Skinners theory of learning

1. OPERANT CONDITIONING

2. Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning a process of
changing behavior by rewarding or
punishing a subject each time an
action is performed until the subjects
associates with pleasure or distress.

3. Skinner’s Experiments
Skinner’s experiments extend
Edward Thorndike’s thinking,
especially his law of effect. This
law states that rewarded
behavior is likely to occur again.
Yale
University
Library

4. Operant Chamber
Using Thorndike's law of effect as a starting
point, Skinner developed the operant chamber,
or the Skinner box, to study operant
conditioning.
Walter
Dawn/
Photo
Researchers,
Inc.
From
The
Essentials
of
Conditioning
and
Learning,
3
rd
Edition
by
Michael
P.
Domjan,
2005.
Used
with
permission
by
Thomson
Learning,
Wadsworth
Division

5. Operant Chamber
The operant chamber,
or Skinner box, comes
with a bar or key that
an animal manipulates
to obtain a reinforcer
like food or water
through trial and error.
The bar or key is
connected to devices
that record the
animal’s response.

6. MECHANISM OF OPERANT
CONDITIONING
• SHAPING
•CHAINING
•DISCRIMINATION AND CUEING
•GENERALIZATION

7. Shaping
Shaping is the operant conditioning procedure in
which reinforcers guide behavior towards the desired
target behavior through successive approximations.
Process of reinforcing closer and closer approximations
to an end goal or skill.

8. CHAINING
•. Chaining : ‘Chaining’ refers to a process
in the process in the shaping of behaviour
or task is broken down into small steps for
its effective learning and subsequent
reinforcement.
•Refers to the concept of putting together
multiple behaviors that from one “ large
behavior”.

9. DISCRIMINATION AND CUEING
•In operant conditioning
discriminations refers to
responding only to the
discriminative stimulus and not a
similar stimuli.

10. GENERALIZATION
•Generalization may be understood in term of
a learning process where the organism learns
to provide similar operant responses, to
stimuli similar to but not the same as the
training stimulus.
•When a learned behavior is applied in a
similar context.
•Ex. Teacher’s who can type in typewriter can type
also in a computer.

11. BEHAVIOR
CONSEQUENCE
• REINFORCEMENT
• POSITIVE
• Increase pleasant
• NEGATIVE
• Decrease pleasant
CONSEQUENCE
• PUNISHMENT
• POSITIVE
• Increase unpleasant
• NEGATIVE
• Decrease pleasant

12. Types of Reinforcers
Reinforcement: Any event that strengthens the
behavior it follows.
Ways to increase behavior

13. EXAMPLE
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
• Making their favorite dish
after they finish their
homework.
• Taking them to a park if
they clean their room.
• Appreciate them every
good works .
NEGATIVE REINFORCMENT
• Studying really hard to
avoid getting failed in the
exams.
• Doing their homework on
time to save their
television privileges.
• Eating healthy food to
avoid falling sick.

14. Punishment
An aversive event that decreases the behavior it
follows.
Ways to decrease behavior

15. EXAMPLE
POSITIVE PUNISHMENT
• A child yell in the class
(behavior) and the
teacher scolded him in
front of his classmates.
• A student gets caught by
a teacher throwing a
piece of paper.The
teacher is adding a
punishment to clean the
whole room.
NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT
• Taking the students
phone because of
improper used during
class.
• Not allowing the students
to take part in the fieldtrip
because he/she was
disrupting the class.

17. Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic Motivation:
The desire to perform a
behavior for its own
sake.
Extrinsic Motivation:
The desire to perform a
behavior due to
promised rewards or
threats of punishments.

18. Educational implication of Operant
Conditioning
1. Used for shaping children’s behavior: The operant
conditioning theory can be used in the classroom to
shape the behavior of a children through the use of
reward or reinforcement.
2. ELIMINATES NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR: The
operant conditioning theory involved the used of
negative reinforcement which is strengthen behavior
by eliminating unpleasant behavior.
3. REINFORCEMENT: The operant conditioning
theory includes positive reinforcement which can be
used to shape the behavior of the children.

19. •REMOVES UNWANTED BEHAVIOR: The operant
conditioning theory helps in removing the unwanted
behavior of children such as demotivation towards
learning, tardiness, and the like.
•MOTIVATE LEARNERS: The used of reinforcement
in the form of rewards motivates children to keep
learning and perform better.