Operant Conditioning

#Psychology

Types

  • Positive Reinforcement
    • Adding a stimulus to reinforce a behavior
    • E.g.: Giving money whenever a person smiles reinforce the person's behavior of smiling
  • Negative Reinforcement
    • Removing a stimulus to reinforce a behavior
    • E.g.: Stopping electric shocks to a person for when they smile may allow them to smile more
  • Positive Punishment
    • Adding a stimulus to punish behavior
    • E.g.: Administering electric shocks to a person whenever they smile will prevent them from smiling (although not necessarily due to operant conditioning, they might be a bit "shocked" rather than happy)
  • Negative Punishment
    • Removing a stimulus to punish a behavior
    • E.g.: Removing air from the surrounding area whenever a person smiles may prevent the person from smiling (and possibly breathing too)