Applying Operant Conditioning to Human Behaviour Essay

When discussing the definition of extinction in the context of Applied Behavior Analysis, subsequentially the extinction burst is consistently observed prior to any extinction.

This current study examined if the pairing of the DE100 IPTV logo with a positive image of happy graduates ‘the experimental condition’ would result in more participants liking the DE100 IPTV Logo than those in the ‘control condition’. This association being a principle of evaluative conditioning where someone likes something because it has become linked in their minds with something positive. After collecting the data, a chi-square test showed the results were not statistically significant, meaning that there were no significant differences seen between the experimental and control conditions in how many participants reported liking the logo. Thus, it was noted that the effect size was small and therefore the hypothesis made, that more

Operant conditioning, classical conditioning, and observational learning all result in learning, but the processes in each method differentiate. The basic differences between operant and classical conditioning are that one involves reinforcement and punishments following after a particular voluntary behavior, while the other involves the focusing of involuntary, automatic behaviors that create an association between a natural existing stimulus and a previous neutral one. According to my examples, I learned through classical conditioning that a biological conditioned stimulus, the thought of my boyfriend, was paired with an unconditioned stimulus, the smell

While many people may believe that learning is just a natural response that all animals are capable of, there is actually a more complex explanation on how we learn the things we do in order to survive in the world. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are both basic forms of learning, they have the word conditioning in common. Conditioning is the acquisition of specific patterns of behavior in the presence of well-defined stimuli.

As a student at USC, one can assume that I’ve always taken schoolwork seriously and may even infer that I partake a considerable degree of enjoyment from it, which is by all means an accurate assumption. However, in my early childhood I was often characterized as unruly, uncooperative and impulsive in nature. At that age I had been more interested in social endeavors more so than anything relating to studying or doing schoolwork. It was always a negative issue when I brought it up in a conversation, and that assumption was reinforced through subsequent agreement amongst my peers. Coupled with negative criticism from my teachers of the purported “attitude” I had in

In Chapter Seven, I learned that there are two types of reinforcers and two types of reinforcements. The two types of reinforcements are positive and negative. The two types of reinforcers are primary and conditioned. Reinforcements and reinforcers are the most critical parts of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning encourages the conditioned and learned behavior.

Using examples of both classical and operant conditioning, discuss the contributions and limitations of learning theory for the understanding of behaviour (Schacter et al., 2nd Ed, Chapter 6, also see Chapter 1 for historical context)

Skinner’s theory observes individuals from the point of view of the behavior that they demonstrate. The key weakness of this theory is its attempt to explain the behaviors of an individual solely through visible phenomena. Critics sometimes accuse behaviorists of denying that ideas and thoughts exist (Jensen & Burgess, 1997). The major opposition that behaviorists face is that behavior of a person cannot be understood without including the mental activity of the individual. Critics have accused behaviorists of focusing only on behavior and ignoring the role of physiology, neuroscience, and genetics (Weiss & Rosales-Ruiz, 2014). Sometimes the reactions that people demonstrate have are not related their experience and therefore they have another

Example of Operant conditioning, is when you decided to snooze the alarm in the morning after partying all night long. Finally you decide to get up to go to work you are running 15 min late. And decide to step on gas pedal. You are now driving 50 mph on a 35 mph road. You think you are fine and won 't get caught because everyone else is driving fast also. All of sudden a cop is hidden in between the trees and bushes. You try to brake, in order to slow down a bit, but it 's too late…. The cop has turn on the lights and tail-gating you already. You pull over and you try to convince him that you had a “tough night”… even though it 's a lie, and to let you off with a warning. The cop tells you he doesn 't care and you should know better. Therefore he gives you a speeding ticket of about two hundred dollars and a court date if you decide to fight it. In order to go to court you will have to miss work, which means you won 't get paid. Then you have to pay for all the additional court fees if you want to go to clear your record; your insurance will go up, have to pay for driving school and miss more work also. You will have to go through all this trouble, time and money. Just for being too lazy and “tired” to get up on time.

Operant conditioning is a great technique that can be used in studies in order to gain more information on how humans or other species learn but it is also an effective method in bettering ourselves. Whether it is learning a new skill or diminishing a negative habit, operant conditioning can help us achieve our goals if done the correct way. For this method, I chose to utilize operant conditioning to better my study skills. Like many students, I have trouble with studying effectively without getting distracted and not truly retaining the information for a long period of time. I chose to improve this behavior in order to achieve higher grades as well as learn material and know it for a longer amount of time. By the end of my operant conditioning journey, I hoped to have built the foundation of a new studying skills that I would be able to use for the rest of my college career and beyond.

When I was in my psychology class in high school, we spent a month talking about classical conditioning and we did many interesting experiments involving it. We also touched on operant conditioning and social learning, so I have some background knowledge in this subject. Classical and operant conditioning, along with social learning, are all ways to teach animals or humans how to behave. These theories developed because psychologists wanted to understand why people behave the way they do and many famous experiments have been conducted to answer this question. It was very interesting to learn more about these theories and how they work, and relating them to my own personal experiences.

Burrhus Frederic (B. F.) Skinner, an American behavioral psychologist who believed the idea that human free will was an illusion and any human action was the result of the consequences of that same action, developed an experiment to verify if superstition was present in pigeons. Skinner’s beliefs led him to conduct this research experiment which ultimately declared him as one of the top psychologists of his era. Skinner believed that the best way to understand behavior was to look at the causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning.

Operant conditioning is a type of learning which occurs through either receiving reinforcement or punishment for a behavior. This type of learning creates an association between a behavior and consequence for that behavior. The four types of operant conditioning are positive reinforcement, positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment. If operant conditioning was used properly it could be used to solve a variety of social and resource dilemmas; especially in the case of the cattle ranchers and overgrazing.

Operant Conditioning Theory by B.F. Skinner is a psychological manipulation using rewards and punishments to enforce positive behavior. It uses an individual person’s response to events or stimulus. When a particular Stimulus-Response pattern is rewarded, the individual is conditioned to respond. The distinctive characteristic of operant conditioning is related to previous forms of behaviorism. The Operant Conditioning theory comprises of neutral operants, positive/negative reinforcers, and positive/negative punishers. Through these factors, we get the desired behavior of our subject because they do not want to be punished for under performing so they do what they’re told to or do more of what they were assigned to to receive positive stimulus

As a dog owner, I know how important it is to teach your pets how to behave. Yet, it is important to understand how learning works so that you can develop a strategy to properly and quickly teach your dog. The example of training a dog to roll over is a great model for analysing the aspects of learning involved with this process. Understanding how operant conditioning works and how to reinforce a desired response to that stimuli will help trainers effectively teach dogs. Psychologists, such as Myers (2013), define learning as the process of acquiring new knowledge and behaviors. In this case we are specifically discussing the acquisition of a certain response to a stimulus. The stimulus is the trainer’s command and the desired behavior is the dog to roll over onto his back. These ideas all are based on Edward L. Thorndike’s principle called the law of effect, wherein he stated that behaviors followed by a positive outcomes are more likely to increase in probability. These are all important components of the learning process, especially on the level of training a dog or instilling a simple behavior.