Operant conditioning and the Skinner box

Operant conditioning and the Skinner Box

 

B. F. Skinner's most important work was the concept of operant conditioning. Essentially, operant conditioning is when someone learns a behavior as the result of the rewards and punishments associated with that behavior. Operant conditioning can be broken down into four types:

 

1. Positive Reinforment: This is when a behavior is strenghened and the probability of it recurring increases because a positive condition was the result.

 

2. Negative Reinforcement: A behavior is strengthened as a result of avoiding or stopping a negative condition.

 

3. Punishment: This occurs when a behavior is weakened and the probability of the behavior recurring decreases due to a negative condition being the result.

 

4. Extinction: When a behavior is weakened because the result did not lead to a positive condition or a negative condition.

 

Positive and negative reinforcement will strengthen a particular behavior, making it more likely to occur, and punishment and extinction will weaken a particular behavior.

 

To see operant conditioning in action, B. F. Skinner performed a very simple experiment and invented the operant conditioning chamber, which is now often referred to as the Skinner Box.