Lesson 26: B.F Skinner's Operant Conditioning
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B.F. Skinner (1904–1990) was one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century. He taught at Harvard University and is famous for his experiments with animals and people that showed how behaviors can be shaped by what happens after we do something. Skinner believed the best way to change and understand behavior was to observe how actions changed when followed by certain consequences, not by trying to study thoughts or feelings. His work is still used today in teaching, parenting, therapy, and even animal training.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner Experiment
B.F. Skinner built a device called the “Skinner Box” for his experiments. It was a small chamber for rats or pigeons. The animals could press a lever (the behavior), then a food pellet would drop in (the stimulus or consequence). If getting food followed pressing the lever, they pressed it more. If pressing the lever caused a mild electric shock, they did it less.
Operant conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is changed by what happens after we do something. If an action is followed by a reward, we are more likely to do it again. If it is followed by something unpleasant, we are less likely to do it. This approach was created by B.F. Skinner, who believed that we should focus on things we can see (our actions) and their direct causes, not things like thoughts or feelings that are hard to measure.
Skinner divided the consequences of behavior into two main groups: reinforcement and punishment. Each can be positive (adding something) or negative (taking something away).
Reinforcement - making a behavior stronger, so it happens more often.
Positive Reinforcement - add something good to increase behavior.
Example: A mother gives her son praise for doing his homework.
- Behavior: Doing homework.
- Stimulus: Praise from mother (pleasant, added after homework).
- Effect: The child is more likely to do homework again.
Negative Reinforcement - remove something bad to increase behavior.
Example: Bob does the dishes to avoid his mother nagging.
- Behavior: Doing the dishes.
- Stimulus: Mom’s nagging (unpleasant, removed after dishes are done).
- Effect: Bob is more likely to do the dishes in the future.
Remember: Both positive and negative reinforcement increase how often a behavior happens. The difference is whether something is added (positive) or removed (negative).
Punishment - makes a behavior happen less often. It discourages unwanted actions.
Positive Punishment - add something bad to decrease a behavior
Example: A child grabs a toy from another child and is sent to time out.
- Behavior: Grabbing a toy.
- Stimulus: Time out (unpleasant, added after grabbing).
- Effect: The child is less likely to grab toys again.
Negative Punishment - take away something good to decrease a behavior.
Example: Siblings fight over a toy, so their parent takes the toy away.
- Behavior: Fighting over a toy.
- Stimulus: Toy (pleasant, removed after fighting).
- Effect: The children are less likely to fight over toys in the future.
Remember: Punishment decreases a behavior, but for long-term change, positive reinforcement usually works better in the classroom or at home.
Operant Conditioning Quiz: click here
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