AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Skinner (1948) studied operant conditioning by conducting experiments using animals which he placed in a ‘ Skinner Box ‘ which was similar to Thorndike’s puzzle box. A Skinner box, also known as an operant conditioning chamber, is a device used to objectively record an animal’s behavior in a compressed time frame.

Detailed explanation-2: -Operant conditioning occurs when a behavior (as opposed to a stimulus) is associated with the occurrence of a significant event. In the best-known example, a rat in a laboratory learns to press a lever in a cage (called a “Skinner box”) to receive food.

Detailed explanation-3: -Operant conditioning, sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning, is a method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior. Through operant conditioning, behavior that is rewarded is likely to be repeated, and behavior that is punished will rarely occur.

Detailed explanation-4: -The theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an individual’s response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment.