Introduction
Burrhus Frederick Skinner is renowned figure in the field of psychology for his theory of operant conditioning. Indeed, this theory constitute a major contribution to the school of Behaviorism. Operant Conditionning puts forth that the environment shapes significantly the lives of people and the way they behave through reinforcement. In what follows an exposition of Skinner’s theory and some of its applications.
Operant Conditioning: A Behaviorist Theory with Reinforcement as a Key Concept
Operant Conditioning is “a behavioral learning theory in which a stimulus (e.g., food for the pigeon or rat) and a reinforcer (e.g., a light) are used by the experimenter to generate a specific response (e.g., pressing a lever)” (Leonard, 2002, p789). The theory posits that the behavior, human and animal, can be modeled and modified by the environment. Indeed, in the example enclosed in the definition, the response/behavior is conditioned by giving food only when the correct response is provided; with time, the subject of the conditioning, in this case the pigeon or r rat, provides the adequate response, pressing the lever, when it needs food.
One can say that in a way, Skinner’s theory (sometimes called also instrumental conditioning), is an evolvement of the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditionning whereby he contends that people predict relationships between events by giving them associations (Magill, 1998, p 438). The famous lab exemple on this behavior is the dog’s salivating upon hearing a bell ring when accustomed to be given food immediately after ringing a bell (Magill, 1998, p 438). The conditiong comes after as a result of stimulus (the bell)-reponse (food).
The stimulus –response mechanism is also upheld by Skinner. However, Skinner’s addition is that the reinforcement of the behavior is important. Reinforcement refers to the consequences, reinforcers, that an animal/man incurs for a given action which conditions him into adopting a given reponse or operant (Magill, 1998, p 62). Reinforcement can be either negative (punishment) or positive (reward) (Catwright, 2002, p 122).
Skinner’s reinforcement is not neutral, unlike Pavlov’s bell. In Skinner’s counterpart experiment, a rat put in a box is given food only when it does a correct response, such as pressing a lever (Catwright, 2002, p 62-63).Here, in what has been dubbed the Skinner Box (Catwright, 2002, p 62), the reward is linked to an appropriate action.
Skinner Box is an apparatus that Skinner devised. A rat had been placed in the box and was administered food when it provided the right response (Catwright, 2002, p 62-63). The box contained a food dispenser for rewarding the rat (positive reinforcement); an illuminated green/red panel to display stimuli; a grid on the surface to issue electric charges when the wrong response is delivered (negative reinforcement); and a lever to be pressed by the rat (Catwright, 2002, p 63).. The device and its mechanisms have the clues into the foundation of Skinner’s operant conditioning.
The Practical Application of the Theory
By virtue of the potential to modify behavior, operant conditioning has been used in the field of psychology, among others. Skinner is first and foremost a psychologist. The therapy directly based on it is called behavior therapy (Flanagan, 2004, p 218). Indeed, Skinner and some of his colleagues applied behavior therapy to treat psychopathic patients (Flanagan, 2004, p 218). The focus in such a therapy is the environment because it is built on the assumption of environmental manipulation. Accordingly, it is the environment of the patient which is studied in order to put the finger on what is wrong.
Always within the same rationale, operant conditioning seems helpful in such fields as education, notably children’s upbringing. An effective means of raising children would be through the mechanism of reward/punishment. An appropriate usage would educate children to “good behaving” by rewarding them when they behave well and punishing them when they misbehave. There are a number of steps to be followed while doing so: the parents should set behavioral objectives, adopt the appropriate reinforcement method to get the desired response from the children and eventually modify the environment of the child when it is established that it causes behavioral disorder (Flanagan, 2004, p229-230).
There is a case whereby such educational steps have been indeed applied by a therapist onto a fifteen years old female adolescent who demonstrated behavioral disorders, namely disobedience and disrespect to the parents (Flanagan, 2004, p229-230). The parents have set as a major objective to remedy to their child’s abusive language. The therapist detected the environmental contingencies that were encouraging the child in adopting her rude attitude and it happened to be her parents’ inadequate responses to the behavior. Once locating the problems in the girl’s environment (parents inadequate response), the therapist recommended a reinforcement mechanism to modify the adolescent, alternating rewards (money allowance) and punishment (deducting from money allowance). After eight weeks, the parents noticed gladly that they had got “a new daughter” (Flanagan, 2004, p 230).
Conclusion
From all the above, it appears that operant conditioning opened the door onto a passionate subject- human behavior and the possibility to model it. This theory has put Skinner in the front stage of the behaviorist school. Indeed the theory has been applied in such important fields as psychology and education, giving tools to modify human behavior.
Reference List
Cartwright, Jo-Anne (2002). Determinants of Animal Behaviour. New York: Routledge.
Magill, Frank Northen (1998). Psychology Basics. Pasadena, Calif: Salem Press.
Leonard, David C (2002). Learning Theories, A to Z .Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Sommers-Flanagan, John.; Sommers-Flanagan, Rita (2004). Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice: Skills, Strategies, and Techniques. Hoboken, N.J : John Wiley & Sons, Inc.