Operant conditioning

What are the basic principles of operant conditioning?

• Operant conditioning still involves a learning process, but the basic principles are different.

• We learn through a process of rewards and punishments.

• Rewards = behaviour happens again

• Punishments = behaviour should not happen again

• This is called stimulus response learning as it suggests that behaviour is the result of an environmental stimulus - it ignores all the other things that happen in between

What is positive reinforcement?

• This is where a pleasant consequence or reward is given when the desired behaviour is observed.

• This should ensure that the behaviour occurs again.

What is negative reinforcement?

• This is where an unpleasant stimuli is removed from the situation so that the behaviour occurs again.

• Removing something negative so the behaviour happens again.

What is intrinsic motivation?

• This is motivation that comes from within.

• Boosts your self-esteem.

• For example you might feel like a good person for recycling.

What is extrinsic motivation?

• This is motivation that comes from outside.

• Its given to us by an external source such as your family giving you £20 for getting an A.

What is primary reinforcement?

• This is when the reward is something we want naturally - a basic need such as food, warmth or affection

What is secondary reinforcement, and a token economy system?

• This is a reward we have learned to value - like money.

• Sometimes we can exchange our secondary reinforcers for our primary ones - we call these token economy systems.

What is an example of a token economy system?

• Boots advantage card - you collect points to exchange it for an item.

What is punishment?

• The behaviour is weakened and so shouldn’t occur again.

• This can take a while.

What is positive punishment?

• Adding a negative stimulus to the situation to get rid of the behaviour.

• Like shouting or a slap.

What is negative punishment?

• Taking something away from the situation to get rid of the behaviour.

• Like a detention to remove your free time.

What was the research conducted by Skinner into operant conditioning?

• The skinner box is a chamber that isolates the subject from the external environment and has a behaviour indicator such a lever or button.

• He placed the rats in the skinner box which contained a lever, light and food dispenser.

• If the rat pressed the lever the light came on and the food rolled down - this is positive reinforcement

• At first the rat would press the lever accidentally.

• However, the consequences was contiguous (the food was dispensed instantly) and contingent (the light coming on alerted the rat to what it had done).

• Rats quickly learned to press the lever to get food.

What is the ABC model?

• Operant conditioning tells us that behaviour is based on A-B-C, so if you want to change behaviour you must change the antecedents (what has already happened) or the consequences - it is much easier to change the consequences.

• The antecedent is the trigger - what is happening in the environment before the behaviour occurs.

• The consequence can either be a reward or punishment.

Antecedent → behaviour → consequences

What did Skinner say about rewards and punishments, what is the solution to this?

• Skinner said that it wasn’t as simple as just rewarding or punishing a behaviour which would lead to behaviour change.

• Rewards can sometimes lose their appeal if they are given too often.

• Therefore, changing the amount, type and frequency of reinforcement is needed.

What are the 4 different types of reinforcement?

• Fixed interval

• Variable interval

• Fixed ratio

• Variable ratio

What is fixed interval?

• The reward turns up at a regular time.

• Desirable behaviour increases in the run-up to the reward.

• e.g. Suzi receives £5 for every household chore she completes.

What is variable interval?

• The reward is given but you can’t be sure exactly when.

• e.g. Miss Price gives out epraise points when students answer questions in lesson.

What is fixed ratio?

• A fixed ratio is the number of times an action must be done in order to receive a reward.

• e.g. Sammi gets a £100 bonus every time he sells 10 tickets to a festival.

What is variable ratio?

• The reward is dispensed randomly after a changing number of behaviours.

• e.g. Max’s favourite coffee shop gives him a free drink after he has bought 5 coffees, and another when he has bought 3 more.

What are the evaluation points for ‘cognitions/thought processes’?

Weakness

• Operant conditioning does not consider the role of cognitions in behaviour.

• We must appraise the consequence of our actions (the reward or punishment we will get) before we choose to engage in certain behaviour.

• This explanation suggests we are very passive in how we learn which isn’t true.

• Reductionist.

What are the evaluation points for ‘individual differences/rewards and punishments are subjective’?

Weakness

• Rewards and punishments are subjective.

• This is a very nomothetic way of explaining behaviour - it assumes that we all respond the same way to rewards and punishments.

• For some, punishments don’t remove bad behaviours and rewards may not be enough to reinforce others.

What are the evaluation points for ‘Focus on nurture’?

Weakness

• This is a reductionist explanation as it assumes that our behaviour is purely a result of our environment.

• Some behaviours may be predetermined as we saw in Bio psych.

• So this explanation cannot explain behaviours that are not reinforced.

What are the evaluation points for ‘Scientific research’?

Strength

• There’s a lot of research in support of operant conditioning.

• Including the study by Skinner into rats.

• Moreover, a lot of this research is strictly scientific, being carried out on animals in lab conditions or using brain imaging techniques like MRI.

• This makes the explanation more credible.

What are the evaluation points for ‘Application- use in society’?

Strength

• The principles of Operant conditioning have been used in many ways to shape behaviour in the real world.

• For example, TES are used in schools and prisons to try and increase good behaviours and eradicate negative ones.

• The principles are also used in therapies used for children with Autism and other learning difficulties.

• Even shops use it - boots advantage card.