Operant Conditioning Paper
Becky Field PS124: Psychology November 24th, 2013
Operant Conditioning
Also called instrumental learning, operant conditioning is a kind of learning in which a person or animal modifies behavior as a result of behavioral consequences. Unlike classical conditioning (which is largely passive), during operant conditioning what one does (one 's "operation") affects outcomes. For example, one might earn praise through hard work, a child …show more content…
F. Skinner 's theory of operant conditioning. The goal of punishment is to decrease the behavior that it follows. In the case of positive punishment, it involves presenting an unfavorable outcome or event following an undesirable behavior. The concept of positive punishment can difficult to remember, especially because it seems like a contradiction. How can punishment be positive? The easiest way to remember this concept is to note that it involves an aversive stimulus that is added to the situation. For this reason, positive punishment is sometimes referred to as punishment by application. http://psychology.about.com/od/operantconditioning/f/positive-punishment.htm
Examples of Positive Punishment:
1. You wear your favorite baseball cap to class, but are spoken to by your instructor for violating your school 's dress code.
2. Because you 're late to work one morning, you drive over the speed limit through a school zone. As a result, you get pulled over by a police officer receive a ticket, and get your pay docked, as well verbally warned by your boss.
3. You’re grounded and cell phone privileges suspended because of bad grades or failure to adhere to the rules at home; this is especially traumatizing for a …show more content…
The likelihood of the particular behavior occurring again in the future is increased because of removing/avoiding the negative consequence. Negative reinforcement should not be thought of as a punishment procedure. With negative reinforcement, you are increasing a behavior, whereas with punishment, you are decreasing a behavior.
When thinking about reinforcement, always remember that the end result is to try to increase the behavior, whereas punishment procedures are used to decrease behavior. For positive reinforcement, think of it as adding something positive in order to increase a response. For negative reinforcement, think of it as taking something negative away in order to increase a response. http://bcotb.com/the-difference-between-positivenegative-reinforcement-and-positivenegative-punishment/
Examples of Negative Reinforcement:
1. My son Steven doing chores around the house to avoid me nagging.
2. I remember when I was a kid, whenever something new was put on the table I was never permitted to get up from the table until I at least tried
Operant Conditioning
Also called instrumental learning, operant conditioning is a kind of learning in which a person or animal modifies behavior as a result of behavioral consequences. Unlike classical conditioning (which is largely passive), during operant conditioning what one does (one 's "operation") affects outcomes. For example, one might earn praise through hard work, a child …show more content…
F. Skinner 's theory of operant conditioning. The goal of punishment is to decrease the behavior that it follows. In the case of positive punishment, it involves presenting an unfavorable outcome or event following an undesirable behavior. The concept of positive punishment can difficult to remember, especially because it seems like a contradiction. How can punishment be positive? The easiest way to remember this concept is to note that it involves an aversive stimulus that is added to the situation. For this reason, positive punishment is sometimes referred to as punishment by application. http://psychology.about.com/od/operantconditioning/f/positive-punishment.htm
Examples of Positive Punishment:
1. You wear your favorite baseball cap to class, but are spoken to by your instructor for violating your school 's dress code.
2. Because you 're late to work one morning, you drive over the speed limit through a school zone. As a result, you get pulled over by a police officer receive a ticket, and get your pay docked, as well verbally warned by your boss.
3. You’re grounded and cell phone privileges suspended because of bad grades or failure to adhere to the rules at home; this is especially traumatizing for a …show more content…
The likelihood of the particular behavior occurring again in the future is increased because of removing/avoiding the negative consequence. Negative reinforcement should not be thought of as a punishment procedure. With negative reinforcement, you are increasing a behavior, whereas with punishment, you are decreasing a behavior.
When thinking about reinforcement, always remember that the end result is to try to increase the behavior, whereas punishment procedures are used to decrease behavior. For positive reinforcement, think of it as adding something positive in order to increase a response. For negative reinforcement, think of it as taking something negative away in order to increase a response. http://bcotb.com/the-difference-between-positivenegative-reinforcement-and-positivenegative-punishment/
Examples of Negative Reinforcement:
1. My son Steven doing chores around the house to avoid me nagging.
2. I remember when I was a kid, whenever something new was put on the table I was never permitted to get up from the table until I at least tried