Chapter 1. Operant Conditioning: Learned Behaviors

Short Description

A reward can be as simple as seeing light when we turn on a light switch. When we learn that turning on a light switch gives us light, the likelihood that we try the switch the next time we need light increases.

Long Description

This is the premise of operant conditioning: a behavior is strengthened when it is followed by a reward and weakened when it is followed by punishment. In this program, students learn the basic principles of operant conditioning and are introduced to experimental and real-life examples of this learning method.

Edward Thorndike and B.F. Skinner were key figures in the discovery and research on operant conditioning. In studying cats' responses to consequences, Thorndike concluded that learning occurred automatically, incrementally, and identically in all animals. His theory paved the way for B.F. Skinner and the field of behaviorism. Skinner spent decades trying to understand the relationship between certain behavioral outcomes and schedules of reinforcement. He believed that in real life we are not rewarded for every single behavior. Rather, reinforcements are delivered on fixed and variable schedules.

As the narrator explains, reinforcements can be delivered in positive and negative doses. Behaviors that are positively reinforced are more likely to be repeated then those which have negative consequences. In terms of extinction, there are some distinct differences between what happens in classical versus operant conditioning. In classical conditioning, extinction occurs when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus. However, in operant conditioning, extinction can occur if the reinforcement is either terminated or no longer rewarding.

In the final scene, Robert Epstein illustrates how operant conditioning occurs often (and subtly) in the real world. He emphasizes the importance of learning how to effectively program consequences as a way to receive desirable results from our interactions with others.

Questions