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B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) further developed the theory of behaviorism by introducing the idea of operant conditioning. While studying rat behavior, Skinner noticed that the rats were affected not by what came before their behavior, as was true of classical conditioning, but by what came after (Vargas, 2005). He concluded that spontaneous behaviors are controlled by the environment’s response to them. A reinforcement is anything that occurs after a behavior that increases the likelihood the behavior will continue or happen again. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, and both types make a behavior more likely to happen.

Operant conditioning: The process that happens when a response that follows a behavior causes that behavior to happen more.

Reinforcement: A response to a behavior that causes that behavior to happen more.

B. F. Skinner. Skinner’s theory is based on the process of operant conditioning. Rewards and punishments (or simply ignoring an undesirable behavior) are used to change the likelihood of that behavior continuing to occur.

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While it is easy to think of examples of positive reinforcement, understanding negative reinforcement is more difficult. Positive reinforcement occurs when you get something you like and want. Negative reinforcement occurs when something disagreeable is removed following a behavior. For instance, when a parent picks up a crying baby and the baby stops crying, stopping the unpleasant sound of the infant crying reinforces the parent’s behavior and makes it more likely the parent will respond this way again when the baby cries. Figure 2.3 illustrates the difference between these two types of reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement: In operant conditioning, a response that makes a behavior more likely to happen again because it provides a positive stimulus.

Negative reinforcement: In operant conditioning, a response that makes a behavior more likely to happen again because it removes an unpleasant stimulus.

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Figure 2.3 Illustration of positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.

Skinner described several concepts related to operant conditioning that help us understand how the process works. The first is the process of shaping behavior. You cannot reinforce a behavior unless that behavior occurs. For example, you cannot reinforce positive peer interaction with a child who does not interact with his peers. However, Skinner developed the idea that behavior can slowly be “shaped” through reinforcement of behaviors that progressively get more and more like the behaviors desired. To shape the behavior of a child who does not interact with peers, you could use a series of rewards that begin when the child is simply near another child. The next step might be that the child is reinforced only when he looks at the other child, and finally the reinforcement might be provided only when he speaks while looking at the child. Eventually, the reward would be contingent only on true interaction with a peer.

Shaping behavior: Reinforcing behaviors to become progressively more like the desired behavior.

If reinforcement increases the likelihood that a behavior will occur, you might think that the most effective way to establish and maintain a behavior would be to reinforce a child every time she performs that behavior. However, although continual reinforcement does a great job of establishing a behavior, when the reinforcement stops the behavior is likely to stop as well. Skinner found that the timing and frequency of reinforcement determines how effective it is. For example, gamblers at a slot machine are reinforced with winnings on a random schedule, and this is very effective at prolonging how long they stay and gamble.

If reinforcement increases the likelihood of a response, you also might think punishment is intended to decrease it. Punishment consists of administering a negative consequence (such as a spanking) or taking away a positive reinforcement (such as “no dessert because you didn’t eat your dinner”) in response to an unwanted behavior. However, Skinner (1953) believed that it is more effective to ignore undesirable behavior while reinforcing an alternative desirable behavior than to punish it. This is a process that Skinner called extinction. For example, if a child is looking for any response from a parent, even yelling or spanking may unintentionally reinforce the undesirable behavior because behaving this way gets the child the parental attention she wants. In this case, ignoring the child when she misbehaves, but giving her attention when she behaves well, should help extinguish the misbehavior. Figure 2.4 shows examples of punishment and extinction.

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Punishment: Administering a negative consequence or taking away a positive reinforcement to reduce the likelihood of an undesirable behavior occurring.

Extinction: In operant conditioning, when a lack of response from the environment makes a behavior stop.

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Figure 2.4 Punishment and Extinction.

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The best way to get rid of an undesirable behavior in a child is to punish the child for doing it. False