The Behaviourist Approach - Operant Conditioning

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B. F. Skinner

The American psychologist B. F. Skinner performed some important research in the field of operant conditioning.

B. F. Skinner

B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) was an American psychologist.
Skinner was a behaviourist. He concentrated on how behaviour was affected by its consequences.
He believed that behaviour is motivated by the consequences we receive for the behaviour: the reinforcements and punishments.

Skinner's research device

As a part of his research, Skinner developed a chamber that allowed the careful study of the principles of modifying behaviour through reinforcement and punishment.
This device, known as an operant conditioning chamber (or more familiarly, a Skinner box), has remained a crucial resource for researchers studying behaviour.

The Skinner box

The Skinner box is a chamber that isolates the subject from the external environment and has a behaviour indicator such as a lever or a button.
When the animal pushes the button or lever, the box is able to deliver:
- A positive reinforcement of the behaviour (such as food).
- A punishment (such as an electric shock).
- A token conditioner (such as a light).

Skinner's approach in wider psychology

Skinner’s focus on positive and negative reinforcement of learned behaviours had a lasting influence in psychology that slightly declined since the growth of research in cognitive psychology.
Despite this, conditioned learning is still used in human behavioural modification.
Skinner’s two controversial science books about the value of operant conditioning for creating happier lives are still thought-provoking arguments for his approach.

Operant Conditioning

In operant conditioning, organisms learn to associate a behaviour and its consequence. Operant conditioning looks at the interaction between positive and negative reinforcement and punishment.

Specialist terminology

In discussing operant conditioning, we use several everyday words (positive, negative, reinforcement, and punishment) in a specialised manner.
In operant conditioning, positive and negative do not mean good and bad. Positive means you are adding something, and negative means you are taking something away.

Reinforcement and punishment

Reinforcement means you are increasing a behaviour, and punishment means you are decreasing a behaviour. Either can be positive or negative.
All reinforcers (positive or negative) increase the likelihood of a behavioural response.
All punishers (positive or negative) decrease the likelihood of a behavioural response.

Examples of positives and negatives

In positive reinforcement, you add a desirable stimulus to increase a behaviour.
In negative reinforcement, you remove an undesirable stimulus to increase a behaviour.
In positive punishment, you add an undesirable stimulus to decrease a behaviour.
In negative punishment, you remove an aversive stimulus to decrease a behaviour.