What is operant conditioning?

What is operant conditioning?

• A. Decrease of behavior due to withdrawal of rewards
• B. Conditioning a reflex with a stimulus
• C. Learning to associate a voluntary behavioral response with the consequence of that behavior
• D. Associating a neutral stimulus with an emotional response

Answer: (C)

Operant conditioning is a learning process where a voluntary behavior is shaped by its consequences. When a behavior is followed by a consequence that increases the likelihood of it happening again, that consequence is reinforcement; when a consequence decreases the likelihood, it’s punishment or extinction. The key idea is that the organism learns from the outcome of its voluntary actions. For example, a dog sits and receives a treat. The treat is a positive reinforcement that makes sitting more likely in the future. This focuses on voluntary actions and how outcomes influence future behavior, which is different from classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus is paired with an automatic, reflexive response.

Operant conditioning is a learning process where a voluntary behavior is shaped by its consequences. When a behavior is followed by a consequence that increases the likelihood of it happening again, that consequence is reinforcement; when a consequence decreases the likelihood, it’s punishment or extinction. The key idea is that the organism learns from the outcome of its voluntary actions.

For example, a dog sits and receives a treat. The treat is a positive reinforcement that makes sitting more likely in the future. This focuses on voluntary actions and how outcomes influence future behavior, which is different from classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus is paired with an automatic, reflexive response.