Operant Conditioning

What does operant conditioning do?

Operant conditioning teaches people new behaviours through consequences

In what ways is a consequence reinforced?

Reinforced 2 ways

What is positive reinforcement?

A person recieves something good

What is negative reinforcement?

A person avoids something bad

What happens when a punishment follows behaviour?

When a punishment follows behaviour, the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated decreases in the future

What is an example of operant conditioning?

Skinner’s Rat:

• A controlled environment with a lever, a food dispenser, and sometimes other stimuli like lights or noises

• Positive Reinforcement =

  The rat pressed the lever, a food pellet would be dispensed

• Negative Reinforcement = An electric shock was removed when the rat pressed the lever

• Punishment = Delivering an electric shock