operant

conditioning
theory
Marvy Alterado
Beed II-B
 “he’s a American
psychologist, behaviourist,
author, and social
philosopher”
“considered father of
BURRHUS FREDERICK
behaviourism”
SKINNER
Like Pavlov, Watson and Thorndike, Skinner believed in the
stimulus-response pattern of conditioned behavior. His theory zeroed
in only on changes in observable behavior, excluding any likelihood
of any processes taking place in the mind.

Waden Two ( 1948) - it is about a utopian society based on

operant conditioning.
Science and Human Behavior ( 1953 ) – in which he
pointed out how the principles of operant conditioning
function in social institutions such as government, law,
religion, economics and education.
Operant Conditioning
 operant
Conditioning
Is upon the notion that learning is a result of change in overt behavior.
Change in behavior are result of an individual response to events
(stimuli) that occur in the environment. A response produces a
consequence such as defining a word, hitting a ball, or solving a math
problem. When a particular stimulus-Response (S-R) pattern is reinforced
(rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond.
reinforcement
It is the key element in skinner’s S-R theory. A
REINFORCER is anything that strengthens the desired
response.
Positive reinforcerment
>is any stimulus that is given or added to increase response.

Negative reinforcerment
> is any stimulus that results in the increased frequency of a response
when it is withdrawn or removed.
> A negative reinforce is not a punishment, in fact it is a reward.
 Punishment

A process wherein a stimulus is presented after the display of

behavior. Causing the decline in the likelihood of behavior.
Positive punishment
> Is the addition of something which leads to a decrease in repeating a
given behavior.

Negative punishment
> It occurs when a positive event or outcome is removed after behavior is
occurs, in order to decrease the likelihood of the behavior to reoccur.
Extinction or non-reinforcement
This are the responses that are not reinforced are not likely to be repeated.
Shaping of
behavior
 It is a technique that involves rewarding successive approximations to a
target behavior.

 When the person or animal exhibits a behavioral that similar to the target
behavior, it is rewarded. This process is repeated as the behavior exhibited
get closer and closer to the target.
\example

An animal on a cage may take a very long time to figure out that pressing a
lever will produce food. To accomplish such behavior, successive
approximations of the behavior are rewarded until the animal learns the
association between the lever and the food reward. To begin shaping, the
animal may be rewarded for simply turning in the direction of the lever, then
for moving toward the lever, for brushing against the lever, and finally for
pressing the lever.
Behavioral
chainingComes about when a series of steps are needed to be learned. The
animal would master each step in sequence until the entire sequence is learned.
This can be applied to a child being taught to tie a shoelace. The child can be
given reinforcement (rewards) until the entire process of tying the shoelace is
learned.
Reinforcement
Schedules
Once the desired behavioral response is accomplished, reinforcement
does not have to be 100% in fact, it can be maintained more successfully
through what Skinner referred to as partial reinforcement schedules, Partial
reinforcement schedules include interval schedules and ratio schedules.
Partial or intermittent
reinforcement
A reinforcement schedule where a response is only reinforced some
of the time, rather than every time it occurs.

Continuous
reinforcement
A reinforcement schedule where a response is reinforced every time
it occurs.
Fixed Interval
Schedules.
the target response is reinforced after a fixed amount of time has
passed since the last reinforcement.

Variable Interval
Schedules
This is similar to fixed interval schedules but the amount of time that
must pass between reinforcement varies.
Fixed Ratio Schedules.
A fixed number of correct response must occur before reinforcement may
recur.

Variable ratio
Schedules
The number of correct repetition of the correct response for reinforcement
varies.
Implications of Operant
Conditioning.
1. Practice should take the form of question (stimulus) answer (response) frames which expose the
student to the subject gradual steps

2. Require that the learner makes a response for every frame and receives immediate feedback

3. Try to arrange the difficulty of the questions so the response is always correct and hence, a positive
reinforcement.

4. Ensure that good performance in the lesson is paired with secondary reinforcers such as verbal
praise, prizes and good grades.
Principles Derived from Skinner's Operant
Conditioning:
1. Behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur; intermittent reinforcement is particularly
effective.

2. Information should be presented in small amounts so that responses can be reinforced ("shaping")

3. Reinforcements will generalize across similar stimuli ("stimulus generalization") producing

secondary conditioning.
 Thank
s!
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