Approaches: Lesson 3 - Operant Conditioning

Question 1

What is the idea behind skinners theory of operant conditioning?

Answer 1

• The basic idea behind Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning (Skinner, 1938) is that organisms spontaneously produce different behaviours and these behaviours produce consequences for that organism
• Some of these consequences may be positive and some may be negative
• If the consequence of a behaviour is positive then the behaviour is likely to be repeated. If the consequence is negative then the behaviour is much less likely to be repeated

Question 2

What is reinforcement?

Answer 2

Reinforcement is something in the environment that strengthens a particular behaviour (i.e. makes that behaviour more likely to happen)

• There are two types of reinforcement:
  1. Positive reinforcement
  2. Negative reinforcement

Question 3

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 3

– Occurs when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant for the organism
- For example, praising a child for doing their homework

Question 4

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 4

– Occurs when behaviour removes something aversive (unpleasant) and returns the organism to the pre-aversive state
- For example, turning off the alarm clock allows a person to escape from the unpleasant ringing

Question 5

What is punishment?

Answer 5

When a certain behaviour leads to an unpleasant
This decreases the likelihood that the behaviour will occur again
There are two types of punishment:
1. Positive punishment
2. Negative punishment

Question 6

What is positive punishment?

Answer 6

– This is when something unpleasant is added to a person’s life that was not there before (such as giving a student detention).

Question 7

What is negative punishment?

Answer 7

–This is when something pleasant is removed from a person’s life (such as confiscating a student’s mobile phone).

Question 8

Partial reinforcement vs continuous reinforcement (which one is better?)

Answer 8

–Although continuous reinforcement(e.g. rewarding a dog with a treat every time it sits on command) is most effective in establishing a particular response, a partial reinforcement (e.g. giving the dog a treat every 3rd time it sits) is more effective at maintaining that behaviour in the long-run

Question 9

Outline the procedure of Skinner (1953)

Answer 9

• Skinner conducted research on rats in a device called the Skinner Box
• The Skinner box was a cage which had speakers, lights, a lever, a door and a floor which could be electrified
• One hungry rat at a time would be placed in the Skinner box and allowed to freely run round
• The rat might accidentally press the lever and the rat would be rewarded by a food pellet which would drop into the Skinner box (positive reinforcement)
• The rat would continue to press the lever in order toreceive a food pellet in the future, and the rat soon learned that pressing the lever led to a reward
• The rat could also learn that by pressing the lever they could avoid something unpleasant, by pressing the lever the rat could avoid receiving an electric shock (conducted via the floor)
• This is an example of negative reinforcement