B.F. SKINNER Lauren West

THEORY Operant Conditioning Theory  The idea that the frequency of behavior is increased by reinforcement (food, praise, smiles, toys, etc.) and decreased by punishment (disapproval, withdrawal of privileges, etc.).  Children mentally grow when they are congratulated for doing well, as well as being punished for their wrong doings.  Ex: If a child hits another child, their parents will punish them by taking away a privilege and they learn not to do it again.  Ex: If a child does well on a spelling test, then they are given a prize like a toy or candy to let them know that they did well.

HOW CAN IT BE USED?  Operant conditioning is a key factor in teaching children how to speak.  Used to teach children what is socially right and what is socially wrong.  Teaching children to share, read, potty train, etc.  When a child makes a sound that is close to a word, the parents will let the child know they are close to a word by either smiling, hugging, or repeating the word to the child so they can continue to try to learn it.

MAJOR PEOPLE  B.F. Skinner produced this theory in  Skinner believed the best way to understand behavior was to look at an action, its causes, and its consequences.  Edward Thorndike was another large influence  Used animals for experiments and came up with the Law of Effect, which stated that any behavior followed by positive reactions is likely to be repeated, while behavior followed by negative reactions is not likely to be repeated.  Skinner fed off of John B. Watson’s theory of Behaviorism.  Watson believed that human behavior is a scientific study and behavior could be reduced to relationships between stimuli (something that causes a thought, feeling, or action) and responses.

THE 1900S  1930’s money was scarce “Great depression”. So people did things that would bring them joy such as movies and board/parlor games.  1940’s during WWII, women and more African Americans were allowed to work, Japanese people were being put in internment camps.  1950’s baby boom, racial laws begin, US goes to Korea for the Korean War, more jobs/trade, technology grows (explore 1 first satellite orbits the earth).  1960s tall building/skyscrapers, art became big, and literature began to grow.

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ORIGIN OF THEORY  B.F. Skinner began to experiment his theory during the beginning of the 1930s  Started the experiment on the animal’s behavior.  His quest was to observe the relationship between observable motivation and response.  Did his experiment by using the “Skinner Box”.  Skinner Box was a device that would automatically give food pellets and an electric shock.  Skinner predicted that human behavior were controlled by rewards and punishments.

WHAT TYPE OF THEORY?  The operant conditioning theory is considered a continuing development.  This is considered a continuing development because since we were very young we learned mostly by our mistakes to know what is wrong or right.  As we enter out teenaged years, we learned consequences of not doing homework or doing bad activities. When we get good grades we get awards from our parents.  When you become an adult and don’t pay your bills that can be a consequence of another late bill.  In conclusion, this type of consequence and award is throughout our life.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY  Has helped shape behavior  Parents use operant conditioning to correct their children’s behavior  Teachers use operant conditioning to teach their students discipline  Mostly uses negative reinforcement to teach behavior  Positive reinforcement can be just as effective as negative reinforcement, but is used less often  Led to a therapy called behavior modification  Changes consequences, removes consequences that have caused trouble, or arranges consequences for behavior that lacks strength

CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY CONT.  Operant conditioning is used in clinical settings such as teaching, classroom management, and instructional development  Positively reinforced behavior will reoccur  Ex. A student studies for a test and is rewarded for their A on the test; the student will continue to study for tests to feel accomplished.  Negatively reinforced behavior will not reoccur  Ex. A child hits their sibling and is punished for their actions; the child will no longer hit their sibling because they know they will be punished for it.

WORKS CITED "A Brief Survey of Operant Behavior." B.F. Skinner Foundation. B.F. Skinner Foundation, Web. 13 Sept "Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)." Instructional Design. Richard Culatta, Web. 16 Sept McLeod, S. A. (2007). B.F. Skinner | Operant Conditioning - Simply Psychology. Retrieved from