Operant Conditioning

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

Similarities

  • Both involve:

    • Acquisition

    • Extinction

    • Spontaneous recovery

    • Generalization

    • Discrimination

Key Difference

  • Classical conditioning:

    • Passive learning

    • Involuntary, reflexive responses

    • Association between two stimuli

    • Example: Pavlov’s dog salivating to a bell

  • Operant conditioning:

    • Active learning

    • Voluntary behaviors

    • Association between behavior and consequence

    • Example: Skinner’s rat pressing a lever for food

Memory hook
Pavlov: Something happens to me
Skinner: I do something, something happens

Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)

  • Behavior is shaped by consequences

  • Consequences determine whether behavior increases or decreases

Acquisition

  • Learning a new behavior

  • Occurs when a behavior is reliably performed

  • Gradual, not all-or-nothing

Shaping

  • Reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior

  • Used when the behavior does not occur naturally

  • Example:

    • Rat rewarded for moving toward lever

    • Then touching lever

    • Finally pressing lever

Chaining

  • Reinforcement after a sequence of behaviors

  • Each step is learned individually, then linked

  • Example:

    • Dog jumps through hoop → rings bell → catches Frisbee

Extinction (Operant Conditioning)

  • Behavior decreases when reinforcement stops

  • Example:

    • Rat stops pressing lever when food stops

    • Child stops tantrum when ignored

Extinction Burst

  • Temporary increase in behavior before extinction

  • “Where’s my reward?”

Spontaneous Recovery

  • Reappearance of an extinguished behavior after reinforcement returns

  • Example:

    • One candy bar brings tantrums back

Generalization

  • Similar behaviors occur because they were previously reinforced

  • Example:

    • Pigeon pecks red key and also pecks pink key

Discrimination

  • Learning which behaviors are rewarded and which are not

  • Discriminative stimulus signals when reward is available

  • Example:

    • Pigeon pecks key only when light is on

Reinforcement vs. Punishment

Reinforcement

  • Always increases behavior

Positive Reinforcement

  • Adding something pleasant

  • Example:

    • Treat for cleaning room

Negative Reinforcement

  • Removing something unpleasant

  • Two types:

    • Avoidance: behavior prevents aversive stimulus

    • Escape: behavior stops aversive stimulus

  • Example:

    • Seatbelt stops buzzer

Punishment

  • Always decreases behavior

  • Involves adding an aversive stimulus

  • Example:

    • Shock for lever pressing

Effective punishment must be:

  • Immediate

  • Consistent

  • Linked to behavior

  • Paired with reinforcement of good behavior

Omission Training (Removal of Privilege)

  • Removing a positive reinforcer to stop behavior

  • Alternative to punishment

  • Example:

    • Losing phone privileges for misbehavior

Biological Constraints

Instinctual Drift

  • Learned behaviors revert to instinctual patterns

  • Breland & Breland experiment:

    • Raccoons hoarded coins instead of depositing them

Schedules of Reinforcement

Continuous Reinforcement

  • Reinforce every response

  • Fast learning

  • Fast extinction

Intermittent Reinforcement

  • Reinforce some responses

  • More resistant to extinction

Fixed-Ratio (FR)

  • Reward after set number of responses

  • Example:

    • Paid every 10 items produced

Fixed-Interval (FI)

  • Reward after set time

  • Example:

    • Weekly test → cramming

Variable-Ratio (VR)

  • Varying number of responses

  • Highest response rate

  • Most resistant to extinction

  • Example:

    • Slot machines

Variable-Interval (VI)

  • Varying time intervals

  • Steady behavior

  • Example:

    • Pop quizzes