Operant Vs. Operant Conditioning

Operant and Classical Conditioning are very similar, yet very different. You must be careful when observing both the stimulus and the stimuli that go hand in hand, when discussing the two. One way to tell you know the difference of understanding the two is being aware that in classical conditioning, expectations are built about stimulus events in the environment, but their behavior does not influence the stimuli that occur.

1. Operant conditioning is a type of behavioral learning developed by made famous by psychoanalysis B.F. Skinner in the late 1930’s. Operant conditioning is the act of learned behavior through consequences. Types of operant conditioning are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment.

Within the concept of operant conditioning, there are various simple schedules of reinforcement that are a part of our daily routine. Operant conditioning is a category of learning that invokes consequences, either negative or positive, as a way to increase or decrease behaviors (Powel, Honey & Symbaluk, 2013, p. 264) Schedules of reinforcement, such as fixed ratio, variable interval, fixed interval and variable ratio, are used as ways to strengthened or weaken those wanted or unwanted behaviors (Powel, Honey & Symbaluk, 2013, pp. 271-279). When applying these fundamental concepts to real world scenarios, it is crucial to first acknowledge which behavior is to be strengthened or weakened and then proceed with the conditioning.

Classical and operant conditioning are two important concepts central to behavioral psychology. While both result in learning, the processes are quite different. In order to understand how each of these behavior modification techniques can be used, it is also essential to understand how classical conditioning and operant conditioning differ from one another. Both classical and operant learning are psychological processes that lead to learning. Here learning refers to the process by which changes in behavior, including actions, emotions, thoughts, and the responses of muscles and glands,

In this paper there will be an examination of the Operant Conditioning theory. It will describe the theory, and compare and contrast the positive and negative reinforcement. It will determine which form of reinforcement is the most effective, and will give an explanation of the reasoning behind that choice. It will also give a scenario in which operant conditioning is applied and how it shapes behavior. It will show a schedule that could be used in the reinforcement of the selected behavior in the scenario.

Operant conditioning refers to the method of learning to occur through rewards and punishment for behavior (Staddon & Cerutti 2002). In the operant condition, an association occurs between the behavior and the consequences of the behavior. Behaviorist B.F Skinner coined operant conditioning, and that is why some refer to it as Skinnerian conditioning. Skinner started studying operant conditioning in the late 1920s when he was a graduate student at Harvard University. As a behaviorist B.F Skinner believes that it was obligatory to look at the internal thoughts and motivation so as to explain behavior (Staddon & Cerutti 2002). As an alternative, he did suggest that we should look only at the external and observable causes of human behavior. The characteristics of operant conditioning are that an organism may emit a particular response instead of just eliciting the response because of the external stimulus. Skinner did use the term operant in referring to any active behavior that operates on the environment so as to generate consequences (Doyle-Portillo & Pastorino 2013).

One report shows that “physical punishment doesn’t improve children’s behavior in the long term.” Spanking your kids leads to many negative outcomes including mental health problems. There is even a greater risk for kids to have a serious injury when they are physically abused (“Discipline vs. Abuse”, 2016). Parents are likely to hit when they are angry. Being angry makes people go crazy. Parents could only mean to hit the kid a little, but end up really hurting the kid because they were angry.

Operant conditioning has made a significant contribution into the development of psychology. However, as with most psychological theories, this theory it has its strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, operant conditioning, with both its positive and negative aspects, is very important in promoting learning of desirable behaviors or removal of undesirable

Firstly, physical punishment breeds aggressive behaviour. Research shows that negative reinforcement tends to have a replicating effect. Adults who were spanked as children are, in turn, more likely to spank their children. Parents set a precedent and children tend to imitate the behaviour, good or ill. For example, a child that is physically

Scenario D: Roberta puts $1.50 in the soda machine to buy her daily Diet Coke. Today, nothing comes out, and she does not get her money back. Roberta does not put any more money into that machine. With regard to the behavior of Roberta putting, and later not putting, money into the soda machine, was classical or operant conditioning operating? If it is an example of classical conditioning, identify the UCS, UCR, CS & CR. If it is an example of operant conditioning, identify whether positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment is being used. Roberta’s change in behavior is due to operant conditioning. After having put money into the machine and not receiving anything, plus being unable to get her back money negatively reinforced

Operant conditioning is a form of learning where reinforcement or punishment is used to increase or decrease a behavior from reoccurring in the future. The frequency of the behavior now before is when ever there is a chance to play video games he is. He probably plays for eight hours a day on average. I'm hoping that after intervention that it will be only a couple hours a day, and only after everything else has been completes such as assignments. One method I would use would be negative reinforcement, which is taking something away from the environment to decrease his behavior. In this case since he was missing classes and not doing school work I would take

Yelling in public, crying over the smallest things, throwing a tantrum every five minutes; all these things have the same solution, which is spanking. People think spanking is a way to raise their children. Spanking is used among parents to teach their children a lesson if they act in a way they are not supposed to act. Some parents use spanking as a way to discipline, a way to teach the child a lesson, or it can be a natural thing in their household. The method of spanking as child rearing has caused some controversy about whether spanking negatively influence a child’s future behaviors and actions. The practice of spanking can later reflect their violent behavior as they get older. Children can easily misunderstand the message behind spanking and unknowingly use it the same way as their parents. Children can, therefore, use the method of spanking toward their new upcoming urge for violence or bad behavior. All of their future actions are now reflecting what they learned in their few years as a baby; they have learned the pain and method of spanking. It is only natural for them to use what they learned in their future. While the method of spanking for child rearing is used among many families, it is important to know whether this practice of spanking is effective in a beneficial way or if it is a definite way to create a child who has a violent behavior. It is better to know whether spanking is favorable in a child’s rearing years, rather than to use the

In order to aid my roommate's diet regimen the use of all aspects of operant conditioning will become significant. Since operant conditioning is the method through which an individual's behavior is modified via the use of consequences, positive and negative, both punishment and reward should be a part of my roommate's diet plan. Since grasping the inital plan is an underlying problem of this conditioning, a reinforcer, like a delicious snack will be used at five minute/ fixed ratio schedule to ensure that the subject understands all aspects of the study--like the reinfrocements and the punishments. First, a strict plan must be laid out in which the ultimate reward is made clear, this is the reward that is laid out by Throndike's Law of Effect,

Operant conditioning focuses on a system of reinforcement and punishers where actions will have a consequence (Skinner, 2016). In operant conditioning, behaviour that is reinforced will be strengthened while behaviour that is not reinforced will weaken with time (Skinner, 2016). There are three types of operants. The neutral operants that will neither increase nor decrease the chances of repeating a behaviour (Skinner, 2016). The reinforcers will increase the chances of repeating a behaviour (Skinner, 2016). The punishers will decrease the chances of repeating a behaviour (Skinner, 2016). Positive reinforcement strengthens a behaviour as an individual gains rewards through it (Skinner, 2016). Negative reinforcement strengthens the behaviour by removing an unpleasant consequence

Operant conditioning is a type of learning which occurs through either receiving reinforcement or punishment for a behavior. This type of learning creates an association between a behavior and consequence for that behavior. The four types of operant conditioning are positive reinforcement, positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment. If operant conditioning was used properly it could be used to solve a variety of social and resource dilemmas; especially in the case of the cattle ranchers and overgrazing.