Topic summary
What this topic is about
The review presents operant conditioning as learning shaped by consequences. It distinguishes reinforcement, which increases behavior, from punishment, which decreases behavior, then describes schedules that determine when reinforcement is delivered. The transcript's examples show that consequences can be added or removed, and schedules can depend on a response count or a time interval.
Key ideas
- Thorndike's law of effect introduces how favorable consequences can make a behavior more likely.
- Positive reinforcement adds a desirable consequence; negative reinforcement removes an aversive condition; both increase behavior.
- Positive and negative punishment are consequences intended to reduce behavior.
- Primary and secondary reinforcers, shaping, and learned helplessness are discussed.
- Fixed- and variable-ratio and interval schedules differ in whether reinforcement depends on response count or time; variable-ratio schedules are described as resistant to extinction.
Common confusion
Negative reinforcement is not punishment: it increases behavior by removing something aversive.
Review connection
Review this in the Unit 3 Review video, then try the Topic 3.8 Practice Quiz.
Reviewed by Tim Steadman