AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box. The box contained a lever on the side, and as the rat moved about the box, it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever.

Detailed explanation-2: -While initially the rat would push the lever a few times by accident, it eventually associated pushing the lever with getting the food. This type of learning is an example of operant conditioning.

Detailed explanation-3: -As noted above, positive reinforcement refers to introducing a desirable stimulus (i.e., a reward) to encourage the behavior that is desired. An example of this is giving a child a treat when he or she is polite to a stranger.

Detailed explanation-4: -For example, when a rat is receiving an electric shock and presses a bar that stops the shock, the shock is a negative reinforcer-it is an aversive stimulus that reinforces the bar-pressing behavior. The application of negative reinforcement may be divided into two types: escape and avoidance conditioning.

Detailed explanation-5: -Eventually while poking around its cage, the rat accidentally presses the lever, and a food pellet drops in. This voluntary behavior is called an operant behavior, because it “operates” on the environment (i.e., it is an action that the animal itself makes).