B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning PDF

B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning B.F Skinner, a behavioural psychologist, believed that humans do have such a thing as a mind, but that it is simply more productive to study observable behaviour rather than internal mental events. Skinner believed that the best way to understand behaviour is...

B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning B.F Skinner, a behavioural psychologist, believed that humans do have such a thing as a mind, but that it is simply more productive to study observable behaviour rather than internal mental events. Skinner believed that the best way to understand behaviour is to look at the causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning. It deals with operants - intentional actions that have an effect on the surrounding environment. Skinner set out to identify the processes which made certain operant behaviours more or less likely to occur. Operant conditioning, means roughly changing of behaviour by the use of reinforcement which is given after the desired response. Skinner identified three types of responses or operant that can follow behaviour. Neutral operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behaviour being repeated. Reinforcers: Responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behaviour being repeated. Reinforcers can be either positive or negative. Punishers: Responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated. Punishment weakens behaviour. Positive Reinforcement Positive reinforcement strengthens a behaviour by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you $5 each time you complete your homework (i.e. a reward) you will be more likely to repeat this behaviour in the future, thus strengthening the behaviour of completing your homework. Negative Reinforcement The removal of an unpleasant reinforcer can also strengthen behaviour. This is known as negative reinforcement because it is the removal of an adverse stimulus which is ‘rewarding’ to the animal or person. Negative reinforcement strengthens behaviour because it stops or removes an unpleasant experience. For example, if you do not complete your homework, you give your teacher $5. You will complete your homework to avoid paying $5, thus strengthening the behaviour of completing your homework.