This document provides 9 examples of operant conditioning: 1. A father giving a credit card is positive reinforcement for good grades in college. 2. A flashing light punishing not wearing a seatbelt is positive punishment, reducing that behavior. 3. A lion getting food for standing on a chair and jumping through a hoop is positive reinforcement, increasing that behavior. 4. Exemption from a final exam for perfect attendance is negative reinforcement, increasing attendance.

2. Operant
Conditioning
Examples

3. 1.Your father gives you a
credit card at the end of
your first year in college
because you did so well.
The credit card is a positive reinforcement
because it is given and it increases the
behavior.

4. 2.Your car has a red, flashing light
that blinks annoyingly if you start
the car without buckling the seat
belt. You become less likely to start
the car without buckling the seat
belt.
 The flashing light is a positive punishment.
After this consequence is given, the behavior of
not buckling the seat belt decreases.

5. 3.A lion in a circus learns to
stand up on a chair and
jump through a hoop to
receive a food treat.
 The food treat is a positive
reinforcement because it is given and
it increases the behavior.

6. 4. A professor has a policy of exempting
students from the final exam if they
maintain perfect attendance during the
quarter. His students’ attendance increases
dramatically.
 The exemption from the final
exam is a negative reinforcement
because something is taken away
that increases the behavior
(attendance).

7. 5. You check the coin return slot on a pay
telephone and find a quarter. You find
yourself checking other telephones over the
next few days.
The quarter would be a
positive reinforcement
because it was given and led
to an increase in the behavior.

8. 6.Your hands are cold so you put
your gloves on. In the future, you are
more likely to put gloves on when it’s
cold.
 The consequence is a negative
reinforcement because the
coldness is taken away and the
behavior of putting on gloves
increases.

9. 7.When a professor first starts
teaching about a concept, she'll
praise any answer that is close
to the right answer.
 This describes the process of shaping the
operant behavior of answering questions,
using positive reinforcement (praise). In
shaping you start by reinforcing anything that
is close to the final response. Then you
gradually require closer and closer
approximations before giving a reinforcer.

10. 8.In a weight management class,
participants earn points for every
healthy meal they eat and every
period of exercise they complete.
 The awarding of points (a version
of a token system since they are
exchanged for the refunds later) is
a positive reinforcement.

11. 9. When your son has gone for a week
without arguing with his sister, he gets
to choose which favorite activity he
wants to engage in on Friday night.
 An example of using Premack reinforcement
by letting your son engage in a favorite
activity (positive reinforcement) when he has
been able to refrain from arguing for a week.
This is an example of differential
reinforcement of other behavior, anything
other than arguing will be reinforced in this
Operant conditioning paradigm.

12. Allan brought home a very
poor report card. His parents
were so disappointed they took
away his IPhone and car for
three weeks.
Negative punishment