Operant conditioning is B.F. Skinner's systematic account of how consequences shape voluntary behavior: reinforced behaviors increase in frequency, unreinforced or punished ones decline. Formalized across the 1930s to 1950s from Thorndike's earlier law of effect, it grounded programmed instruction, material broken into small sequential steps with active responses and immediate reinforcement, delivered originally through Skinner's teaching machines. Chomsky's 1959 review of Verbal Behavior became a landmark of the cognitive revolution that displaced strict behaviorism, though reinforcement techniques remain standard in behavior management and mastery-based instruction.
Facts
Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountLearning can be shaped by arranging reinforcement so each correct response is rewarded promptly, with material broken into small ordered steps that let a learner respond actively and receive immediate knowledge of results. 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account1954 marks Skinner's The Science of Learning and the Art of Teaching, which applied operant conditioning to programmed instruction; the underlying principle of operant conditioning itself dates to his 1938 book The Behavior of Organisms. Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia: Precision Teaching
Held Differently
Offers a different, cognitively mediated account of how behavior is acquired than strict operant conditioning, incorporating observation and self-efficacy alongside reinforcement.
Developed By
Source Structural Learning, Pedagogy Explained
Additional Source InstructionalDesign.orgOperant Conditioning page, Skinner attribution
Additional Source WikipediaOperant conditioning, lead section
In Approach
Additional Source WikipediaOperant conditioning, lead section
Additional Source InstructionalDesign.orgOperant Conditioning page, behaviourist school
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Structural Learning, Pedagogy Explained
Structural Learningstructural-learning.com/post/skinners-theories, programmed instruction section
Behaviourism focuses on observable behaviour and the power of repetition, cues and reinforcement.
structural-learning.com/post/skinners-theories, programmed instruction section, second reference
Each learner to respond actively. Material would appear in a careful order, with prompt knowledge of results.
- Developed By: B.F. Skinner
View the Source Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationOperant conditioning, lead section
Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli.
Operant conditioning, History
Operant conditioning originated with Edward Thorndike, whose law of effect theorised that behaviors arise as a result of consequences as satisfying or discomforting.
View the Source InstructionalDesign.org
Operant Conditioning page, opening definition
Learning is a function of change in overt behavior.
Operant Conditioning page, scope and critique
Skinner (1957) tried to account for verbal learning and language within the operant conditioning paradigm, although this effort was strongly rejected by linguists and psycholinguists.
Operant Conditioning page, development chronology
Skinner (1971) deals with the issue of free will and social control.
Operant Conditioning page, educational application naming
Operant conditioning has been widely applied in clinical settings (i.e., behavior modification) as well as teaching (i.e., classroom management) and instructional development (e.g., programmed instruction).
In Category: Learning Theory and Concepts, Operant Conditioning page
The theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in overt behavior.
Developed By: B.F. Skinner, Operant Conditioning page, Skinner attribution
The theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in overt behavior.
In Approach: Behaviourism, Operant Conditioning page, behaviourist school
The distinctive characteristic of operant conditioning relative to previous forms of behaviorism is that the organism can emit responses instead of only eliciting response due to an external stimulus.
View the SourceWikipedia: Precision Teaching
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Precision Teaching, Precision teaching, lead sectionQuote, Associated With: Precision Teaching, Precision teaching, lead section
It comes from a very strong quantitative scientific basis and was pioneered by Ogden Lindsley in the 1960s based largely on Skinner's operant conditioning.
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