THE NEUTRAL STIMULUS
Operant Conditioning
Introduction
In this theory of skinner, he suggested that when people change their behaviors they are forced by people response to stimuli that is likely to occur in the entire environment. When a specific stimulus response is rewarded, people are also expected to respond. In this essay we are to discuss about reinforcement as the main element. It is therefore referred to as anything that strengthens the preferred response. Operant conditioning is termed as a method of studying that usually by use of punishments and rewards for behaviors of a person. This type of conditioning is also referred to as instrumental conditioning. Using the operant condition, it’s said to have built an association between the consequences and behaviors for that particular behavior. This type of conditioning is typically known as Skinnerian because it was coined by skinner, the behaviorist. In this conditioning he explains that the inner motivations and thoughts could not be in apposition to explain individual behavior. Therefore, operant conditioning could only use the outside observation to explain the actual behavior of an individual. The behaviorist the skinner used the operant conditioning to describes any type of active actions that that could operate in the entire environment to bring in consequences. In this case it explains how people acquire the difference of learned actions as we display our every day behaviors.
Operant conditioning works as the following. This type of conditioning (operant) is mostly applied to modify individual’s behaviors as well to help the people improve their behaviors by teaching them and using instructions to make them understand. In most cases behaviors are reflexive and are not learned especially in commerce. The instructional conditioning works well with the organizations especially the big companies. Most of the employees have learned different types of behaviors especially when joining the other workers and when still in work. The employees are likely to encounter the stimuli when still in the work that is likely to lead them to a certain behavior and thus cause consequences in the organization.Most the companies do not tolerate the various kinds of behaviors and they normally punish and reward the workers according to its values. The most of the stimuli that are likely to seen in the organization includes policies used by the company, structures corporate, schedules, calls made, supervisor and mangers. In organization there are be different behavior consequences such as promotions, salary increases, disapproval or approvals from the coworkers and the managers and demotion. Most of the consequences that are likely to occur in the organization is that they are directly connected to specific types of behavior, the behaviors of the employees seems to contingent on the type of actions of the employees. Operant conditioning works well with a classic example where an individual can touch a hot flame and his or her hand get burned. The individual is likely to experience hurt and be aware of the danger on the hot flame. Through this it changes individual and become more careful in his or her everyday life. Therefore, to understand the operant conditioning well, the consequences seen in most of the organizations are just partially contingent to its actions of workers, which involve the whole network among the consequences and its behaviors.
We can find situation (examples) of operant conditioning it can be seen in our real lives. In this of condition we should consider our experience in past, present and future. Let us take for instance a worker being promised an increase in his or her salary, promotion or to be given allowances or let us take an example of kids being promised to be given gifts by their instructor or parents. Therefore, in the above examples the possibility and promise of the rewards will lead to an increase of the behaviors, while the instructional conditioning can be also used to lower the behaviors. Punishments are normally used in many organizations or by parents to their children’s. This can remove or decrease bad behaviors; it can also be used to prevent the vices. For instance; most of the students are used to behave bad by refusing to respect their instructors. A student may be told by the teacher he is going to loose chances and privileges when one walk outsider before break time. This kind of punishment will reduce the disruptive actions (behaviors). In operant conditioning there are some concepts experienced like;
Reinforcement: this is stimuli that help to increase or strengthen the behavior of a person. The rein forcers are of two types that are positive and negative. Positive reinforce are termed as favorable outcome or events that occur after the performance. In situation which is likely to reflect a positive reinforce a behavior or a response is likely to strengthen by motivation such as direct rewards. On the other hand, the negative reinforce will involve a removal of unfavorable outcome or events after the exhibit of the performance. In this case, a stimulus response is likely to be strengthened by a removal in something which is considered unlikable. In these situations the behavior will increase. On the positive punishment is likely to weaken the reply while in negative punishment, it will decrease the behaviors.
References
Nevid S.J. (2008). Psychology: concepts and applications (pp 186) – CengageBrain.com
Dinsmoor A.J. (2000). Operant conditioning: an experimental analysis of behavior – Brown
Skinner F.B. (2000). The selection of behavior: operant conditioning – Cambridge university press
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