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B.f. skinner theory of learning
Relevance and applicability of skinner theory of learning
Relevance and applicability if skinner theory of learning
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The psychologist B. F Skinner believed that “changes in behavior are the result of an individual’s response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment” (All About Operant Conditioning, 2006, Para 2). The following paper will discuss a learning situation in which an exercise routine is thought. The paper will evaluate the application of instrumental conditioning to this learning situation. As part of the analysis the learning situation will be described, the paper will compare and contrast the concepts of positive and negative reinforcement as related to learning situation, and explain the role of reward and punishment in learning an exercise routine. Finally, the paper will explain which form of instrumental conditioning would be most effective in teaching someone an exercise routine. Instrumental conditioning is the learning procedure that believes that “the organism must act in a certain way before it is reinforced; that is, reinforcement is contingent on the organism’s behavior” (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2005, pg 23). The major contributors of Instrumental conditioning are B.F Skinner, John Watson, and Edward Thorndike. These three theorists believed that “learning is the result of the application of consequences; that is, learners begin to connect certain responses with certain stimuli” (Huitt & Hummel, 1997, Para 1). In society the behaviors individuals manifest are learned behaviors which are learned through some form of conditioning.
The human brain is a “thinking organ that learns and grows by interacting with the world through perception and action” (Russo-Neustadt, Beard, & Cotman, 2000, p.305). It is believed that physical exercise improves the brain’s function and protects against cognitive decline. Studies on exe...
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Hergenhahn, B.R., & Olson, M.H. (2005). An Introduction to theories of learning (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (1997). An introduction to operant (instrumental) conditioning.
Educational Psychology Interactive. The Journal of Social Issues, 63 (1), 199. Retrieved
February 11, 2010 from ProQuest database.
Russo-Neustadt, A., Beard, Y., Cotman, C. (2000). Physical Activity and Antidepressant
Treatment Potentiate the Expression of Specific Brain-Derived Neurotrophic
Factor Transcripts in the Rat Hippocampus. Journal of Neuroscience. 101, 305-
312. Retrieved February 11, 2010 from ProQuest.
Terry, W.S. (2009). Learning & Memory: Basic principles, processes and procedures. (4th Ed). Boston. Allyn & Bacon.
Behavior modification is based on the principles of operant conditioning, which were developed by American behaviorist B.F. Skinner. In his research, he put a rat in a cage later known as the Skinner Box, in which the rat could receive a food pellet by pressing on a bar. The food reward acted as a reinforcement by strengthening the rat's bar-pressing behavior. Skinner studied how the rat's behavior changed in response to differing patterns of reinforcement. By studying the way the rats operated on their environment, Skinner formulated the concept of operant conditioning, through which behavior could be shaped by reinforcement or lack of it. Skinner considered his discovery applicable to a wide range of both human and animal behaviors(“Behavior,” 2001).
Learning is one of the things that help us survive. Darwin taught us that learning is the survival mechanism that we use to survive in our ever-changing environments. Our brains are designed to learn. They are plastic, meaning they can adapt, change and grow. In our brains there are neurotransmitters, and neurotrophins. They both have a role in turning different circuits on off, and getting different signals to different parts of our bodies. Some neurotrophins are called factory, and one of those is BDNF, or brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This chemical has been called, fertilizer for neurons. Exercise has been shown to increase BDNF leve...
“Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior” (Cherry). Positive reinforcement which is praising a person for doing something good verses negative reinforcement which is an unpleasant remark a punishment. B.F. Skinner did an experiment on a rat, the rat was taught to push two buttons, one to receive food and the other was a light electric shock. The rat tried both buttons and realized which button was good and which one was bad. This experiment goes to show that upon the rewards and punishment system one can learn their rights from their wrongs through a series of lessons. Kincaid and Hemingway both use operant conditioning to show human behavior under stimulus control.
Skinner argues that ‘learning is accelerated by reinforcement: a stimulus that increases the probability of a response’ called ‘operant conditioning’ and it is not reliant on what triggered the response but...
The Behavioral Learning Theory states that criminal behavior is dependent upon the rewards and punishments that one receives. There are two types of BLT: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is considered a passive approach to BLT. With classical conditioning, it is believed that when a stimuli is consistently presented it will evoke a given response or effect. In this type of situation, a person begins to anticipate things from their environment. Operant conditioning is a more active way of learning behavior than classical. With operant conditioning, manipulation of consequences to previous behavior controls the behavior. The individual takes a more active role in learning how to get their intended end result by pursuing it rather than waiting for it to come to them. Reinforcement is a central component to operant conditioning and can be either positive...
Salkind and Neil (2008) defined reinforcers as the first class of consequences, which, consists of events that increase the future probability of a behavior they immediately follow. These include events that strengthen behaviors when they are presented following the behavior, such as food, attention, or social praise. Reinforcement encourages some responses, discourages others and even creates new responses. According to Gross (2010) reinforcement schedules are an important aspect of B. F. Skinner’s work which is concerned with the effects on behaviour of how frequently and how regularly reinforcements are presented. This paper will seek to outline the reinforcement schedules and how they are applied in everyday life.
F Skinner was one of the most influential of American psychologists; He has to deal with how we get to more complex sorts of behavior .He studied about the changes of behavior and discovered it is the idea of shaping, then he summarized that theory and declared to certain behaviourism that affecting in a personality that is called operant conditioning .The positive and negative reinforcement and also the punishment affecting or controlling one's character and that will lead to further consequences .This operant conditioning also called as instrumental condition can be equally affecting both human and animal behavior. Psychological reaction towards an object or an event by a person or an animal can be modified by learning.
B. F. Skinner concluded that people could mentally have control over all of their responses. He believed that a reinforcement and/or consequence given after a behavior would influence future behavior (Roblyer,2003, p.57). In other words, reinforcements and/or punishments can shape human behavior. For example, if a child eats all of his vegetables at dinner and his parent’s reward him with positive words and a cookie, then the child will probably eat his vegetables at the next dinner.
In my reaction paper I will discuss B.F. Skinners theory operant conditioning and the ways he tested it out on animals, how it relates to humans, and how I can relate operant conditioning to my own personal life.
Learning is defined as a “process of change that occurs as a result of an individual’s experience” (Mazure, 2006). Researchers assume that the process of learning follows certain general principles, which were developed, into the general process learning theories. These include operant conditioning and classical conditioning which has been put forward by leading psychologists like Pavlov, B.F.Skinner and Thorndike. However, in learning, operant and classical conditoning are opposed by biological constraints that state that there are limitations to the theories. Some of these biological constraints on learning will be discussed below.
B.F. Skinner is a major contributor to the Behavioral Theory of personality, a theory that states that our learning is shaped by positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, modeling, and observation. An individual acts in a certain way, a.k.a. gives a response, and then something happens after the response. In order for an action to be repeated in the future, what happens after the response either encourages the response by offering a reward that brings pleasure or allows an escape from a negative situation. The former is known as positive reinforcement, the latter known as negative reinforcement (Sincero, 2012). A teenager who received money for getting an “A” is being positively reinforced, while an individual who skips a class presentation is being negatively reinforced by escaping from the intense fear and anxiety that would have occurred during the presentation.
...rain cells as well as stimulating the production for developing more brain cells. Physical exercise increases oxygen in the brain and reduces the risk of developing disorders diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, which can eventually lead to memory loss. Aim at least 2-3 hours a week of moderate exercises, such as brisk walking and biking.
“Punishment is one of the most used, but least understood and badly administered, aspects of learning” (Luthans, 1977, pp.300). As mentioned earlier, punishment is anything which weakens behaviour and tends to decrease it in subsequent frequency. Positive punishment is the method of administering negative consequences upon the occurrence of an action whereas Negative punishment involves the termination of positive consequences. In order to work, either case must weaken and decrease the behaviour which preceded the application or withdrawal of the stimuli. Skinner (1953) stipulated that we must defy the urge to label a form of stimuli as “desired” or “undesired” as a whole but rather to identify them by their effect on the observed subject.
From the time humans are born, they begin the process of learning and trying to understand the world. Conditioning is one way of learning in which a response becomes more frequent as a result of reinforcement. We can also learn through associations and punishments. There are two types of conditioning that will be discussed within this paper, classical conditioning and operant conditioning. I will further discuss how both classical and operant conditioning are prevalent within my article claims and then explain why both conditioning methods are important in everyday life.
This essay will consist of a discussion on behaviour theories and how behaviour has a connection to learning. Behaviourism has three main theories namely, classical conditioning, operate conditioning and observational conditioning, furthermore learning occurs after the behaviour has taken place. Behaviourism emphasizes on the role of environmental factors which results in influencing the behaviour. This essentially results to focusing on learning, as we learn and experiment, this causes an alteration in the way the environment is perceived, also in the way we interpret the incoming stimuli, and therefore how we choose to interact, or behave. Learning may be learned through classical or operant conditioning.