Operant Conditioning Essay

F. Skinner who believed that individuals change their behavior as a result of an inherent response to particular stimuli. The objective of this essay is to provide a description of operant condition as a theory. The essay will further try to provide a clear perspective of operant condition inclusive of viable examples to ascertain a comprehensive understanding. Operant Conditioning Principle B. The neutral operant is responses emanating from the surrounding that tend to neither decrease nor increase the likelihood of a behavior to recur. Reinforcers are responses emanating from the surrounding that increase the likelihood of a behavior to recur, while punishers are the responses emanating from the surrounding that decrease the likelihood of a behavior recurs. The key purpose of punishers is to weaken undesirable behaviors while the reinforcers strengthen and encourage desirable behaviors.

Positive Reinforcement Positive reinforcement refers the process of encouraging an occurrence of a particular behavior more than once by introducing a reinforcing stimulus. In a situation where a favorable event, reward, or outcome occurs due to a behavior, that particular behavior is more likely to become strengthened. The student is more likely to study hard in order to receive the praises. Negative Reinforcement According to Skinner, a negative reinforcement is a situation where a behavior or a response is strengthened by avoiding, stopping or removing an aversive stimulus or a negative outcome. For instance, if the student failed to score a high grade in a class, the teacher can force the student to pay $20. In future, the student will study hard to avoid parting with a $20 note.

Skinner conducted an experiment to prove the existence of negative reinforcement by placing a rat in his Skinner box. A significant human learning is facilitated through social learning and observations of other individuals or an event in a particular social situation. The objective of social learning theory, though its argumentation is founded on Skinnerian principle, is to explain the human behavior in a complex way and how it is influenced by the social events. It is therefore evident that most theorists assume that a person can learn a certain behavior through direct experiments. A number of them held a perspective that social learning is a combination of psychodynamic and behaviorist influence. The concept of role modeling has been used since time immemorial to reinstate or reinforce a certain behavior.