Resources for unit 3

The most famous behaviorist was Burrhus Frederick (B. F.) Skinner (1904–1990).  B. F. Skinner expanded on the Thorndike’s ideas to develop a more complete set of principles to explain operant conditioning.  His experiments were quite similar to the Thorndike’s research with cats.  He used a Skinner box to study operant learning.  The box contains a bar or key that the organism can press to receive food and water, and a device that records the organism’s responses.

Skinner placed a hungry rat in a box (Skinner box). The box had a lever or button the animal could press, a dispenser for food (as a reward) and sometimes, an electrified floor to deliver mild punishment. The installation of the box ensures that when the bar is pressed, the food will be released into the cup. The rat started to explore after smelling the food and accidentally pressed the bar, causing food to fall into the cup and the rat ate the food. The next time, the rat took a little less time to press the lever, and on successive trials, the time it took to press the lever became shorter. Soon, the rat pressed the lever as fast as to eat the food that appeared (the reinforcer of the response). The rat had learned to repeat the action that brought about the food and cease the actions that did not.

A.    Key concepts in skinner’s operant conditioning

Skinner studied, in detail, how animals changed their behavior through reinforcement and punishment, and he developed terms that explained the processes of operant learning:

• Reinforcer refers to any event that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behavior.
• Punisher refers to any event that weakens or decreases the likelihood of a behavior.
• Positive and negative reinforcement or punishment to refer to whether a reinforcement or punishment was added/presented or removed, respectively.
• Reinforcement: a consequence that increases the likelihood of a response/ behaviour to occur. Reinforcement, either positive or negative, works by increasing the likelihood of behavior
• Positive reinforcement: adding a good/pleasant stimulus after a response in order to encourage the response to continue. Examples: A teacher might praise a student for completing their work on time or for showing kindness to a classmate. Compliments like Great job! I’m really impressed by your effort, or You’re really focusing well today! Encourage the student to repeat the behavior. At the end of the week or month, students who have shown consistent effort, good behavior, or academic improvement might receive awards: “Student of the Month” awards, or other forms of recognition.
• Negative reinforcement: removal of an undesirable stimulus after a response so that the response will occur more often. Examples: If a student consistently turns in assignments on time, the teacher might reduce the amount of homework assigned to that student, thereby reinforcing the behavior of punctuality and responsibility. If a student is in a timeout for misbehaving but then demonstrates improved behavior, the teacher may choose to end the timeout earlier than expected, thus reinforcing the positive behavior.
• Punishment: a consequence that decreases the likelihood of a response/behaviour to occur. It  refers to any event that weakens or reduces the likelihood of a behavior. If you are using punishment, you are trying to decrease the behaviour. 
• Positive punishment: Adding a negative consequence after undesired behavior is exhibited, the behavior is less likely to happen in the future, will occur less or stop. Examples: Giving extra work to a student for misbehaving; a child who is beaten after fighting with a sibling is less likely to repeat these behaviors. A student receives a call phone in classroom, and he/she picks up the call and starts talking in class, the teacher then reprimands him in front of the whole class and adds his homework to be twice as much as the rest of the students. The consequence or the punishment of receiving a phone call discourages him from repeating the action again. Positive punishment weakens a response by presenting something unpleasant after the response. It involves adding something unpleasant to discourage behavior.
• Negative punishment. Removing a certain desired or pleasing stimulus after a particular undesired behavior is exhibited, resulting in the behavior happening less often in the future, will occur less or stop Taking away television or video games from a child for misbehaving so that he or she will stop misbehaving. A child who loses the opportunity to go to recess after getting a poor grade) is less likely to repeat these behaviors. A student who really enjoys a specific class, such as gym or music classes at school, negative punishment can happen if he/she is removed from that class and sent to the principal’s office because he/she is misbehaving. Taking the cell phone of a student after receiving a call in class. If a student misbehaves, the teacher might take away a portion of their recess, which is something they enjoy. Negative punishment weakens a response by reducing or removing something pleasant. It involves removing something desirable to decrease behavior.

Although the distinction between reinforcement (which increases behavior) and punishment (which decreases it) is usually clear, in some cases, it is difficult to determine whether a reinforcer is positive or negative. For example, on a hot day, a cool breeze (gentle wind) could be seen as a positive reinforcer (because it brings in cool air) or a negative reinforcer (because it removes hot air).  In other cases, reinforcement can be both positive and negative.  One may smoke a cigarette both because it brings pleasure (positive reinforcement) and because it eliminates the craving (strong desire) for nicotine (negative reinforcement).