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operant conditioning

operant conditioning

1 5.1
A way of learning where a behavior increases after reward or decreases after punishment
  • noun
  • /ˈoʊpərənt kənˈdɪʃənɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : condicionamiento operante
  • Trainers use operant conditioning to teach dogs new tricks by rewarding them for good behavior.
  • operant conditioning principles
  • operant conditioning and behavior

Although you train killers, so you use operant conditioning the same way you train a dog repeatedly, repeatedly.

Examples

  • B.F. Skinner developed a complex system called "operant conditioning" in which new behaviors were created step by step to eventually lead to complex sequences.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Fortunately, dogs, which make up a large percentage of shelter animals, respond extremely well to the operant conditioning principles used in behavior modification programs.

    Academic text (2005)
  • And because of operant conditioning, the baby is driven towards the adult.

  • In addition to frustration, several students brought up the term operant conditioning.

    Academic text (2005)
  • The third and final type of learning is known as operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning.

  • The book was based on the research findings on habit formation and operant conditioning as applied to rats under laboratory conditions.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Based on the well-established principle of operant conditioning, his work to get more candy will go down next time.

    Blog text (28)
  • My father believed in techniques which utilized the concept of operant conditioning-- rehabilitation through punishment.

  • The students' journal submissions typically show great sophistication and understanding of operant conditioning and its applications.

    Academic text (2005)
  • In contrast, the dog training program described here relates to psychology of learning class concepts extremely well: many of the operant conditioning principles and phenomena discussed by learning instructors are modeled and used by the students in the shelter setting.

    Academic text (2005)

Synonyms

instrumental conditioning
vsoperant conditioning
  • Specialized
7.3

A type of learning where a behavior changes after a reward or punishment

has identical meaning but serves as an alternative technical term

How Aversive

aversive conditioning
  • Specialized
7.8
operant conditioning
  • Specialized
1 5.1
classical conditioning
  • Specialized
1 3.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

operant + condition

The phrase is a straightforward composition of 'operant' (a behavior that acts on the environment) and 'conditioning' (the process of shaping behavior). Together they literally denote the conditioning of operants — i.e., a learning process that changes the likelihood of a behavior via reinforcement or punishment — so a learner who knows both constituents can derive the meaning.

Etymology

Operant conditioning comes from simple learning experiments where an animal does an action and then gets a 'reward' or a 'punishment'. An operant is the action and conditioning is the training, so the phrase means learning when a 'reward' or 'punishment' makes a 'behavior' more or less likely.