Psychology › Section F · Learning › Topic F.3
Operant conditioning
Why do people keep checking their phones, and why does a child who is sometimes given sweets for whining keep whining? Operant conditioning explains how the consequences of a behaviour change how often it happens, and why the timing and pattern of those consequences matter so much.
In this topic
- Thorndike's law of effect
- Skinner and the operant chamber
- Reinforcement and punishment
- Worked example: four quadrants
- Primary and secondary reinforcers
- The limits of punishment
- Shaping
- Schedules of reinforcement
- Worked example: naming the schedule
- Learning without reward: Tolman's rats
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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