What is the operant conditioning definition and examples

He Conditioning It is a form of learning by association of stimuli, discovered and defended by the authors supporters of behaviorism. The most important types of conditioning are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. He operant conditioning It is a type of learning and a behavior modification technique that uses positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, omission and punishment to produce the acquisition or extinction of behavior.

In this psychology-online article about Operating conditioning, we explain what it is, its definition And we show you some Examples. In addition, we also tell you how to apply operating conditioning.

1. Definition of operant conditioning
2. What can we get with operating conditioning?
3. Operating or instrumental conditioning examples
4. Difference between operating conditioning and classic conditioning

Definition of operant conditioning

Operating conditioning is a form of learning that consists of Associate a stimulus to an answer so that the answer occurs more or less. That is, a behavior occurs and after the behavior there is a consequence, something that happens after. Then there are two options: that the consequence is positive or negative.

1. If the consequence is considered positive That behavior will have more likely to occur In the future, the behavior is being associated with the good event that has happened after.
2. If, on the contrary, the consequence is negative The behavior will have less likely to occur In the future, since behavior is associated with the bad event. This connection between behaviors and consequences derives in a behavior modification technique that serves to make a behavior repeat or not. There are different types of operant conditioning.

Types of operating conditioning

• He positive reinforcement: When after the behavior a good event occurs, therefore it will produce an increase in the presence of behavior.
• He negative reinforcement: When after the behavior it does not happen or stops a bad event that is already happening, which will also increase the presence of behavior.
• The omission: When after the behavior a good event does not happen, thus the presence of behavior will decrease.
• He punishment: When after the behavior a bad event occurs, which will also decrease the presence of behavior.

The instrumental conditioning of Thondrik

As we have mentioned earlier, Burhus Frederic Skinner is the most important author of operating conditioning that, later, Edward Thorndike called with the term Instrumental conditioning. The conceptual difference is based more on the name than not on the nature of learning.

What can we get with operating conditioning?

What we can achieve with operant conditioning is the well -known behavior molding. The most important concepts are:

The acquisition

The acquisition is the process learning process in which behavior is associated with positive reinforcement and/or negative reinforcement. Due to reinforcement, Behavior is getting more and more quickly, more times And it is less likely to disappear.

Extinction

Extinction consists of suppressing the reinforcement of previously reinforced conduct. By stopping reinforcing the behavior, the frequency of this is decreasing. It is an effective procedure for definitely reduce behaviors, But it is slower than others, so it cannot be expected that behavior disappears immediately. The reduction of behavior is gradual and depends on:

• The history of behavior to extinguish: extinction is faster when the origin of behavior is recent and slower when behavior has a long history of occurrence and is well consolidated.
• The reinforcement that the behavior has received to extinguish: it is faster when the behavior has received reinforcement continuously and is slower when it has received reinforcement intermittently.
• The level of deprivation of reinforcement: the more time between reinforcement appearances, the slower will be the extinction.
• The intensity of the reinforcement: the higher the reinforcer used, the more time it will be needed to extinguish the behavior.
• The necessary effort to issue the answer: the more effort it requires, the easier it will be to extinguish.

It should be taken into account that the application of extinction produces an increase in the frequency and intensity of behavior in the first moments of application, it is called "Extinction burst". They can also increase aggressive or emotional behaviors by implementing the procedure, the so -called "extinction induced aggression". It is important to persist in the application of extinction, as it ensures its effectiveness.

In addition, the answer can reappear promptly after a period of time in which the behavior had disappeared, this phenomenon is called "Spontaneous recovery". Maintaining extinction, it will end up disappearing definitively.

¿How to apply extinction?

• It should be explained and specify the conditions of extinction.
• Identify all the reinforcers who maintain the behavior.
• Be able to control the presentation of the reinforcers. To achieve this, all people in the environment in which the behaviors are issued have to apply the extinction so that they do not reinforce them.
• Prevent people involved in the extinction program regarding the initial increase in undesirable response, possible aggressive responses by not receiving the expected reward and the effects of spontaneous recovery.
• Be constant, because if extinction is used intermittently it is equivalent to reinforcing it intermittently.
• Use together with the extinction of inadequate behavior, the reinforcement of alternative behaviors, if possible, incompatible with which you want to eliminate. For example if we want to extinguish the behavior of consuming sugary drinks, we will reinforce every time water is drink.

Operating or instrumental conditioning examples

Both Thondrik and Skinner and the other authors who theorized about operating or instrumental conditioning defined some examples to better understand this procedure. Next, we offer some types of operating conditioning with clear examples:

Examples of positive reinforcement

• Give an award of food to a dog when he sits. Get the dog to learn to sit down and do it more.
• To congratulate to a child when the vegetable dish is over. Get the child to learn that eating vegetables is something positive and increased such behavior.
• Charge commissions. Get a worker who receives extra money for each sale, increases the necessary behaviors to sell.

Examples of negative reinforcement

• Stop fighting to a child when he gets a good qualification. Get the child to increase the necessary behaviors to have better grades.
• Wash the dishes (task that corresponds to your partner) because he or she has cooked before. Get your partner to cook more.
• Let out To the children who have participated in the class. Manages to stimulate children's participation.

Examples of omission:

• Not paying attention To a child when he is behaving badly, for example, making a tantrum on the street. If, when performing the behavior, it does not receive attention, the behavior is more likely to reduce.
• Do not answer To a child when he speaks badly, for example when he screams or uses bad words. When ignoring when he performs such behavior, we cause his frequency to decrease.
• Do not interact With our pet when barking. Stop paying attention gets behavior to decrease.

Examples of punishment

• Give extra work To students who have interrupted in class. Get students to interrupt less.
• Remove the console to the son who has not collected clothes. Get the behavior of not collecting clothes decreases.
• Scold to a child when he has had a bad qualification. Get the bad grades to be reduced.

Difference between operating conditioning and classic conditioning

Another type of conditioning is the classical conditioning, whose main author is Ivan Pàvlov and consists in associating an unconditioned stimulus, that is, a stimulus that by itself already generates an answer, with a neutral stimulus, which by itself does not cause this answer. At the time the stimuli are associated, that is, they are repeatedly presented together, it is achieved that the neutral stimulus (which did not cause the answer) now the provoke. With an example it will be easier to understand.

Example of Pavlov's classic conditioning

1. The unconditioned stimulus (food) causes the answer (which dogs produce saliva); While the neutral stimulus (seeing the caregiver) does not produce the answer (it does not make salivar).
2. Unconditioned and neutral stimuli are presented together (the caregiver brings the food) repeatedly and the unconditioned stimulus is associated with the neutral (the caregiver is associated with the food).
3. Now, the neutral stimulus (see the caregiver) also causes the answer (salivar). Now the saliva dog when seeing the caregiver, see the food or not.

The main difference between the classic conditioning and operant conditioning is that classic conditioning focuses on modifying the stimulus that causes behavior, while operating conditioning focuses on modifying behavior through a stimulus.

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