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6.9: Chapter Recap

  • Page ID
    370968
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    Well, if you made it this far you survived a pretty heavy discussion of operant conditioning. In it, we discussed reinforcement and punishment and the four contingencies of positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative punishment. Several factors affect operant learning such as contiguity, the contingency itself, magnitude, individual differences, and motivating operations. Reinforcement schedules can take the simple form of fixed and variable ratio and fixed and variable interval, as well as schedules focused on duration (or making the behavior for some interval), time (or the simple passage of time – no response required), and progressive schedules. Complex schedules also occur and are simply the combination of simple schedules. We discussed theories related to both reinforcement, avoidance, and punishment, and outlined ways to exert stimulus control such as discrimination, generalization, prompts and fading, antecedent manipulations, and shaping. Punishment was discussed and its many forms. We also critiqued its use, described benefits related to punishment, and then outlined a way to use it effectively. Finally, extinction was discussed, and it was shown that spontaneous recovery proves that extinction is more than just mere forgetting.

    With this done, we will move to one key application of operant conditioning — behavior modification — in Module 7. This was a complex module and so if you still have lingering confusion or questions, consult your instructor.


    This page titled 6.9: Chapter Recap is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lee W. Daffin Jr. via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.