Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement and Extinction

• Behavior that is reinforced tends to be repeated and strengthened, while behavior that is not reinforced tends to be extinguished or weakened.
• A Skinner Box is a small chamber used to conduct response or operant conditioning research with animals, typically featuring a lever or key that an individual animal can operate to obtain a food or water reward.
• A reinforcing stimulus, or reinforcer, is a special kind of stimulus that, when encountered after performing a behavior, modifies the tendency to repeat the behavior in the future.
• If a behavior is followed by a reinforcing stimulus, it may result in an increased probability of that behavior occurring in the future, while a behavior that lacks a reinforcing stimulus may result in a decreased probability of that behavior occurring in the future.
• Learning theories are logical frameworks that describe, explain, or predict how people learn, and include types such as Behavioral, Cognitive, and Humanistic.
• Behavioral Theorists include John Watson, Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, Edward Thorndike, and Albert Bandura.
• B.F. Skinner was influenced by the work of Edward Thorndike, who developed the Law of Effect, which states that a response followed by a positive or pleasant consequence is more likely to be repeated, while a response followed by an unpleasant or negative consequence is more likely to be diminished.
• The Law of Effect is directly a function of the interactions between positive and negative reinforcements and punishments.
• Skinner introduced the concept of Reinforcement, a behavioral change accomplished through stimulus response or conditioning.
• The goal of Behavioral Learning Theory is to become more efficient and realistic as defined by the environment, by creating learning through the formation of bonds, connections, and associations.
• Classical Conditioning is a type of learning that happens unconsciously, where an automatic conditioned response is paired with a specific stimulus, creating a behavior.
• In Classical Conditioning, the conditioned stimulus is paired with and precedes the unconditioned stimulus until the conditioned stimulus alone is sufficient to elicit the response.
• The unconditioned stimulus is one that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers a response, while the unconditioned response is the unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus.

Learn about the fundamental principles of operant conditioning, including reinforcement, extinction, and the use of Skinner Boxes in research. Understand how behavior is strengthened or weakened based on reinforcement and the role of instrumental learning.