Operant Conditioning

Definition: Operant conditioning (also called "instrumental conditioning") is a type of learning in which 

(a) the strength of a behavior is modified by the behavior's consequences, such as reward or punishment, and 

(b) the behavior is controlled by antecedents called "discriminative stimuli" which come to signal those consequences.

Operant response - a response or behaviour of an organism that is voluntary and not associated with a particular stimulus. This response acts on or modifies the environment. For example, e.g. a person picking up a book to read.

Reinforcer - the reward given for a response in order to strengthen it and increase the likelihood of the response occurring again.

Positive reinforcer - a reward which strengthens a response by providing a pleasurable consequence such as praise or a chocolate bar.

Negative reinforcer - a reward which strengthens a response by removing or reducing an unpleasant stimulus such as taking away a house chore or homework.

Schedules of reinforcement: This refers to the frequency in which a response is reinforced in operant conditioning. There are different schedules of reinforcement within this type of learning.

Continuous reinforcement - when a satisfying response is reinforced every time.

Partial reinforcement - reinforcement which does not occur continuously. The reinforcement may be administered in the following ways:
Fixed ratio schedule - a satisfying response is reinforced after a set number of responses have been made, e.g. every fifth response.
Fixed interval schedule - a satisfying response is reinforced at regular time intervals e.g. every five minutes.
Variable ratio schedule - a satisfying response is reinforced at irregular intervals, but the average number of responses is fixed, e.g. poker machines.

Variable interval schedule - a satisfying response is reinforced at random intervals within a fixed length of time e.g. catching four fish within a two-hour period.

Punishment (including negative effects of punishment) and ways to maximise effectiveness:

Punishment differs from negative reinforcement in that it aims to decrease the likelihood of the response occurring. It is the introduction of an unpleasant stimuli such as a hit or yell, whereas negative reinforcement is taking away the unpleasant stimulus to increase the probability of the response occurring.

Potential punishers are any consequences which might lead to a decrease in the response. Some consequences may be punishers for some people but not others.

Side-effects of punishment include aggression, frustration, avoidance learning, escape learning and learned helplessness. The punishment may not decrease the behaviour at all but teach the child to be aggressive or avoid the punisher. Sometimes the punishment ends up being positive reinforcement or only serves to satisfy the frustration of the punisher.

Effective punishment should address the person's actions not the person's character. It should be related to the undesirable behavior and it should consist of penalties or response cost (the removal of a reinforcer) rather than psychological or physical pain.

Elements in Operant conditioning
Extinction - if the reinforcement ceases, the operantly conditioned response will disappear over time.

Stimulus generalisation - when the organism responds to stimuli which is similar to the original stimulus. For example, if a pigeon has been operantly conditioned to peck a blue light by receiving food pellets whenever it does so, the pigeon may also generalise to other similar coloured lights. However, if other lights are increasingly different from the original light stimulus, the pigeon is less likely to peck at them.

Stimulus discrimination - when the organism learns which responses will be reinforced and which will not.

Spontaneous recovery - when the extinguished response reappears after a rest period.

Shaping - when the organism is reinforced for any response which moves towards the desired behavior, e.g. rewarding your cat for any behavior that relates to it using the kitty litter.

Operant Conditioning In Practice
Animal training - The principles of shaping are used to teach animals certain behaviour. The animal is reinforced for any behaviour which moves toward the desired goal, as in animal training or training guide dogs.

Behaviour modification - Positive reinforcement and the withdrawal of reinforcement is administered to eliminate inappropriate behaviour and to teach new responses, i.e. modify behaviour.

Token economies - A technique which rewards people for appropriate behaviour with tokens which can then be traded for privileges. For example, primary school children could be given gold stars as a reward for good behaviour which could then be traded in for certain privileges at the end of the week. These privileges could range from time on the class computer or extra play time

Difference Between Operent and Classical Conditioning: While operant and classical conditioning both involve behaviors controlled by environmental stimuli, they differ in nature. In operant conditioning, stimuli present when a behavior is rewarded or punished come to control that behavior. For example, a child may learn to open a box to get the candy inside, or learn to avoid touching a hot stove; the box and the stove are discriminative stimuli. However, in classical conditioning, stimuli that signal significant events produce reflexive behavior. For example, the sight of a colorful wrapper comes to signal "candy", causing a child to salivate, or the sound of a door slam comes to signal an angry parent, causing a child to tremble.

ELEMENTS	CLASSICAL CONDITIONING	OPERANT CONDITIONING
Role of learner	Passive	Active
Timing of stimulis and response	Reinforcement occurs before the response	Reinforcement occurs after the response
Nature of response	Automatic; Involuntary Response (salivation) Depends on reinforcement (meat powder) being presented	Voluntary and Involuntary Reinforcement (food pellet) depends on response (press lever) being made