Operant Conditioning: Developed By Behaviorist B. F. Skinner

Operant conditioning was invented by behaviorist B.F. Skinner. Operant Conditioning is a process that tries to change a behavior by using positive and negative reinforcement or positive and negative punishment. He created a device known as a Skinner box. The chamber was a box that could hold a small animal such as a rat. The box also contained a lever or button that the animal could press in order to receive a reward. For example, when the lab rat pressed the blue button, he received a food pellet as a reward, but when he pressed the red button he would receive an electric shock. As a result, the rat eventually learned to press the blue button to get food and to avoid the red button. Growing up my parents were strong believers in operant conditioning. If I was good they would give me praise and if I was bad I would get a spanking. As I got older they stopped giving me spanking and started taking my phone away. If my grades were up to my parents expectations then they would take my cellphone away until the next report card came out. If my grades improved then I would get my phone back but if they were still bad then they would keep

His theory was that people can learn new information and behaviors by watching other people. In his famous Bobo doll experiment, Bandura showed that children learn and copy behaviors they watch other people do. The children in Bandura’s studies watched an adult hit and act aggressively toward a Bobo doll. When the children were allowed to play in a room with the Bobo doll, they began to attack the Bobo doll just as they had watch the adult do. This led to the phase “Monkey See Monkey Do”. There are three core concepts of social learning theory; observation, imitation, and modeling. The first concept is the idea that people learn through observation. Next is the idea that a person’s mental state is important to learning. Finally, learning does not lead to a change in