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Operant Conditioning - Coggle Diagram
Operant Conditioning
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Behaviour Modification
- The token economy is a method that provides secondary reinforcement for a desirable behaviour that can be saved up or exchanged for primary reinforcers. It has the aim of trying to encourage desirable behaviour through the withdrawal of reward (punishment). The tokens used in such a system are secondary reinforcers as it is these which are exchangeable for primary reinforcers.
. E.g. students may be allocated tokens for good behaviour which can be exchanged for items in the school shop.
Behaviour Shaping
- Shaping means gradually working towards the required behaviour by rewards or punishment. You reinforce any behaviour that closely resembles the desired behaviour. Reinforcement gradually becomes more selective until you reach desired behaviour.
. E.g. to get a pigeon to turn in a circle you could reward small turns and then larger ones until you just reward a complete turn.
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Strengths
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Classical conditioning was accidentally observed by Pavlov in his lab experiments and is now a universally accepted principle in psychology. Both Pavlov and Skinner's work helped shape psychology and our understanding of human behaviour.
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A major strength is that both theories can explain a wide assortment of behaviours, from phobias to addiction to language acquisition and operant conditioning has practical applications, e.g. behaviour modification/ shaping in schools and prisons.
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Both theories are testable and scientific, their concepts can be defined, measured and controlled in a lab. Observing animal behaviour is an objective measure which can be replicated, allowing for reliability to be assessed. However, the controlled environment in the lab is quite artificial, which questions the ecological validity of the findings and whether they can be applied to real-life settings.
Weaknesses
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A major weakness is the use of animal research on which a large proportion of the theories are based. Should be cautious about generalising from animals to humans.
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Reductionist and oversimplified to reduce ALL behaviour to learning through association or reinforcement. Both theories underestimate the role of biological factors and do not account for mental and emotional states.
- Operant conditioning is based on learning via punishment and reinforcement consequences.
. The 'Law of Effect' was first proposed by Thorndike in 1911, which showed that animals learn through trial and error.
¬ This led to B F Skinner developing the principles of operant conditioning through his experiments involving animals. Skinner believed that animals and humans learn in the same way and went on to apply his findings to explain aspects of human behaviour/
- One way that Skinner demonstrated his learning theory was through his most famous experiment now known as a 'skinner box'.
. Skinner's method involved placing animals (rats or pigeons most commonly) in a specifically designed box and training them to show specific behaviours or operations. He conducted many variations within his research and concluded that behaviours are more likely to be repeated (strengthened) by positive and negative reinforcement and less likely to be repeated (weakened) if the behaviour is punished.
¬ Typically, hungry pigeons or rats were placed into the box where they had to press a lever or peck a disc in order to obtain food. It is natural for animals such as rats to pigeons to explore new environments, therefore when placed into the Skinner box they moved around it. Skinner demonstrated it is possible to shape an animal's behaviour by rewarding behaviours close to the required behaviour. For instance, he would reward a rat whenever it would go near the lever, by giving it a food pellet. Eventually, the rat would accidentally press the lever which would release a food pellet. The rat soon learned that food is released when the lever is pressed and continues to press it.
- This is how animal training works today with pets and zoo animals the world over. Remember that Skinner and the other learning theorists believe animals and humans learn in the same way.