7. Operant Conditioning: Shaping Behavior Through Reinforcement and Punishment

 Operant conditioning, a term that was brought into psychology by B.F. Skinner illustrates the relationships between behavior and its possible outcomes. In contrast to classical conditioning, which involves creating connections between unrelated stimuli and reactions, operant conditioning initially centers on how external stimuli such as reward or punishment can affect a subject's behavior in the future.

Operant conditioning involves the behavior, the result, and the feedback (reinforcement or punishment). Behavior is defined as any action or reaction that can be seen. Outcome is what comes after the behavior. Reinforcement is a consequence that makes the behavior keep on recurring, whereas punishment is a consequence that decreases the likelihood of the behavior to reoccur.

The reinforcement can be positive or negative. Positive reinforcement indicates the addition of a rewarding stimulus to make an already existing behavior become more frequent. One example is that a child is rewarded with a sticker for finishing work, which in turn stimulates their desire to do more of it. The negative reinforcement implies that a negative stimulus that increases the chances of an action is removed. An example of negative reinforcement is an employee who performs duties before time in order to avoid the anxious and stressful commute in rush hour.

In contrast, punishment also can be of both types. There is positive punishment and it attaches undesirable stimuli to reduce the possibility of an action. For instance, a teacher may give a student detention for displaying misbehavior in the classroom. One kind of negative punishment is response cost, where a rewarding stimulus that could lead to the behavior is removed so that it can become less likely. If a teenager violates curfew he would be punished by losing phone for sometime.

Operant conditioning is not just observed in controlled environments but also in natural settings as well. Consider how the rewards that fall in the category of positive reinforcement (like toys or treats) are used by parents to motivate kids to exhibit good conduct. On the other hand, such educational institutions and workplaces apply grades, praise, and rewards to promote the needed deeds. However, on the other hand, it is vital to avoid speeding tickets (positive punishment) as well as fines (negative punishment) which urge drivers to follow traffic rules.

Operant conditioning can be described as a kind of principle of behavior that influences, enhances and changes behavior. As far as it is capable of modifying animals' behavior in a lab or employees' attitudes at work, the principles of operant conditioning are all around us, guiding ourselves and our relationships.