LS3 - Operant Conditioning Flashcards
Skinner (1938)
Suggested organisms spontaneously produce different behaviours and these behaviours produce consequences for that organism that can be positive or negative.
Responses
Responses are reinforced in operant but not classical conditioning. Classical conditioning explains the acquisition of a response whilst operant conditioning explains the maintenance of a response.
Reinforcement
Strengthens a particular behaviour.
Positive Reinforcement
When behaviour produces pleasant consequences.
Negative Reinforcement
When behaviour removes something unpleasant and the person goes back to their original state.
Punishment
When a behaviour leads to an unpleasant consequence.
Positive Punishment
When something unpleasant is added to a person’s life that wasn’t there before e.g. detention
Negative Punishment
When something pleasant is removed from a person’s life e.g. confiscating phone.
Skinner (1953) Method
Put one hungry rat at a time in a Skinner box allowing them to freely run around freely.
Skinner Box
A box with speakers, lights, a lever, a door and a floor which could be electrified.
Positive Reinforcement Example Skiner
If the rat accidentally pressed the lever, they’d be rewarded with food causing them to repeat it.
Negative Reinforcement Example Skinner
The rat could be electrified by pressing the level causing them to stop pressing it.
Behaviourist Approach Strengths
Enhanced Psychology
Laws and Findings
Treatments
Behaviourist Approach Weaknesses
Environmentally Reductionist
Doesn’t Use Humans
Behaviourist Approach Strengths
Enhanced Psychology
Laws And Findings
Treatments
Behaviourist Approach Weaknesses
Environmentally Reductionist
Doesn’t Use Humans
Enhanced Psychology (+)
It enhanced the scientific status of Psychology by using strict scientific methods, being objective and producing verifiable findings.
Laws and Findings (+)
It’s developed laws and findings that’ve enabled psychologists to predict and control behaviour.
Treatments (+)
It’s lead to treatments such as systematic desensitisation and token economy (operant conditioning) - however they don’t get to the root cause of the problem.
Environmentally Reductionist (-)
It’s environmentally reductionist as it focuses on lower level explanations but also environmentally determinist as it’s entirely determined by the environment.
Doesn’t Use Humans (-)
The Skinner study doesn’t use humans meaning it tells us little about human behaviours.
