction to the next command?
A) She will sit, because she has linked behavior and reward.
B) She won't sit until she is given the biscuit.
C) She will sit, because she doesn't need a reward.
D) She won't sit, because she hasn't linked behavior and reward.
Free to share, print, make copies and changes. Get yours at
Boundless - LO. "Boundless." CC BY-SA 3.0