Conclusion Of Operant Conditioning

To change behavior many different techniques can be used. Operant conditioning is a technique that if effective in the learning process and changing behavior. B.F. Skinner proved this by experimenting with rats and pigeons. For instance, the rats learned to press the bar in the cage to get food. By using the tools provided by Skinner I will devise a modification program for my roommate to make the football team by following operant conditioning techniques. I will first explain what operant conditioning is, the effects it has on behavior, the steps I would take to create a healthy body modification plan, and the types of reinforcements to change behavior.

First and foremost, it is important to understand exactly what operant conditioning is. Operant conditioning is defined as the learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses. This is known as reinforcement. There are two types of reinforcement, positive and negative. Positive reinforcement is reinforcement of response by a pleasurable consequence, such as becoming employee of the month for working hard. Negative reinforcement is following a response with an unpleasant consequence, such as a silencing an alarm clock to get it to stop ringing. Operant conditioning …show more content…
Operant conditioning uses reinforcers to increase the likelihood of behavior repeating itself. As explained previously, I would use positive and negative reinforcement to obtain weight loss goals for my roommate. Overtime, my roommate should begin to lose weight and be able to join the football team. I only incorporated eating into my weight loss plan, but ideally weight loss plans should have exercise and diet to obtain maximum results. Weight loss has been known to work better when following a reward based plan versus a punishment based plan. Therefore, operant conditioning is an important learning tool in weight