Skinner's Operant Conditioning theory- Behaviourism

1. OPERANT CONDITIONING
Presented By: Surekha V S
Assistant Professor in Commerce Education
SVTEC, Akkikkavu

2. Meaning
● Operant conditioning theory developed by B F Skinner
● A process of learning through which organisms learn to repeat
behaviours that yield positive outcomes or permit them to
avoid/escape from negative outcomes
● It is based on certain operations/ actions

3. Types of Responses
● Elicited responses/respondents--- responses by a specific stimuli/
made up of specific S-R connections
● Emitted responses/ operants---- responses by an unknown stimuli/ a
response operates on the environment & changes it
Operant conditioning is a process whereby an operant behaviour is made
more frequent by reinforcement

4. R-S Learning
❖ More stress given to operant behaviour
❖ More concerned with responses than that of stimulus
❖ When a desired response is emitted, a reinforcing stimulus is
provided
❖ Reinforcement only come after the responses have been made &
not before it

5. Reinforcement
Application/removal of a stimulus to increase the strength of
behaviour
They are of two types: Positive & Negative
Positive reinforcement: A positive reinforcer is a stimulus when it
is added to a situation, increases the preceding responses.

6. Pleasant experience is given after the response occurs & thereby increases
the probability that the response will occur again & again.
Eg: Smile, Appreciation etc
Negative Reinforcement: A negative reinforcer is a stimulus when
removed from a situation increases the desirable behaviour
An unpleasant experience is withdrawn from the situation increases
the probability of occurrence of response

7. Negative Reinforcement Vs Punishment
➢ Withdrawal of unpleasant
stimulus
➢ For strengthening of a
desired response
➢ Motivates the behaviour
➢ End result is desirable
➢ Presentation of an
unpleasant stimulus
➢ For weakening undesirable
response
➢ Suppress the behaviour
➢ End result is need not be
desirable always

8. Educational Implications
❏ It is applicable to modify the undesirable behaviour of
maladjusted students
❏ Teachers can use motivation by reinforcers like praises, blames
etc.
❏ Contribute to the development of programmed learning

9. Classical conditioning Vs Operant Conditioning
❖ Learning of elicited response
❖ S type conditioning
❖ Specific connection between
stimulus & response
❖ Pairing of conditioned &
unconditioned stimulus
❖ Stimulus substitution
❖ Learning of emitted response
❖ R type conditioning
❖ No connection between any
known stimulus
❖ No pairing of conditioned &
unconditioned stimulus
❖ Response modification