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B. F. Skinner: An Example Of Operant Conditioning

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Have you ever taken thought into the process in how you learn? How we differentiate between what is good and what is bad? Or even more so, how can we teach others to learn? B.F. Skinner did and dedicated part of his life to learn and teach how and why we do these things. B.F. Skinner came up with a term called operant conditioning. Operant Conditioning or instrumental conditioning is: “a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior” (Kendra Cherry). B.F. Skinner designed what he called “an Operant Chamber” to test his theory. The Operant Chamber was a mechanism in which a rat was being taught that if he pressed a lever he would then eat. When the rat …show more content…

By this experiment the rat learned to press the lever to receive food (Psychology And Life p.58). Another example of Operant Conditioning is a kid finishing his homework on time in order to receive a reward from his parents or teachers. (Kendra Cherry)
If Operant Conditioning can be used to teach lab rats to press levers for a reward, and kids to complete their homework for a reward, can we use Operant Conditioning for other purposes? We have all practiced Operant Conditioning though many may not know it. The practice of rewarding or punishing as a result of any action is considered Operant Conditioning. Operant conditioning can be used to manipulate behavioral issues with children by rewarding a desired behavior or punishing an undesired behavior. For example: a mother and her child head to the grocery

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Operant conditioning is a type of learning process where the strength of a client’s behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment. Dr. Foxx’s work with Harry is an example of operant conditioning because of the techniques he used with different levels of consequences, for example time out and physical reinforcements. With that being said Dr. Foxx used Harrys restraints as both positive and negative reinforcements. In addition, some of the examples Dr. Foxx used to work with Harrys problem behavior

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Throughout this book, we can see examples of operant conditioning. This type of conditioning includes reinforcing behavior with some sort of action. Operant conditioning usually occurs in early childhood -prior to middle childhood- but can also happen later in life (Belsky, 11). This is present in multiple areas of the text. One of the first examples of operant conditioning that can be seen is when Robert is learning to swim.

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While reading chapter 5, Operant Conditioning, I found a lot of things that were new to me. For example, the “discovery” of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is the process whereby organisms learn to make responses to obtain or avoid certain outcomes. Operant conditioning is a deceptively simple-sounding process, but it can be used to train fantastically complex behaviors. In my lifetime, an example of this can be having chores and receiving an allowance for completing each.

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Mr. Byrne is having trouble getting his students to listen. He is trying scolding as a punishment, but that is not working. By the end of this essay, Mr. Byrne will learn how use operant conditioning to get his seventh grade students to listen. Mr. Byrne can 't understand why scolding his seventh-grade students for disruptive classroom behaviors makes them unrulier. Mr. Byrne 's can use operant conditioning techniques to reduce disruptive behaviors and increase cooperative behaviors.

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Operant conditioning is used in my experiment, as I am presenting a consequence as a result of the behavior of sleeping on the couch. This is not a form of classical conditioning, as I am not pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response. Nor am I teaching a correct behavior. I am clearly attempting to decrease the rate of a behavior by presenting a punishment after a behavior. I found that operant conditioning was the best approach for my experiment, as operant conditioning involves increasing or decreasing voluntary behaviors by presenting reinforcement or punishment after the behavior.

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The key is finding a reinforcer valuable enough to evoke the desired behavior.” Operant conditioning is behind Premack’s principles of reinforcement and punishment. Operant conditioning means that one can change behavior of another person through reward or punishment (Operant Conditioning, n.d.). Operant conditioning is a conscious decision which can change a person’s behavior without changing their attitude. With operant

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Through The Psychologist Eye In Lauren Slater’s book, “Opening Skinner’s Box,” we discover in the first three chapters the mysteries behind a few psychological experiments and the discoveries that three profound psychologists have made. Each chapter is about a different psychologist, the first is B.F. Skinner; a behaviorist who designed a process of learning in which behavior is controlled, he called this operant conditioning. Lauren Slater wanted people to know about his experiment, she read his books, talked to friends and family members to unearth the features behind this man. She found that he was a loving father, who could train animals to do unordinary things, like play the piano for an example, through the processes of operant conditioning,

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Skinners experiment was based on operant conditioning, using the concept of discrimination learning, he carried out experiments on animals with the idea that their behaviour is predetermined by their environment and using a well controlled environment would allow him to in turn control their behaviours using a range of triggers. Using reinforcement and expectancy, the animal associates acting out certain behaviours with rewards. (Toates, F., 2010, pp. 165-167) After performing a number of experiments on rats using mazes, he subsequently designed the Skinner box.

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Operant conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences (page 290). The types of operant conditioning are positive and negative reinforcements or positive and negative punishments (page 295). Mr. Byrne could reduce disruptive behaviors by ignoring them. When Mr. Byrne ignores the student disrupting class, the student will realize that nobody is paying attention to him or her. The student will then stop disrupting the class because he or she is not getting any attention.

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The Positive and Negative of Operant Conditioning and The Most Effective Method There are many ways we can come about in behavior. An American psychologist, B.F. Skinner, introduced the theory of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is known as associative learning and a learning process. The theory is made up of two factors in which behavior is modified through either reinforcement and or punishment.

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Link to reality: Both Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning and Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning can be used every day in an ECCE setting. Today many school systems and childhood authorities follow Skinner’s and Pavlov’s theory by using the approach of positive reinforcement. This encourages good behaviour in the child making the behaviour more likely to be repeated again as they are rewarded and praised for their efforts in reading, writing and general learning. It is important that children’s efforts in a learning setting are rewarded as this will encourage the child to perform to the best of their ability.

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Eventually, the previously neutral stimulus comes to evoke the response without the presence of the naturally occurring stimulus. The two elements are then known as the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response. 2. Operant conditioning Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that

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Then, it was B.F. Skinner who made the concept became popular and well-known throughout the world and even pinned the name of operant conditioning to this concept That is why, he is called the Father of Operant Conditioning and his famous experiment, the Skinner Box. Operant conditioning determinants’ are reinforce, nature response and time interval between response and reinforcement. On the other hand, classical conditioning is a learning way that connects between two stimuli which produce natural response. It measures one stimulus that

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Mr. B.F Skinner’s brought Operant Conditioning into existence. The Operant Conditioning is command feedback with recompense/ penalizing system based on a behavior. The learner requires to strengthen to maintain interests.

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Reinforcement and punishment are methods used in operant conditioning and both can be positive and negative but work in a unique way. Positive means you are adding something so you increase a behaviour and negative means you are taking something away so you decrease a particular behaviour. Reinforcement Reinforcement is used to help increase a specific behaviour in the future and if done correctly this behaviour will increase, occurring more frequently as the child develops.

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