It includes comparison of various behaviour theories of learning, concept of Reinforcement and Punishment, Reinforcement schedule, Mechanism of Operant Conditioning etc.

1. SKINNER’S OPERANT
CONDITIONING THEORY
By-
Jemima Sultana
Department of Education
Aligarh Muslim University

2. What is Learning?
► Learning is the act of acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing,
existing knowledge, behaviours, skills, values or preferences and may
involve synthesizing different types of information.
Learning occurs when we are able to:
1. Gain a mental or physical grasp of the subject.
2. Make sentence of a subject, event or feeling by integrating it into
our own words or actions.
3. Use our newly acquired ability or knowledge in conjunction with
skills and understanding we already possess.
4. Do something with the new knowledge or skill and take ownership of
it

3. Behaviourism and Behaviouristic
learning Theory
► The basic idea of behaviorism is that learning consists of a change
in behaviour due to the acquisition, reinforcement and
application of associations between stimuli from the environment
and observable responses of the individual.
► Behaviourists are interested in measurable changes in behaviour.
► Behaviourism is a school of psychology, which maintains that
psychology can describe and measure only what is observable,
either directly or through the use of instruments.

4. Thorndike’s Trial and Error Theory
► Thorndike, one major behaviourist
theorist, put forward that (1) a
response to a stimulus is reinforced
when followed by a positive
Rewarding effect and (2) a response
to a stimulus becomes stronger by
exercise and repetition. This view of
learning is akin to the drill-and-
practice programmes.

5. Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory
Pavlov demonstrated that dogs
could learn to associate a neutral
stimulus, such as the sound of bell,
with an automatic behaviour, such
as salivating to food. Once the
association was formed, the sound
of the bell alone would make the
dog salivate. Pavlov
enthusiastically believed he had
discovered the mechanism by
which all behaviour are learned.

7. Operant Conditioning
► Responses are acquired and strengthened by the
efforts, organism have in the Environment.
► The organism operates on the environment instead
of simply reacting to the stimuli.
► The operant conditioning is defined as a form of
learning in which response come to be controlled
by their consequences. The response itself is
called an operant response or an opponent.

8. Skinner’s Theory
► Skinner, the founder of operant conditioning believed
that the causes of behaviour are in the environment
and do not result from inner mental events such as
thoughts, feelings or perceptions.
► Skinner argued that these inner mental events are
themselves behaviours, and like any other behaviours,
are shaped and determined by environmental forces.
► The organism, while going out its everydays activities,
is in the process of “operating on the environment”.

9. Continuing....
► In the course of its activities, the organism encounters a
special kind of stimulus, called a reinforcing stimulus, or
simply a Reinforcer. This special stimulus has the effect of
increasing the behaviour occuring just before the
reinforcer.
► This is operant conditioning: “the behaviour is followed by
a consequence, and the nature of the consequence
modifies the organism’s tendency to repeat the behaviour
in the future.”
► A behaviour followed by a reinforcing stimulus results in
an increased probability of that behaviour occuring in the
future.

10. Key Terms:
Skinner defined two types of responses:
► The one elicited by a known stimuli which is called as “respondent
behaviour” and the other elicited by the unknown stimuli which is
called as “Operant behaviour”.
► Examples of operant behaviour may include all reflexed such as
jerking one’s hands when jabbed with a pin and the pupillary
constriction on account of bright light or salivation in the presence of
food
► Operant: Skinner considers and operant as a set of acts which
constitutes an organisms doing something e.g.; raising its head,
walking about, pushing a lever etc.

11. Skinner’s Experiment

12. Skinner Box and Pigeon

13. Components of Operant Conditioning

31. Mechanism of Operant Conditioning

35. Educational Implications

36. Formative assessment

37. Identify schedule of reinforcement

38. Identify the reinforcement schedules.

39. Thank You
😊