Reward and Punishment ; a Motivator in Child's Learning

Operant conditioning according to Walker et al (2007) pg 86 refers to learning that involves changes in voluntary responses those over which we normally have conscious control. Operant conditioning was developed largely by B.F. Skinner (1974,1989). According to Bastable (2003) pg 57 chap 3 operant conditioning focuses on the behaviour of the organism and reinforcement that occurs after the response. A reinforcer is a stimulus or event applied after a response that strengthens the probability that the response will be performed again. Skinner (1974) suggested that giving positive reinforcement i.e. (reward) greatly enhances behaviour and the likelihood that a response will be repeated in a similar circumstance. A second way to increase behaviour is by applying

Praising a child is what adults do en route for reinforcing a behavior the adult wants that child to continue doing. Operant conditioning is when one behaves a certain way and then is reinforced or punished for their actions. Praise is a form of positive reinforcement, when introducing an incentive that will likely increase or maintain a desired result. People are split as to whether or not praise is helpful to a child’s development. Some believe Praise inhibits motive and increases the child’s uncertainty in their own abilities. On the other hand, there are people who believe praise is a useful tool for adults to teach children how to behave in modern society.

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.

Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.

Operant Conditioning Theory by B.F. Skinner is a psychological manipulation using rewards and punishments to enforce positive behavior. It uses an individual person’s response to events or stimulus. When a particular Stimulus-Response pattern is rewarded, the individual is conditioned to respond. The distinctive characteristic of operant conditioning is related to previous forms of behaviorism. The Operant Conditioning theory comprises of neutral operants, positive/negative reinforcers, and positive/negative punishers. Through these factors, we get the desired behavior of our subject because they do not want to be punished for under performing so they do what they’re told to or do more of what they were assigned to to receive positive stimulus

Operant conditioning is the effects punishment and reinforcement have on behavior; “the law of effect, which states that behaviors associated with good consequences (satisfiers) are more likely to occur again in the future, whereas behaviors associated with bad consequences (annoyers) are less likely to occur again” (Durwin 162). This is a necessary component used by many psychologists and educators to provide the best positive outcome in a child’s behavior. When analyzing the “Billy Scenario,” it is obvious that the teacher, Ms. Allen, tried different techniques of punishment to decrease the students’ misbehavior, but was unsuccessful; leading to an increase in the frequency of response or more disruptive behavior.

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.

Skinner’s reinforcement experiments conducted on rats showed the principles of operant conditioning. While working with rats, Skinner would place them in a Skinner box with a lever attached to a feeding tube. After multiple trials, rats learned the connection between the lever and food, and started to spend more time in the box procuring food than performing any other action. He used positive reinforcement, and negative reinforcement to produce or inhibit specific target behaviors. Therefore, if a specific behavior is reinforced then the probability of that behavior occurring again is increased. Based on Skinner’s view, this theory can be applied to learning because learning is nothing more than a change in behavior. Operant conditioning encourages positive reinforcement, which can be applied in the classroom environment to get the good behavior you want and need from students. One of the ways of reinforcing a student’s behavior is through praise. Also teachers can build operant conditioning techniques into their lesson plans to teach children possible skills as well as good behaviors. For example: to give a smiley face, or motivational stamps to encourage children to perform correctly and encourage them to repeat such action again.

Learning is the act of changing an organism’s behavior in response to an experience. Associative learning is when an organism links two events that occur close in time. When an organism learns to make associations, it is being conditioned. There are two types of conditioning. Operant conditioning is when an organism associates an action and the consequence of that action. It results in the organism adapting its behavior to maximize rewards and minimize punishment (Skinner). On the other hand, classical conditioning is a type of learning where an organism associates a certain stimulus and the response to it with a different stimulus. A neutral stimulus is associated with an unconditioned response to an unconditioned

Analysis As we were conducting our experiment, we collected data so we would be able to determine the differences between males and females. The students then had to take a mini quiz that we had made for the five males and five females, ten students of the age between fifteen through eighteen. We gave the students the quizzes so it would be indiscriminate and not planned. We conducted the quiz three times with each quiz having two questions.

Operant conditioning is a theory that was pioneered by Skinner, and it is a theory that is based on the type of consequence that is given following a particular behaviour. Skinner divided the consequences of actions into three groups, positive rein forcers, negative reinforcers and punishers. Skinner looked at what would happen to behaviour if giving positive reinforcers at different intervals. Most professionals and practitioners will use this theory in one way or another such as giving rewards for good behaviour or sanctions for bad behaviour so the theory is well used in today’s frameworks and practices.

When it comes to inspiring behavioral changes positive reinforcement is more effective than punishment in terms of changing the behavior in the long term. How effectively positive reinforcement affects behavioral changes is closely tied to how behavioral changes are incentivized and rewards bestowed. The case is similar for the application of negative reinforcement. However, rewards and punishments must significantly affect a person’s current situation--for better or worse--in order to inspire change. Let’s look at how positive reinforcement typically results in long-term behavioral change more effectively than punishment overall.

Classroom reward systems provide teachers and students with guidelines to follow when dealing with behaviour. Every school has some form of behaviour management in place to deal with both good and bad behaviours and children with special needs who often need structure, planning and daily goals. Integrating technology into classroom reward systems, rewarding good behaviour, hard work or improvement, can have a positive impact on students, as Merrett, A., and Merrett, L. (2013) described, due to the materials being more stimulating and more interactive than other methods commonly used. Also digital rewards systems are easier for educators to edit and tailor to students or classrooms, individual needs, abilities and/or year group.

Describe what Operant conditioning is? Explain how Operant Conditioning can be applied in animal training?

A total of 30 students of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris undergraduates volunteered to do this experiment, which is consist of 22 female’s students and 8 male students. In this experiment, we just have two group of respondent which is control group and experimental group. So, 30 students of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris that who are volunteered to be the respondent was divided into two groups which are 15 students in control group and 15 students in experimental group.