Operant Conditioning

1. Operant Conditioning Cassie Tobin

2. What is Operant Conditioning? • The form of learning where a response increases in frequency as a result of it being followed by a reinforcement. • Students often learn and demonstrate new behaviors for the consequences that those behaviors bring. • Example: Sandy studies hard for her Accounting test. She gets an A on the test.

3. Terms • Operant – an action that operates on the environment to produce a change in the environment • Reinforcer – an event when which made upon the occurrence of an operant increases the probability of the operant • Punisher – an event when which made upon the occurrence of an operant decreases the probability of the operant

4. Operant Conditioning • A theory used by many different people. • B.F. Skinner and John Watson • Reinforcement is a main concept of the theory • One distinctive aspect of Skinners theory is that it attempted to provide behavioral explanations for a broad range of phenomena.

5. Operant Conditioning • Operant conditioning has been widely applied in clinical settings as well as teaching and instructional development.

6. Operant Conditioning • Appropriate and productive behaviors are acquired because of the desirable outcome that may occur. • Many inappropriate and undesirable behaviors may be acquired for the same reason.

7. Three Essential Conditions for Operant Conditioning • The individual must make a response. • Behaviorists say that little is accomplished when the students just sit and listen to their teacher. • Students are more likely to learn when they are making active responses within the classroom. • Example: Students will learn their cursive letters more easily by writing them.

8. Three Essential Conditions for Operant Conditioning • A reinforcer must follow the response. • To be most effective, the reinforcer should occur immediately after the response. • The closer it occurs to the response the more effective it will be to the students. • Example: A teacher gives her students several minutes of free time after they complete an assignment. • Delayed reinforcers are more likely to be effective with older students.

9. Three Essential Conditions for Operant Conditioning • The reinforcer must be presented only when the response has occurred. • Example: A teacher who praises her students only when they behave appropriately. • The reinforcer should never occur when the response does not occur. • Example: A teacher who laughs at inappropriate behavior of her students.

10. Types of Reinforcers • Positive Reinforcement – the basis of all conditioning. • Negative Reinforcement – involves the removal of a bad consequence when the response is performed. • Positive Punishment – involves the presentation of a bad consequence when the response is performed • Negative Punishment – involves the removal of a good consequence when the response is performed

11. Operant Conditioning vs. Classical Conditioning • Classical conditioning also contains a stimulus and a response. • Operant conditioning varies in two ways • The order of the stimulus and the response. • The nature of the response.

12. How teachers should use Operant Conditioning in the classroom • Use reinforcement rather than punishment, otherwise use them together, if at all possible. • Select reinforcers carefully • Immediacy • Source • Frequency • Learners themselves

13. Sources • http://tip.psychology.org/skinner.html • http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/behsys/operant.html • http://www.general.uwa.edu.au/u/kraepeln/bs/bs130/operant.htm