Experimental psychology

Learning is defined as the ability to gain knowledge; however, the learning psychology theory describes this as the process of change in behavior resulting from observation, practice, and maturation (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia). There are two identified forms of learning, associative and cognitive, both are controlled by the brain. Specifically, classical and operant conditioning are two methods of associative learning models that psychologist Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner…

B. F. Skinner took psychology and made it into a science. He believed that it was not internal forces that directed the personality but external stimuli. Instead of studying people he chose to study animals, rats and pigeons. It is interesting how he took an idea that worked to train animals and transferred that information to train people. Using Ivan Pavlov’s experiment conditioning dogs with a bell, hungry rats in a box and hours of research, he decided that the basic drive for behavior is…

Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which a person modifies their behavior through positive and negative consequences, or as a result of positive and negative reinforcement. Unlike classical conditioning where behaviors are reflexive and involuntary, operant conditioning is a voluntary behavior. In 1905, Edward L. Thorndike conducted an experiment where he placed a hungry cat inside a “puzzle box”, and a food dish on the outside. The cat upon pressing a lever could free itself from…

The investigation looked into different patterns of behaviour of a rooster, who had learnt to peck at three different coloured keys on schedules of reinforcement. The left red key related to the fixed interval (FI), the white middle key for the variable interval (VI) and the right green key for the differential reinforcement (DRL) for a total of 270 seconds, 90 seconds per key schedule. The importance of operant conditioning allowed for control over timing and when a positive reinforcement was…

a small town located on the Susquehanna River about twenty-three miles away from New York. As a youngster Skinner showed an interest in building different types of gadgets and contraptions. After spending his last six years being a professor of psychology at Harvard, Skinner was diagnosed with leukemia in 1989 and ended up dying on August 18, 1990 at the ripe old age of 86 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In his later years Skinner attended Hamilton College, a small liberal arts institution, where…

Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which a response increase in frequency as a result of its being followed by reinforcement. Operant condition have been studied by many behaviorists including Edward Thorndike’s who introduced the low of effect by absorbing the behavior of animals trying to escape from puzzle box. B.F. Skinner who is often regarded to as the father of operant conditioning is another major behaviorist who took Thorndike’s low and add to it. Skinner research on the…

Operant Conditioning What is operant conditioning? Operant conditioning was first discovered and experimented by a American Psychologist B.F Skinner who was the one who experimented on operant conditioning.This means that the purpose of Operant conditioning is to find a way that a behavior can be controlled in a positive or negative way. There could even be some methods in where this condition can be controlled and even researchers have been able to prove these movements. Operant condition…

The behavior that is question and that wants to be modified is the cleaning of a room and how to get them to do it without constantly being asked to do it or own their own accord. The first thing to ponder is organization. Since everything should have its own place and be easy to clean and keep clean with minimal effort, what would be the easiest way to go about it? Another question is how to get the conversation started without seeming as if they are constantly being asked the same question…

Reinforcement Theory Katie LeBlanc Psychology of Personality B. F. Skinner believed in behavioristic theories. When learning about his behaviorist theories, the person gets a better understanding of the role in learning about the development of personality. Skinner’s theories were that conditions and situations affect the learning of a behavior. Skinner ultimately defines personality with terms of behavior, both positive and negative. So one would have to wonder if reinforcements have…

Gender development explains the principle of how male and female identification is interpreted through experiences and interactions with social environment. The pervious statement stands as a major issue within the learning approach, and that the dissimilarities between females and males are required through learning from experiences and not biological development such as genetics. Explanations of the operant conditioning theory can explain gender development, which suggests that reinforcement…