In the late nineteenth century, psychologist Edward Thorndike proposed the law of effect. The law of effect states that any behavior that has good consequences will tend to be repeated, and any behavior that has bad consequences will tend to be avoided. In the 1930s, another psychologist, B. F. Skinner, extended this idea and began to study operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which responses come to be controlled by their consequences. Operant responses are often new responses. Show
Just as Pavlov’s fame stems from his experiments with salivating dogs, Skinner’s fame stems from his experiments with animal boxes. Skinner used a device called the Skinner box to study operant conditioning. A Skinner box is a cage set up so that an animal can automatically get a food reward if it makes a particular kind of response. The box also contains an instrument that records the number of responses an animal makes. Psychologists use several key terms to discuss operant conditioning principles, including reinforcement and punishment. ReinforcementReinforcement is delivery of a consequence that increases the likelihood that a response will occur. Positive reinforcement is the presentation of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur more often. Negative reinforcement is the removal of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur more often. In this terminology, positive and negative don’t mean good and bad. Instead, positive means adding a stimulus, and negative means removing a stimulus. PunishmentPunishment is the delivery of a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a response will occur. Positive and negative punishments are analogous to positive and negative reinforcement. Positive punishment is the presentation of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur less often. Negative punishment is the removal of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur less often. Positive reinforcement is a means by which teachers can increase the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses positive reinforcement when he or she provides something that is pleasant. Positive reinforcement is often thought of as a reward.  Description
Negative ReinforcementNegative reinforcement is also a means by which teachers can increase the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses negative reinforcement when he or she removes something that is unpleasant. Negative reinforcement is often thought of as relief from something aversive (e.g., boring class work). Description
For Your InformationWhen you reflect on the concept of reinforcement, do not mistakenly associate the terms positive and negative with the concepts of good and bad. Rather, keep in mind that these terms refer to the addition or removal of a stimulus or condition in order to achieve a desired response. It might be helpful to think of positive reinforcement as a reward and negative reinforcement as a relief; both result in an increase in the probability that the behavior will reoccur. Positive PunishmentPositive punishment is a means by which teachers can decrease the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses positive punishment when he or she provides something that is unpleasant. Description
Negative PunishmentNegative punishment is also a means by which teachers can decrease the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses negative punishment when he or she removes something that is pleasant. “Time-out,” for example, is a commonly used form of negative punishment. Description
The use of punishment to change behavior runs contrary to most schools’ philosophies, and is not recommended. It is usually more productive to use positive reinforcement to increase a desired behavior than it is to use punishment to decrease an undesirable one. ExtinctionExtinction refers to the withholding of something that is pleasant in order to eliminate the likelihood that a behavior will occur in the future. Description
Extinction is often difficult to use on its own in a classroom because it:
If a teacher chooses to use extinction, it should be paired with positive interventions, as described later in this module. Please note that extinction should not be used with difficult or dangerous behaviors. Is a consequence that increases the probability that behaviour will occur?Reinforcement is used to help increase the probability that a specific behavior will occur in the future by delivering or removing a stimulus immediately after a behavior. Another way to put it is that reinforcement, if done correctly, results in a behavior occurring more frequently in the future.
When the consequences of a behavior increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated?This theory grew from Thorndike's “law of effect” which stated that a behavior that is followed by pleasant or desirable consequences is likely to be repeated, while behavior that is followed by undesirable consequences is less likely to be repeated (McLeod, 2018).
Which of the following consequences increases the likelihood that a behavior will occur in the future quizlet?Positive reinforcer. Def: A stimulus that will increase the future probability of a behavior when the stimulus is delivered contingent on the occurrence of the behavior. EX: A mother gives her son praise (reinforcing stimulus) for doing homework (behavior). Negative reinforcer.
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