Operant Conditioning Flashcards
Describe operant conditioning
- States that people learn through consequence
- Positive reinforcement = when something pleasant is received after the desired behaviour is performed, increasing the probability of the behaviour being repeated, e.g. giving a child a sticker for eating all their food
- Negative reinforcement = when something unpleasant is avoided after the desired behaviour is performed, increasing the probability of the behaviour being repeated, e.g. doing hw to avoid detention
- Positive punishment = receiving something negative as punishment, e.g. getting hit
- Negative punishment = getting something taken away or being deprived of something as punishment, e.g. going to bed without tea
4 schedules of reinforcement: - Variable ratio = response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses
- Fixed ratio = response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses
- Variable interval = response is reinforced after specific amounts of time has passed, but this time is on a changing/variable schedule
- Fixed interval = first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed
Research to support?
P- Skinner (1948)
E- Conducted experiments using animals which he placed in a ‘skinner box’ to see how they responded to different types of reinforcement
E- Demonstrating how learning occurs through consequence
Criticism of supporting research?
P- Animal studies
E- Generalisability issues
E- Humans are more complex and have different cognitive abilities, such as language
Application?
P- Therapy
E- Such as token economy programmes, which use positive reinforcement to modify behaviour in a closed setting like schools, hospitals or prisons
E- Demonstrated the principles of operant conditioning are valid and can be used in real life settings
Weakness?
P- Reductionist
E- Complex behaviours are broken down into smaller units of behaviour
E- Can lead to incomplete explanations
