Operant Conditioning

Question 1

• ‘Nurture’

Answer 1

Skinner focuses purely on nurture - refutes theory as it suggests it is biased, ignoring the idea of hereditary, genetic influence on learning

Question 2

+ Hobbs and Holt

Answer 2

Hobbs and Holt conducted a study involving delinquent boys, finding that when they introduced a token economy system into three juvenile delinquent centres there was a significant increase in desired behaviours - supports positive reinforcement with research evidence, validating the theory

Question 3

+ Application

Answer 3

Principles of operant conditioning have been applied to real world settings, such as behavioural systems in schools - supports theory as it as real-life application

Question 4

• Humans to animals

Answer 4

The theory was been generalised from humans to animals - refutes theory as animals are physically different, so can’t be sure if the same behaviour would be reflected in humans as in Thorndike and Skinner’s research with cats and rats