ReinforcementReinforcement is defined as a consequence that follows an operant response that increase (or attempts to increase) the likelihood of that response occurring in the future. Show
Positive ReinforcementIn an attempt to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant response is followed by the presentation of an appetitive stimulus. This is positive reinforcement. If you stroke a cat's fur in a manner that is pleasing to the cat it will purr. The cat's purring may act as a positive reinforcer, causing you to stroke the cat's fur in the same manner in the future. Negative ReinforcementIn an attempt to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant response is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus. This is negative reinforcement. When a child says "please" and "thank you" to his/her mother, the child may not have to engage in his/her dreaded chore of setting the table. Therefore, not having to set the table will act as a negative reinforcer and increase the likelihood of the child saying "please" and "thank you" in the future. ReinforcerA behavior (operant response) is sometimes more likely to occur in the future as a result of the consequences that follow that behavior. Events that increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future are called reinforcers. Positive ReinforcerA positive reinforcer is an appetitive event whose presentation follows an operant response. The positive reinforcer increases the likelihood of that behavior occurring again under the same circumstances. Click here for an example of a positive reinforcer. Negative ReinforcerA negative reinforcer is an aversive event whose removal follows an operant response. The negative reinforcer increases the likelihood of that behavior occurring again under the same circumstances. Click here for an example of a negative reinforcer. Primary ReinforcerA primary reinforcer is a reinforcer that is biologically pre-established to act as reinforcement. Food, water, and sex are all primary reinforcers because they satisfy biological desires. Conditioned ReinforcerA conditioned reinforcer is a previously neutral stimulus. If the neutral stimulus is paired with a primary reinforcer it acquires the same reinforcement properties associated with the primary reinforcer. Money is a conditioned reinforcer. The actual paper bills are not themselves reinforcing. However, the paper bills can be used to acquire primary reinforcers such as food, water, and shelter. Therefore, the paper bills become reinforcers as a result of pairing them with the acquisition of food, water, and shelter. Glossary Index | Quotations An Introduction to Operant (Instrumental) ConditioningCitation: Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (1997). An introduction to operant (instrumental) conditioning. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [date] from, http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/behavior/operant.html Return to: | An Overview of Behavioral Psychology | EdPsyc Topics | A human being fashions his consequences as surely as he fashions his goods or his dwelling. Nothing that he says, thinks or does is without consequences. The major theorists for the development of operant conditioning are Edward Thorndike, John Watson, and B. F. Skinner. This approach to behaviorism played a major role in the development of the science of psychology, especially in the United States. They proposed that learning is the result of the application of consequences; that is, learners begin to connect certain responses with certain stimuli. This connection causes the probability of the response to change (i.e., learning occurs.) Thorndike labeled this type of learning instrumental. Using consequences, he taught kittens to manipulate a latch (e.g., an instrument). Skinner renamed instrumental as operant because it is more descriptive (i.e., in this learning, one is "operating" on, and is influenced by, the environment). Where classical conditioning illustrates S-->R learning, operant conditioning is often viewed as R-->S learning since it is the consequence that follows the response that influences whether the response is likely or unlikely to occur again. It is through operant conditioning that voluntary responses are learned. The 3-term model of operant conditioning (S--> R -->S) incorporates the concept that responses cannot occur without an environmental event (e.g., an antecedent stimulus) preceding it. While the antecedent stimulus in operant conditioning does not elicit or cause the response (as it does in classical), it can influence it. When the antecedent does influence the likelihood of a response occurring, it is technically called a discriminative stimulus. It is the stimulus that follows a voluntary response (i.e., the response's consequence) that changes the probability of whether the response is likely or unlikely to occur again. There are two types of consequences: positive (sometimes called pleasant) and negative (sometimes called aversive). These can be added to or taken away from the environment in order to change the probability of a given response occurring again. General Principles
Schedules of consequences
In summary, the schedules of consequences are often called schedules of reinforcements because there is only one schedule that is appropriate for administering response cost and punishment: continuous or fixed ratio of one. In fact, certainty of the application of a consequence is the most important aspect of using response cost and punishment. Learners must know, without a doubt, that an undesired or inappropriate target behavior will be followed by removal of a positive/pleasant stimulus or the addition of a negative/aversive stimulus. Using an intermittent schedule when one is attempting to reduce a behavior may actually lead to a strengthening of the behavior, certainly an unwanted end result. Premack Principle
Analyzing Examples of Operant Conditioning
Rules in analyzing examples. The following questions can help in determining whether operant conditioning has occurred.
Examples. The following examples are provided to assist you in analyzing examples of operant conditioning.
Applications of Operant Conditioning to Education:
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All materials on this website [http://www.edpsycinteractive.org] are, unless otherwise stated, the property of William G. Huitt. Copyright and other intellectual property laws protect these materials. Reproduction or retransmission of the materials, in whole or in part, in any manner, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, is a violation of copyright law. What is a consequence that increases behavior?Reinforcement is defined as a consequence that follows an operant response that increase (or attempts to increase) the likelihood of that response occurring in the future.
Which technique increases the frequency of a behavior?Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior (response) is rewarding or the behavior is followed by another stimulus that is rewarding, increasing the frequency of that behavior. For example, if a rat in a Skinner box gets food when it presses a lever, its rate of pressing will go up.
What are the four consequences of behavior?There are four quadrants of consequences. They are Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Positive Punishment and Negative Punishment.
What is a pleasant consequence that increases the frequency of the behavior it follows?2. A favorable or pleasant consequence is called a reinforcer, because it tends to reinforce or strengthen the behavior it follows. Reinforcers raise the probability that the behavior will occur again.
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