Laws of Behavior Classical and Operant Conditioning

1. Emily F., Sydney, and Elena Laws of Behavior Classical and Operant Conditioning

2. Historical, Cultural, and Social Context • The laws of behavior consist of two main ideas: • Operant Conditioning • Classical Conditioning • This all started in the 1920’s, behaviorists became more influential and popular among society as their theories became more well known • One of the founders is John Watson • His ideas about behaviorism would lead to others adding on

3. Historical, Cultural, and Social Context Continued • B.F Skinner was one of the men that added on to Watson’s ideas • Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning was based off of Thorndike’s experiment in 1905 • Thorndike studied learning through animals using a puzzle box • Skinner replicated this experiment, calling it “Skinner’s Box”

4. Skinner’s Box • A rat was placed in a box with a lever. The rat would run around the box, accidently hitting the lever causing a food pellet to drop. The rat would learn that if the lever was hit, he would receive food. • http://www.schooltube.com/video/c308591992bbc10021dc/B.%20F.%20SKINNER:%20A%20FRESH%20APPRAISAL%20(%20DAVIDSON%20FILMS%20)

5. Classical Conditioning • Classical conditioning refers to learning that occurs when an organism comes to associate stimuli. • Classical conditioning was introduced by a Russian physiologist named Ivan Pavlov • Pavlov did an experiment on dogs • The dogs would salivate every time they heard the sound of a tuning fork

6. Example • Many psychologists believe that classical conditioning is the cause of phobias and post dramatic stress. • If someone learns to associate rats with the spread of infections disease and the death of a relative through classical conditioning they may develop the phobia of rats. • Similarly, if someone associates cliffs with falling and breaking their leg, they may develop post traumatic stress that is triggered when they see a cliff.

7. Operant Conditioning • Operant Conditioning: Behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher • A reinforcer usually increases the probability of a response recurring • There are both positive and negative reinforcers • Some people believed that a person could predict and control an organism’s behavior by observing and measuring what is observable from the outside

8. Example • When infants learn new languages they associate their behavior with stimuli • If a infant babbles the word “book” and someone holds up a book and repeats the word back to them, they associate the book with the word they said • If this association happens multiple times, the infant will learn what the word “book” means.

9. Continuing Development • Operant conditioning is a continuing development theory. • Mainly infant through age 12. • Adults still make the connections. • So throughout your whole life the operant conditioning theory will be shaping how you choose to act.

10. Contributions and impacts on society • Operant conditioning theory is widely accepted throughout all people helping children learn. • Everyone responds to good behavior with reinforces and bad behavior with punishment. • If Skinner did not make this discovery children would learn what is acceptable in our society much more slowly.

11. Questions • What is operant conditioning always followed by? • In order to have classical conditioning, what is required? • Who did Skinner base his theory off of? • How are the Laws of Behavior relevant in our lives today?

12. Sources McLeod, S. A. "Skinner - Operant Conditioning." B.F. Skinner. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013. Berk, Laura E. "Page 17." Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1996. N. pag. Print. Law, Alan, Christos Halkiopoulos, and Christian Bryan- Zaykov. Psychology. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2010. Print. IB Diploma. Bauer, Amy, and Christine Maracich. "Classical Conditioning." Classical Conditioning. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.