Paste your essay in here..Operant Conditioning Report
The mind is an interesting element allowing us to accumulate information as well as enabling us to learn from experiences. With copious amounts of branches, each comprised of years of knowledge dating back to as far as 17th century BC, Psychology has helped us to have a better understanding in how we function both mentally and physically. One of these branches would be Behaviorism, which includes the theories of Classical and Operant conditioning. These theories as well as the overall branch of Behaviorism will be evaluated in greater detail to determine their effect on evaluating day-to-day activities.
Behaviorism was first uncovered in the late 1800’s by a man of the name Edward L. Thorndike. Though originally termed by John B. Watson, Thorndike had first developed the concept calling it “Law of Effect”. He was an American psychologist who had taught at Columbia University, and had his studies of Comparative psychology and it’s learning process, “lead to the theory of connectionism and helped lay the scientific foundation for modern educational psychology”(Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff). Thorndike’s theory, “Law of Effect” stated that any behavior that is followed by a positive reinforcement, would most likely be repeated, and any behavior that is followed by a negative reinforcement would most likely be stopped, this sharing similarities to both the classical and operant conditionings (Ciccarelli. pg. 187). A positive reinforcement can be known as a treat that is given once completing an action that is wanted, while a negative reinforcement could be item that is taken away once that action is done incorrectly. Thorndike had expanded his theory by placing a cat in a puzzle box, containing a lever that would initially open a door and let the cat free. He had observed the cat’s actions and had seen that he had been struggling. Upon realizing this, he showed the cat how to properly maneuver his way out and receive the food. After numerous trials and errors, the cat had eventually figured out the routine himself, thus proving Thorndike’s theory. The positive reinforcement that he had used in this case was a plate of food that was positioned in front of the escape door. This experiment shows how one can use a treat to alter the outcome of the subject’s behavior. Thorndike had a strong and influential impact when it came to the reinforcement theory and behavior analysis, which then later inspired John B. Watson to find an understanding of the human and animal conduct.
John B. Watson, an American psychologist, was also known for being the primary supporter of Behaviorism. Watson first introduced the concept in an article entitled, “Psychology as the behaviorist views it” published in 1913. He tested a theory similar to Thorndike’s, known as Classical Conditioning. This theory is a learning process that occurs when, “two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone”(Classical Conditionings, Oxford Dictionaries). This theory first appeared through the work of a Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, with his experiment of having dogs salivate on command. Pavlov’s interest had first started when he built a devise that could measure the amount of saliva that a dog produces if food is presented to them. He had realized that a reflex is triggered and that the stimulus corresponds to the behavior. This leads more into his well-known experiment. He associated the ticking noises of a metronome with a designated feeding time for his dogs. His goal was to eventually get the dogs to salivate at only the ticking. When the two stimuli were paired repeatedly, the metronome began to elicit a salivation response from the dog with out the food, initially proving his goal. (Ciccarelli pg. 178). However, Watson had gone further with the experiment and tested the effect with a human baby, this is well recognized as the “ Little Albert” case.
The method of this case was to establish a phobia of white furry rats in the nine-month-old infant, by playing really loud noises every time Little Albert let his curiosity of the creature get to him. The abrupt sounds set off a reflex in him, eventually making him cry at just the sight of the rat. As the experiment continued, Albert developed an overall fear of fur in general. This fear had caused what is known as Conditioned Emotional Response, or CER. This being defined as, “an emotional response that has become conditioned to occur to a learned stimuli”, a phenomenon that is seen in Classical Conditioning. As an example of Classical Conditioning and CER coexisting, the advertisement world expresses how one can reflect on the other. By using certain objects or types of people, the ads hope to achieve an emotional response in the audience in order to make their product memorable. Watson’s work had influenced many psychologists in the field of Behaviorism, one of which would be inspired by his theory on Classical Conditioning to create a new theory known as Operant Conditioning.
B. F. Skinner, the main continuer of Watson’s work, was as well, an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher, that had taught at Harvard University, up until his retirement. He was born into a middle class and religious family, who had lived in Pennsylvania. He had taken the interest of becoming a writer once he attended the Hamilton College in New York. However, it wasn’t until he had transferred to Harvard himself, to advance in his studies, where he had gained his fascination of research and Behaviorism. While at the college, a fellow classmate of his had encouraged him to study the theories of behavior, which is how “Operant Conditioning” was first created. Unlike Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is controlled by repercussions. In Skinner’s theory he had hypothesized that “behavioral responses, that are followed by pleasurable consequences, are strengthened or reinforced” (Ciccarelli pg.187). He developed his theory mainly fixating on what would happen after the ramification and how positive and negative reinforcements could have an influence in ones’ mannerisms. Looking at both of the Conditionings, we will further compare and contrast their effects.
There are many similarities between Classical and Operant Conditionings, but their differences lie in the outcome that is given. Classical is based on the automatic involuntary occurrence that happens once triggered after learning the intended response. While Operant Conditioning is a voluntary occurrence that is taught after a situation has taken place. Looking at examples for both; Classical would be when an individual were to react automatically because they knew the outcome. Where as Operant on the other hand would be when an individual were to avoid the problem because they were aware of the outcome. A Classical case would be when a person flinches when touching a hot object. Where an Operant case could be when a child does their chores in order to avoid argument. Some of the similarities in both of the theories, involves the “extinction, spontaneous recovery, and stimulus generalization”, thus adding more to the truth of B. F. Skinner being a follower of Watson’s work (Comparison of Classical and Operant Conditioning).
Extinction, being the disappearance of a learned response following a removal of a stimulus or reinforcement (Ciccarelli pg. G-5). Leading into spontaneous recovery, being known as the reappearance of learned response (Ciccarelli pg. G-14). Lastly, showing stimulus generalization, it is defined as the tendency to react to a similar stimulus, that of the original stimulus (Ciccarelli pg. G-14). Taking these new terms into consideration, the relations that are drawn between the two theories, are that when looking at the extinction portion, they would both involve the removal of a stimulus; i.e. Negative reinforcement. Observing the spontaneous recovery aspect, an example can be if a person were to teach a dog a new trick, he would take the reinforcements of a previous trick and apply it to the new one. Coming into consideration with generalization, the example in this case can be seen as when an infant associates the word “dada” to any male figure. Regardless of the intended approach, the theories are both important concepts when it comes to behavioral psychology and they heavily rely on the consequences.
The reinforcements of the Operant Conditioning, as stated prior, can either be positive or negative. The definition of the word reinforcement means to strengthen. Skinner defined reinforcement as, “anything that, when following a response, causes that response to be more likely to happen again”, this typically meaning that the reinforcement is a ramification for an organism, therefore relating back to Edward L. Thorndike’s “Law of Effect” hypothesis (Ciccarelli pg.187). Within the reinforcements, there are branches, two of which we already know as being positive, an addition or experiencing of a pleasurable stimulus, and negative, a removal or avoidance of unpleasant stimulus. However there are two other reinforcers that are know as primary, which satisfy basic biological needs, and secondary, gain reinforcing properties through previous association with primary reinforcers (Ciccarelli pg. 189). As an example of a primary reinforcer, it would be as simple as quenching your thirst by drinking a liquid or satisfying your hunger by eating food. A secondary reinforcer would be, if told that paper money was no longer being used, the bills would lose it’s significant value in the individual’s life. Dealing with the main positive or negative reinforcers, an example could be when a toddler gets praised for going to the bathroom by there self, positive, or having a toddler be given a spanking for doing something that they were not supposed to do, negative. On a side note, when dealing with negative reinforcement, studies show that it can potentially be seen as a “positive punishment”. This meaning that it involves presenting an unfavorable outcome or event following an undesirable behavior. A common misconception with negative reinforcements are that, depending on the individual, they are not always discouraging. They can inspire and motivate an individual to do better and become more successful.
Resuming with the reinforcements, there are cases where if too much of one or the other is given to an individual, then there could be long term behaviors that can effect the person’s life. Offering too much praise can result in a person losing interest in an activity if the initial praise is discontinued, therefore, leading into a stream of laziness. Another possible scenario is having a person become too dependent on the praise leading to them wanting acceptance in the smallest action. Taking a case from doctor Milton Erickson when teaching his patients, is that “giving too much praise to a patient for starting to work, or socializing with friends, or being polite in public, sent the message that what they were doing was out of the ordinary”, this implying that whatever his patients were doing, was far more than normal (The Dangers of Excessive Praise). The same outcome can be present in emitting a negative reinforcement.
If a negative reinforcement were to be overly used, then dread or fear of doing something wrong could appear. In the article “The Effects of Negative Reinforcement of Self-Esteem”, a scenario was expressed that could happen if a negative reinforcement took a turn. Stating that negative reinforcements lead to a negative internal dialogue, the situation had shown if a child fails a test, “The teacher angrily demands a better grade next time […] child's parents chastise him and talk about how disappointed they are with his performance […] child walks away with an inner dialogue of disappointment and rejection […] not motivated to do well next time; rather, he now dreads test taking and has issues throughout school.” (The Effects of Negative Reinforcements on Self-Esteem), again adding more into the statement of how a negative reinforcement can only act as a motivator, depending on the individual. In taking the information about the reinforcements, we can apply them to a case that B. F. Skinner produced.
A notable case study for the Operant Conditioning theory is the one designed by B. F. Skinner which had striking similarities to Thorndike’s cat box experiment. In the 1940’s, he had created something called the “Skinner Box”, which contained a rat and this abstract shelter with signal lights, a speaker, a shock generator, and a lever, that when pushed correctly, would dispense food in a little tray for the rat to consume. As the electric current of the on-going shock generator caused the rat discomfort, it quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being placed in that environment. The consequence of receiving food if the rat pressed the lever, ensured that it would repeat the action again and again. Skinner had even taught the rat to avoid the constant shocks by turning on the light just before the electric current came on. Soon the rat could outsmart the “Skinner Box” causing B. F. Skinner’s theory to be more factual. Examining the experiment and breaking down the parts, the positive reinforcement in this case would have been the food pellets that the rat would have received if the lever were pushed. This showing that a positive reinforcement can strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence that an individual can find rewarding (Skinner-Operant Conditioning). In the case of the negative reinforcements, the shocks that would have been given if the rat did not cooperate in the way that Skinner was hoping for, would be the certain stimuli that would effect the rat. This addressing that a negative reinforcement strengthens behavior considering that it stops or removes an unpleasant experience (Skinner-Operant Conditioning). Applying extra concepts into the experiment, the primary reinforce in this case, would be to meet the rat’s need of appetizing food. While the secondary reinforcer would be, the rat’s means of satisfying his own needs, solving his hunger problem and being rewarded.
Many other cases that B. F. Skinner had accomplished with Operant Conditioning, involved a famous city bird, a Pigeon. He had conditioning these birds to do unthinkable action in which included, reading, playing Ping-Pong, and the most interesting, attempting to guide missiles during World War II. Skinner had seen the potential of the bird and proved it possible to teach the undomesticated animal. He had trained them with reinforcements, which relates to his rat experiment and many others who had used this tactic as well. With time, the pigeons had eventually completed what Skinner had wanted. Expanding on his World War II experiment, also knows as, “Project Pigeon”, he had seen that the U.S Navy required weapons that would be effective towards attacking surface ships. Even though missiles and TV technology existed, “the size of the primitive guidance systems available rendered automatic guidance impractical” therefore seeing as to how the pigeons could help the situation (Schedules of Reinforcement). The intent was to have the birds drop the weapon onto the enemy ships and go undetected. Though they generously gave $25,000 dollars towards the experiment, The National Defense Research Committee did not see this project as being the most effective way of solving the problems in battle. In the end Skinner had ended the production on October 8th, 1944 due to skepticism. The military believed that, “further prosecution of this project would seriously delay others which in the minds of the Division have more immediate promise of combat application” therefore causing the operation to cease, but had influenced future operations (From the Depths).
Even though that particular project had not worked the way that Skinner had hoped, his other experiment of pigeons reading did however create an inspiration. As of September 15, 2016, researchers at PNAS had accumulated a group of pigeons and taught them to recognize the correct spelling of simple four letter words. It was stated that, “After narrowing down to the four brightest birds out 18, over eight months of training, the advanced-class pigeons were taught to distinguish four-letter words from non-words”, being capable of seeing the difference in the correct and incorrect spelling (Pigeons Can Read A Little Bit). They distinguished words such as “very” and “vrey,” as well as words with different letters included in order to make them completely misspelled. Since B. F. Skinner’s work in the Behaviorism branch of Psychology, his theory has been made more apparent in the appearances of the daily life of individuals through media, discipline and parenting.
Media is a very universal concept that catches people’s attention, takes academic elements, in this case Psychology, and applies them in entertaining techniques. A CBS sitcom known as The Big Bang Theory is not only well known for its comedic dialogue, but it also introduces scientific matters into the households of American citizens. In an episode that aired on October 5th, 2009, the main character of the show, Sheldon Cooper, was conditioning another character, Penny, to do what he wanted her to do and to carter to his needs. He would only then offering her a piece of chocolate as a reward for committing every action that benefited him. Examples in the show were, picking up after his mess, not talking through a movie, or not sitting in a chair that he was sitting in. Leonard Hofstadter, the boyfriend of Penny, was not fond of the exercise that was being attempted and addressed that she is not a “lab rat”. One could say that this statement has a connection to B. F. Skinner’s experiment. However, Sheldon had mentioned that he is simply correcting a personality trait, and that by using the chocolate as a treat, she would be “making their lives easier”. Sheldon had also introduced another method of Operant Conditioning to Leonard, by proposing in giving her an electric shock, again relating to B. F. Skinner’s experiment, which this takes part in a negative reinforcement.
Some articles reviewing the episode have pointed out a miniscule error that is up for debate, in saying that the shock would be more of a positive punishment rather than a negative reinforcement. A specific article defined all the terms of the consequences, in order to differentiate one from the other, “Positive Reinforcement: Adding a pleasant stimulus. Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unpleasant stimulus. Positive Punishment: Adding an unpleasant stimulus. Negative Punishment: Removing a pleasant stimulus”, making it easier to see their stance (The Big Bang Theory- Find The Mistake). They had explained their reasoning by saying that “being electrocuted is NOT negative reinforcement […] represents adding an unpleasant stimulus”, concluding their statement of having the shock be a positive punishment (The Big Bang Theory.-Find The Mistake). To better understand this claim, an example of this punishment could be when being given a spanking or a scolding. It would add an unpleasant occurrence to the situation and would weaken the response. Overall, this episode contained the positive reinforcement aspect of Operant Conditioning and displayed a funny example of how it functions.
Reverting back to the commercial world, a limited amount of time is given in order to catch people’s attention in hopes of selling a product. With Operant conditioning coming into the play, an article had expressed the ways in which it is achieved, “Modern day commercials use the principles of vicarious learning all the time! In doing so, ad agents hope to reinforce viewers to buy and use the product in question”, this also showing the CER element. The commercials function in hiring certain people for the ad, acting as reinforcement for using the product. For example, Something unbelievably good happens to them as a result of their usage. Those who don’t have the product are left on the sidelines, looking longingly at those who are having fun or becoming successful. Consequentially, they are punished for NOT using the product. These commercials scream “YOU MUST BUY NOW” to consumers, suggesting that without that product their lives could be ruined” (The Use of Operant Conditioning in Modern Advertisement). As an example of this tactic, the AXE commercials are constantly addressing sex appeal and having young men, around the ages of 16 to 20, be captivated and motivated to be as desirable as the men in the commercial come off as to the women. With the operant conditioning effect, the women being drawn to the men are the positive reinforcement that young guys desire. The company does this in hopes of causing sales to spike up and producing a lager profit. “Simple, but effective. As consumers, we are reinforced or punished when we buy a certain product, shop in a particular store, and interact with sales people. Commercials and advertisements constantly utilize psychological principles in their favor” (The Use of Operant Conditioning in Modern Advertisement).
The method has been used for years in the parenting portion, but as stated previously, only made apparent once the theory was publicized. As a practical example, a parent could be in the need of having their child to do chores around the house. By having an influence—a positive reinforcement—such as money to gift to their child, they would be more than willing to complete what is asked of them. Breaking down this scenario, the child would see this opportunity as being able to make some spare money, to which they can spend however they would like, this would act as a primary reinforcer for them—again meaning that they are satisfying their wants or needs. A situation in parenting where a negative reinforcement could be used, is when a child is neglecting their homework and the parent keeps on pestering them to change their work ethic, after the constant nagging, then eventually the child may end up completing what is asked so then they do not have to deal with the complacent parent. The negative reinforcement being the complaining, which would motivate the child into doing their work, and altogether have the pestering stop—“It's not punishment. You're not doing something negative to the child to get them to behave a certain way. You're doing the opposite — taking away something that they do not like (a "negative")”(4 Negative Reinforcement Examples).
When having disciple come into the topic, we can take the example of another child development case. Preschoolers and Kindergarteners are at a time where learning anything can influence their lives heavily, it is as if they are sponges—this being said, they need to be taught, not only by their parents but by their teachers, common actions that will later become as a second natural behavior to them. Schools have their fair share when it comes to Operant Conditioning, an instance being when a five year old is learning to raise their hand when wanting to speak about something, and then later being praised by the teacher if having completed that behavioral task, “Undoubtedly, the student will feel pleased with themselves after getting such a positive response. The feeling of pride and self-satisfaction is one they are going to want to emulate in the future” (How To Use Operant Conditioning in Your Classroom)—this having a positive reinforcement element that had also been seen through B. F. Skinner’s experiment, Edward L. Thorndike’s experiment, John B. Watson’s experiment, and other specific cases that were present in the Operant as well as Classical Conditioning analysis. In the article cited, that is addressing elementary school teachers on how to use Operant Conditioning techniques, it was stated that even the slightest bit of encouragement or validation of involvement, can impact the child more so than how it appears, “By using symbols like smiley faces, 'Good Work' stamps, stickers, and even simple ticks when a child does something correctly, you are encouraging them to repeat such satisfying work again further down the line” (How To Use Operant Conditioning in Your Classroom)—Self-esteem is crucial, and when it goes appreciated, it has a higher percentage of altering the success rate of some.
On a personal note, having dealt with the at school disciple and the parenting
accustomation, Operant Conditioning has constructed a behavioral alteration that was only apparent, in my eyes, once having examined the theory on a deeper spectrum. Dating back to the years of being five or six, it was taught that if an individual had done something “not acceptable” in the classroom setting, then an isolation corner would be assembled for one to partake in—this being known as the “timeout” corner. Having done what was considered an unacceptable action, it was soon discovered that being apart of the timeout area was unsettling, because not only had it been embarrassing to endure at the school, but also the punishment had proceeded to the living environment—and had the parents demand to stay out of trouble. This story shows examples of negative reinforcement—the time out section—and could potentially be seen as a positive punishment circumstance, considering that the experience was unsettling and embarrassing—it had added an unpleasant intangible stimulus.
Another story that dealt with Operant Conditioning was not among human-to-human interaction, but with human and animal. At a point in time, the family dog was being taught how to sit on command—the teaching had been accomplished with the help of Milk-Bone treats. If it had not been for the positive reinforcement that the dog could consume, the teachings would have been more challenging than how it turned out to be. Furthering the information about the animal Operant Conditionings, an article had expressed a case where three dogs from a rescue center in New Zealand, had been taught how to drive a Mini-Cooper through a series of trainings. The professional animal trainers had broken down the process into sections, so that when they were put together, all of the actions would connect, making it possible for the dogs to drive the car “It’s a masterpiece in operant conditioning and illustrates how a well-designed behavioral modification plan can reinforce desirable behaviors and eliminate less desirable ones” (Parenting and B. F. Skinner). A popular dog trainer that frequently uses Operant Conditioning, whether it goes noticed or not, is the Animal Planet star, Cesar Millan. He has dealt with plenty of cases that involved correcting a dogs behavior—from a bad temper, to a destructive trait, he had taught the owners of the animals as well as the dog, how to control the mannerisms. In a web piece written by Sophie Yim, she had expressed a story that dealt with a cat and it’s operant conditioning lesson. It had taken place during the late 1960’s, where a car had approached an airport in San Francisco. The car had dropped off the cat, which had proceeded to make its way into the airport terminal. Relating to a person, the cat had waited patiently for the automatic doors to open and promptly walked straight ten paces, left for twenty, right for thirty, and soon approached a set waiting area, which then led him to take a rest under the waiting chairs, directing under two men whom were having a conversation. A couple hours had past, and the cat retraced his steps, walked out of the airport, and back into the car that had initially dropped him off. This cat was trained by the CIA as well as by the Animal Behavior Enterprise to carry a cochlear—comes from the root word cochlea, meaning the spiral cavity of the inner ear containing the organ of Corti, which produces nerve impulses in response to sound vibrations—implant, and listen to conversations that were needed to be monitored secretively. Months of training had taken place in order for the cat to properly do what the CIA needed. If the operation was going to be done right, reinforcements must have had to take part in the project, in order for the cat to comprehend the required methods.
Recapping the fundamentals of Operant Conditioning as a whole, it was said that many supporters of behaviorism had invested their time into figuring out how people and animal’s mannerisms operate. Each researcher spent countless hours, and tested theory upon theory, in order to solve their questions of the Psychology branch. With the reinforcements and the discoveries on how each one can cause a special reaction, it is no wonder that the notable investors like, B. F. Skinner and Edward L. Thorndike had impacted so many other psychologist to further their understanding, and captivated so many others to learn about the wonders, and apply them to the every day life that individuals live. Ranging from positive to negative, it was explored that Operant Conditioning relies heavily on the reinforcers—aside from that negative reinforcements are interpreted differently based on the type of individual, it can either be effective or discouraging. Again depending on the use of Operant Conditionings, it was stated that too much can have a negative effect on ones life, as well as too little—of course the right amount is not well determined, but it is more than possible to stir people in the right direction when it comes to altering a behavior pattern of some sort. It is portrayed throughout the media in subliminal ways and therefore reaching out to many people on a universal spectrum. Operant Conditioning is and has been present in the lives of many, before the first thoughts of how the behavior works was even considered—with that, it continuously grows reaching greater heights that have yet to be observed.