III. For Me?: Reinforcement or Operant Conditioning

Main Point: Consequences shape behavior

1. B.F. Skinner
   1. Authentic American genius
   2. Animals, Boxes, and Bars
   3. Second great form of change

2. The Rules of Reinforcement
   1. Rewards increase a behavior
   2. Punishments decrease a behavior
   3. No Rf extinguishes a behavior

3. The Reinforcement Paradigm
   1. When-Do-Get
   2. Situation-Response-Consequence
   3. All three needed for change

4. Examples
   1. Verbal reinforcement of attitudes (you express ATT, I Rf, your ATT +)
   2. Debate winners versus losers and ATT toward debate issue
   3. Like or dislike courses where you got an "A?"

5. Summary Points
   1. Consequences shape behavior (and ATTs)
   2. When-Do-Get
   3. Primitive, affective, non-cognitive

Examples

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Updated March 21, 1996; Copyright © SBB, 1996