The Theory Of Operant Conditioning And The - amazonia.fiocruz.br

Permalink Print. Operant conditioning is a theory of learning in behavioral psychology which emphasises the role of reinforcement in conditioning. The theory was developed by the American psychologist B.

Skinner following experiments beginning in the s, which involved the use of an operant conditioning chamber. Operant and classical conditioning remain important theories in our understanding of how humans and other animals learn new forms of behavior.

Early research into conditioning was conducted by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. During studies of digestion in dogs, he noticed that his subjects would salivate when a researcher fed them. After the researcher had opened a door, entered the room and fed the dogs a few times, the animals began to associate the door opening with food, and would begin to salivate whenever they heard the door. Through associative learningthe dogs had linked an neutral stimulus the The Theory Of Operant Conditioning And The opening with an unconditioned stimulus food.

Essay on B. F. Skinner

Repeated classical conditioning had led to the door becoming a conditioned stimulus, which prompted the dogs to salivate. Exposing dogs to a variety of stimuli The Theory Of Operant Conditioning And The feeding them, he discovered that the animals could be conditioned to salivate in response to different types of event, such as the ringing of a buzzer or the sounding of a metronome Pavlov, He would place a cat in a puzzle box, where the animal would be remain until they learnt to press a lever. Initially, they would be trapped in the box for a long period of time, roaming it before inadvertently pressing the lever, and a door opened for the cat to escape.

However, once the cats learnt to associate operating the lever with a positive outcome - being able to leave the box - they wasted less and less time before source it to escape. Through instrumental learning, the cats had learnt to associate pressing the lever with the reward of freedom Thorndike, Thorndike drew on these findings when developing his law of effect.

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Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an influential American psychologist, writer and inventor. Born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, he studied at Hamilton College in New York, where he graduated in with plans to pursue a career in writing. However, a lack of success as an author, and his discovery of the theories of Ivan Pavlov, prompted an interest in psychology. He enrolled at Harvard University, where he completed his masters and ina Thsory.

Skinner remained in a teaching position at Harvard whilst continuing his research. Inhe outlined a theory of learning involving operant conditioning. Aside from his work in psychology, Skinner was also a keen inventor. During the Second World War, he took part in Project Pigeon, a failed attempt to create a missile controlled by pigeons. Amongst his Tehory successful inventions was the air crib, a temperature-controlled environment for babies, which he used with one of his own children.

B. F. Skinner Essay

When B. Skinner began studying psychology, it was the theories and ideas of the behaviorist school dominated the discipline. Many psychologists agreed with the proposals made by John B. Watson As a fellow behaviorist, Skinner believed that conditioning played a significant role in the learning process.

An animal is placed in a box, which Ahd a reward mechanism such as a hopper to dispense food pellets. A researcher can observe the animal whilst administering rewards.]