This is the presentation which was presented in PPT CONTEST on TCP PRESENTO 2020 Organized byThiagarajar College of Preceptors-Madurai.

1. Topic : Operant Conditioning Theory
Name : Nikita Kataria
Class : B.Ed 2nd Year

2. Learning
Acc. to Crow and Crow
“learning is an acquisition of habits, knowledge and attitude. It involves new ways of doing things and it
operates in an individual’s attempts to overcome obstacles or to adjust to new situations. It represents
progressive change in behaviour. It enables him to satisfy interests to attain goals.
In simple words, we can say that change in behaviour brought out by experience is LEARNING.
Acquisition of knowledge skills, values and attitudes.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

3. TCP PRESENTO-2020

4. INTRODUCTION OF OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY
o The major theorist for the development of operant conditioning are Edward, Thorndike,
John Watson and B.F. Skinner.
o This approach to behaviourism played a major role in development of the
science of psychology. They proposed that learning is the result of the
application of consequences; that is learners begin to connect certain
responses with certain stimuli. This connection causes the probability of the
response to change.
o Thorndike labelled this type of learning instrumental. Using consequences, he
taught kittens to manipulate a latch.
o Skinner renamed instrumental as operant because it is more descriptive(i.e.,
in this learning, one is “operating” on, and is influenced by , the environment).
Operant conditioning is often viewed as R-S Learning since it is the
consequence that follows the response that influences whether the response
is likely or unlikely to occur again. Through operant conditioning voluntary
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5. OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY
B.F. SKINNER (1904-1990)
American psychologist B.F. Skinner became famous for
his pioneering research on learning and behaviour. He
was an psychologist, behaviourist, author, inventor and
social philosopher. He was professor of psychology at
Harvard University from 1958 to 1974. During his sixty
year career, Skinner discovered important principles of
operant conditioning, a type of learning that involves
reinforcement and punishment. A strict behaviourist,
Skinner believed that operant conditioning could explain
even the most complex of human behaviours. He
designed the Skinner box (also called an operant
conditioning chamber) for his research.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

6. OTHER NAMES FOR OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY
Instrumental conditioning theory
Reinforcement theory
Contingency of reinforcement theory
R – type conditioning
Response stimulus theory with reinforcement
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7. Concept of operant conditioning
Response Reinforcement Repetition
Instrumental
Conditioning
Operant conditioning is the learning process where a response is made more probable
or more frequent by reinforcement.
• Operant: operant is an act which constitute an organism for doing something.
• Responses: Skinner put forward the idea the most of our responses can’t be attributed to
unknown stimulus.
 In Operant Conditioning Theory ‘a response is followed by response which reinforce
the response’. TCP PRESENTO-2020

8. Responses
Elicited Behaviour
(Respondent Behaviour)
Response to known
stimuli
Emitted Behaviour
(Operant Behaviour)
Response to
unknown stimuli
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9. Skinner’s Experiment With Rat
• Skinner developed a special apparatus known as skinner’s box.
• The box has a grid floor, a system of light or sound produced at the
time of delivery of a pellet of food, in the food cup, on the pressing of
lever.
• Skinner placed a hungry rat in the box.
• In this experiment, pressure on the bar in a certain way, by the rat
could result in the production of a click and emergence of a food
pellet.
• The rat was rewarded for each proper pressing of the lever.
• The rat repeated this process, and ultimately learned to press the lever
as desired by the experimenter.
 An Operant conditioning chamber (Skinner Box) allows
animals to press a bar to obtain food or water. The box
records the rate and no. of presses. Researchers can use
them to study how different intervals of rewards or
punishment influence learning.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

10. ACTIONS IN OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY
I. SHAPING : instead of rewarding only target or desired behaviour, process of shaping involves
the reinforcement of successive approximations of the target behaviour.
I. GENERALISATION Response
Stimuli
II. HABIT FORMATION
III. CHAINING
• EXTINCTION : when a behaviour ceases because it is no longer reinforced.
• SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY : sudden reappearance of certain conditioned behaviour following
a break period after the extinction has taken place.
• REINFORCEMENT : rewards introduced to increase a behaviour, punishment introduced to
decrease a behaviour.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

11. Reinforcers
Primary
Reinforcer
Secondary
Reinforcer
REINFORCERS : responses from the environment that
increase the probability of a behaviour being repeated.
 PRIMARY REINFORCERS: these are consequences that satisfy a biologically built-in need. Such ex.
Include food, shelter and oxygen.
 SECONDARY REINFORCERS: situation in which a stimulus reinforces a behaviour after it has been
associated with a primary reinforcer. It is also called as ‘Conditioned Reinforcement’.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

12. CONTINGENCIES IN OPERANT CONDITIONING
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT : positive
reinforcement strengthens a behaviour by
providing a consequence an individual finds
rewarding.
NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT : removal of an
unpleasant reinforcer can also strengthen
behaviour (removes unpleasant experience).
POSITIVE PUNISHMENT : used to suppress
unwanted behaviour by applying aversive
stimulus.
NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT : taking away a
stimulus to make unwanted behaviour less likely
to occur. TCP PRESENTO-2020

13. TCP PRESENTO-2020

14. SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
Behaviourist discovered that different
schedules of reinforcement had different
effects on the speed of learning and
extinction. Skinner devised different ways
of delivering reinforcement and found
that this had effects on
1. The Response Rate
2. The Extinction Rate
TCP PRESENTO-2020

15. The frequency of rewards and the relationship of rewards to behaviour influences both speed and
retention of learning. TCP PRESENTO-2020

16. 1. CONTINUOUS REINFORCEMENT
An animal/human is positively reinforced every time a specific behaviour
occurs, e.g., every time a lever is pressed a pellet is delivered, and then food
delivery is shut off.
• Response rate is SLOW
• Extinction rate is FAST
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17. 2. FIXED RATIO REINFORCEMENT
Behaviour is reinforced only after the
behaviour occurs a specified no. of times.
E.g., one reinforcement is given after
every so many correct responses, E.g.,
after every 5th response.
• Response rate is FAST
• Extinction rate is MEDIUM
TCP PRESENTO-2020

18. 3. FIXED INTERVAL
REINFORCEMENT
One reinforcement is given after a
fixed time interval providing at least
one correct response has been made.
example, every 15 min. a pellet is
delivered (providing at least one lever
press has been made) then food delivery
is shut off.
• Response rate is MEDIUM
• Extinction rate is MEDIUM
TCP PRESENTO-2020

19. VARIABLE RATIO
REINFORCEMENT
Behaviour is reinforced after an
unpredictable no. of times. For example
gambling or fishing.
• Response rate is FAST
• Extinction rate is SLOW (very hard to
extinguish because of unpredictability).
TCP PRESENTO-2020

20. Variable INTERVAL
REINFORCEMENT
Providing one correct response has
been made, reinforcement is given
after an unpredictable amount of
time has passed, e.g., on average
every 5 min.
• Response rate is FAST
• Extinction rate is SLOW
TCP PRESENTO-2020

21.  Principal of operant conditioning can be applied in behaviour modification.
 Advocated the avoidance of punishment.
 It is helpful in development of human personality.
 It helps in the development of teaching machines.
 Emphasis the importance of reinforcement.
 Response is not necessarily depend upon specific known stimulus.
 Eliminating negative response through extinction.
 Shaping
 Help to direct goal.
 Basis for programme instruction.
 Attention to desirable behaviour.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

22. SUMMARY
• Behaviourism is primarily concerned with observable behaviour, as opposed to internal events like
thinking and emotion.
• The emphasis of behavioural psychology is on how we learn to behave in certain ways. We are all
constantly learning new behaviours and how to modify our existing behaviour.
• Skinner didn’t say that the rats learned to press a lever because they wanted food. He instead
concentrated on describing the easily observed behaviour that the rats acquired.
• The major influence in human behaviour is learning from our environment.
• Skinner proposed that the way humans learn behaviour is much the same as the way the rats learned
to press a lever.
• Operant conditioning is a theory of learning in behavioural psychology which emphasizes the role of
reinforcement in conditioning.
• It emphasizes the effect that rewards and punishments for specific behaviours can have on a person’s
future action.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

23. REFERENCES
 https://www.simplypsychology.org/oconditioning.html
 https://www.coursehero.com/sg/introduction-to-psychology/operant-conditioning/
 https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/psychology/psychology/psychology-learning/operant-
conditioning
 https://www.slideserve.com/jaden/basic-principles-of-operant-conditioning
 http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/behavior/operant.html
 https://opentext.wsu.edu/ldaffin/chapter/module-6-basic-operant-conditioning-principlesprocedures/
 https://www.slideshare.net/ajay123intel/skinners-operant-conditioning-theory-16372222
 Book Psychology of Teaching-Learning Process by Dr. J.S. Walia
TCP PRESENTO-2020

24. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Primarily I would thank God for being able to complete this project with success. Then I
would like to thank my teacher Dr. Sonam Bansal to make me aware about this competition.
Then I would like to thank Thiagarajar College Of Preceptors whose valuable guidance has
been the ones that helped me patch this project and make it full proof success his suggestions
and his instructions has served as the major contributor towards the completion of the project.
Then I would like to thank my parents and friends who have helped me with their
valuable suggestions and guidance.
Nikita Kataria
B.Ed 2nd Year TCP PRESENTO-2020