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Operant Conditioning



Behaviour modification principles are based on abranch of psychology known as behaviouraltheory.

Behaviour, whether good or bad, is viewed as a

conditioned habit. The process of behaviour change is a matter of

reconditioning behaviour.

B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist, is

credited with first developing this practice in themid 1900s.

His theory of operant conditioning formed thebasis for the principles behind the behaviourmodification approach.



Behaviour modification, based on behaviouristprinciples, operates on the following tenets:

1) All behaviour, appropriate as well as

inappropriate, is learned.2) Behaviour is controlled by antecedents - events

which occur before a behaviour is exhibited,and by consequences - events which occur

after a behaviour is exhibited.2) These antecedents and consequences can bechanged in order to increase or decrease thechance that a given behaviour will continue tobe exhibited.



BF Skinner coined the term operant

conditioning; it means roughly changing of

behaviour by the use of reinforcement which

is given after the desired response. Skinneridentified three types of responses or

operant that can follow behaviour.



• Neutral operants: responses from theenvironment that neither increase nor decreasethe probability of a behaviour being repeated.

• Reinforcers: Responses from the environmentthat increase the probability of a behaviourbeing repeated. Reinforcers can be eitherpositive or negative.

• Punishers: Response from the environment thatdecrease the likelihood of a behaviour beingrepeated. Punishment weakens behaviour.



Negative Reinforcement – the reinforcer is

removed after the response.

Loud buzz in some cars when ignition key is

turned on; driver must put on safety belt in

order to eliminate irritating buzz (Gredler, 1992)

the buzz is a negative reinforcer for putting

on the seat-belt.

Cleaning the house to get rid of disgusting mess

(Weiten, 1992), or cleaning the house to get ridof your mother's nagging (Bootzin, et al , 1991;

Leahy & Harris, 1989). Nagging/Mess as

negative reinforcer to cleaning.



Reinforcement is a stimulus which followsand is contingent upon a behaviour andincreases the probability of a behaviourbeing repeated.

Positive reinforcement can increase theprobability of not only desirable behaviourbut also undesirable behaviour. For example,if a child whines in order to get attention

and is successful in getting it, the attentionserves as positive reinforcement whichincreases the likelihood that the student willcontinue to whine.



Positive Reinforcement – providing a

consequence an individual finds rewarding.

The following video provides some examples of positive reinforcement.

Take note the of positive reinforcers used in

the video.

Consider how successful the video is in

portraying negative reinforcement.



1. Reinforcement must be consistently

delivered, according to a planned

reinforcement schedule. If it is not, no

connection will develop betweenappropriate behaviour and the

reinforcement and the behaviour will not

change.



2. Reinforcement must be delivered

immediately or the effect of reinforcement

is reduced if not lost. In this way, a

contingency between behaviour andreinforcement will be strengthened or

maintained.



3. Improvement should be reinforced. Do not

wait until the desired behaviour is perfect

to deliver reinforcement. You should

recognize improvement and let theindividual know that you recognize the

effort.



Satiation is the term used to describe the situation of a

reinforcer losing its effectiveness. For example, if anindividual is receiving jellybeans as reinforcement, it islikely that after a period of time he or she will tire of them and no longer find them desirable.

Satiation can also occur if too much reinforcement is

being delivered. Earning up to ten minutes of computertime a day may serve as reinforcement for a long periodof time, while being given the opportunity to earn anhour of computer time, for example, may quickly lead tosatiation.



When satiation begins, the rate at which the desired behaviour isdisplayed tapers off until it stops.This is very common with ediblereinforcers. Reinforcement in the form of activities, socialopportunities, and learning activities tend to be more immune to

satiation.Zirpoli and Melloy (1993) suggest the following ways of preventing

satiation:

• Varying the reinforcer or using a different reinforcer for each targetbehaviour.

• Monitoring the amount of reinforcement delivered and using onlyenough to maintain the target behaviour.

• Avoiding edible reinforcers (if you must use edibles, vary and applyminimally).

• Moving from a constant to an intermittent schedule of reinforcementas soon as possible.

• Moving from primary to secondary reinforcers as soon as possible.

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