Operant Conditioning: Main Concepts and Techniques

Within behavioral procedures, operant or instrumental conditioning is probably the one with the most numerous and varied applications.

From the treatment of phobias until overcoming addictions such as smoking or the alcoholism, the operant scheme allows to conceptualize and modify practically any habit from the intervention on a few elements.

But What exactly is operant conditioning? In this article we review the key concepts to understand this paradigm and detail its most frequent applications, both to increase behaviors and to reduce them.

Antecedents of operant conditioning

Operant conditioning as we know it was formulated and systematized by Burrhus Frederic Skinner based on the ideas previously raised by other authors.

Ivan Pavlov Y John B. Watson they had described the classical conditioning, also known as simple conditioning or Pavlovian.

For his part, Edward Thorndike introduced the law of effect, the clearest antecedent of operant conditioning. The law of effect states that if a behavior has positive consequences for the person who performs it, it will be more likely to be repeated, while if it has negative consequences this probability will decrease. In the context of Thorndike's work, operant conditioning is called “instrumental”.

• Related article: "Behaviorism: history, concepts and main authors”

Difference between classical and operant conditioning

The main difference between classical and operant conditioning is that the former refers to the learning of information about a stimulus, while the latter involves learning about the consequences of the response.

Skinner believed that behavior was much easier to modify if its consequences were manipulated than if stimuli were simply associated with it, as is the case in classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is based on the acquisition of reflex responses, which explains a lower amount of learning and its uses are more limited than those of the operant, since it refers to behaviors that the subject can control at will.

• Related article: "Classical conditioning and its most important experiments”

Concepts of operant conditioning

Next we will define the basic concepts of operant conditioning to better understand this procedure and its applications.

Many of these terms are shared by behavioral orientations in general, although they may have specific connotations within the operant paradigm.

Instrumental or operant response

This term designates any behavior that carries a certain consequence and it is susceptible to change based on it. Its name indicates that it serves to obtain something (instrumental) and that it acts on the medium (operant) rather than being triggered by it, as in the case of classical conditioning or respondent.

In behaviorist theory the word "response" is basically equivalent to "behavior" and "action", although "response" seems to refer to a greater extent to the presence of stimuli background.

Consequence

In behavioral and cognitive-behavioral psychology a consequence is the result of a response. The consequence can be positive (reinforcement) or negative (punishment) for the subject who carries out the conduct; in the first case the probability of the answer being given will increase and in the second it will decrease.

It is important to bear in mind that the consequences affect the response and, therefore, the operant conditioning what is reinforced or punished is said behavior, not the person or animal that performed. At all times you work with the intention of influence the way stimuli and responses are related, since the behaviorist philosophy avoids starting from an essentialist vision of people, placing more emphasis on what can change than on what always seems to remain the same.

Reinforcement

This term designates the consequences of behaviors when they make it more likely that they happen again. Reinforcement can be positive, in which case we will be talking about obtaining a reward or award for the execution of a response, or negative, which includes the disappearance of aversive stimuli.

Inside negative reinforcement we can distinguish between avoidance and escape responses. Avoidance behaviors prevent or prevent the appearance of an aversive stimulus; for example, a person with agoraphobia that he does not leave the house because he does not feel like that anxiety you are avoiding this emotion. Instead, escape responses make the stimulus disappear when it is already present.

The difference with the word "reinforcer" is that it refers to the event that occurs as a consequence of the behavior rather than the procedure of rewarding or punishing. Therefore, "reinforcer" is a term closer to "reward" and "reward" than to "reinforcement."

Punishment

A punishment is any consequence of a determined behavior that decreases the probability for it to be repeated.

Like reinforcement, punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment corresponds to the presentation of an aversive stimulus after the occurrence of the response, while negative punishment is the withdrawal of an appetitive stimulus as a consequence of the conduct.

Positive punishment can be related to the general use of the word “punishment”, while negative punishment refers more to some type of sanction or fine. If a child does not stop screaming and receives a slap from her mother to shut up, a positive punishment, whereas if you instead take away the console you are playing he will receive punishment negative.

• Related article: "8 reasons not to use physical punishment towards children”

Discriminatory stimulus and delta stimulus

In psychology, the word "stimulus" is used to designate events that elicit a response from a person or animal. Within the operant paradigm, the discriminative stimulus is one whose presence indicates to the learning subject that if he or she carries out a certain behavior, it will have as consequence the appearance of a reinforcer or a punishment.

By contrast, the expression "delta stimulus" refers to those signals that, when present, inform that the execution of the response will not entail consequences.

What is operant conditioning?

Instrumental or operant conditioning is a learning procedure that is based on the probability that it occurs a given answer depends on the consequences expected. In operant conditioning, behavior is controlled by discriminative stimuli present in the learning situation that convey information about the likely consequences of the answer.

For example, an "Open" sign on a door tells us that if we try to turn the knob, it will most likely open. In this case, the poster would be the discriminative stimulus and the opening of the door would function as a positive reinforcer of the instrumental response of turning the knob.

The applied behavioral analysis of B. F. Skinner

Skinner developed operant conditioning techniques that are included in what we know as “applied behavior analysis”. This has been particularly effective in the education of children, with a special emphasis on children with developmental difficulties.

The basic scheme of applied behavioral analysis is as follows. First, a behavioral goal is set, which will consist of increasing or reducing certain behaviors. Based on this, the behaviors to be developed will be reinforced and the existing incentives for carrying out the behaviors to be inhibited will be reduced.

In general the withdrawal of reinforcers is more desirable than punishment positive since it generates less rejection and hostility on the part of the subject. However, punishment can be useful in cases where the problem behavior is very disruptive and requires rapid reduction, for example if there is violence.

Throughout the process, it is essential to systematically monitor progress in order to be able to check objectively if the desired objectives are being achieved. This is mainly done by recording data.

Operant techniques to develop behaviors

Given the importance and effectiveness of positive reinforcement, operant techniques for increasing behaviors have proven usefulness. Below we will describe the most relevant of these procedures.

1. Instigation techniques

Instigation techniques are those that depend on the manipulation of discriminative stimuli to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring.

This term includes instructions that increase certain behaviors, physical guidance, which consists of moving or placing parts of the body of the trained person, and modeling, in which a model is observed performing a behavior in order to be able to imitate it and learn what its consequences. These three procedures have in common that they focus on teach the subject directly how to perform an action determined, either verbally or physically.

2. Molding

It consists of gradually bringing a certain behavior closer to the target behavior, starting with a relatively similar response that the subject can make and modifying it little by little. It is carried out by steps (successive approximations) to which reinforcement is applied.

Shaping is considered especially useful to establish behaviors in subjects who cannot communicate verbally, such as people with profound intellectual disabilities or animals.

3. Fading

Fading refers to the gradual withdrawal of aids or instigators that had been used to reinforce a target behavior. It is intended that the subject consolidates a response and can subsequently carry it out without the need for external help.

It is one of the key concepts of operant conditioningas it allows the progress made in therapy or training to be generalized to many other areas of life.

This procedure basically consists of substituting a discriminative stimulus for a different one.

4. Chaining

A behavioral chain, that is, a behavior composed of several simple behaviors, is separated into different steps (links). Next, the subject must learn to execute the links one by one until they can carry out the complete chain.

The chaining can be carried out forwards or backwards and has the peculiarity that each link reinforces the previous one and functions as a discriminative stimulus next's.

In certain aspects, a good part of the skills that are considered talents because they show a high degree of skill and specialization in them (such as playing an instrument very well musical, dancing very well, etc.) can be considered the result of some form of chain, since from basic skills progress is made until reaching others much more worked.

5. Reinforcement programs

In an operant learning procedure, the reinforcement programs are the guidelines that establish when the behavior will be rewarded and when not.

There are two basic types of reinforcement programs: reason and interval. In reason programs, the reinforcer is obtained after a specified number of responses are given, while in This happens after a certain amount of time has passed since the last reinforced behavior and it starts again. give yourself.

Both types of program can be fixed or variable, indicating that the number of responses or the interval time required to obtain the reinforcer can be constant or oscillate around a value average. They can also be continuous or intermittent; This means that the reward can be given each time the subject carries out the target behavior or from time to time (although always as a consequence of an emission of the desired response).

Continuous reinforcement is more useful for establishing behaviors and the flashing to keep them. Thus, theoretically a dog will learn to paw faster if we give him a treat every time he paws us, but once the behavior is learned, it will be more difficult for him to stop doing it if we give him the reinforcer one in three or five Attempts.

Operant techniques to reduce or eliminate behaviors

When applying operant techniques to reduce behaviors, it should be borne in mind that, since these procedures can be unpleasant for subjects, it is always preferable to use the least aversive when possible. In addition these techniques are preferable to positive punishments.

Here is a list of these techniques in order from least to greatest potential to generate aversion.

1. Extinction

Reinforced behavior is no longer rewarded previously. This decreases the likelihood that the answer will occur again. Formally extinction is the opposite of positive reinforcement.

Long-term extinction is more effective in eliminating responses than punishment and the rest of operant techniques to reduce behaviors, although it may be slower.

A basic example of extinction is getting a child to stop kicking by simply ignoring it until she realizes that her The behavior does not have the desired consequences (for example, parental anger, which would function as a reinforcer) and you get fed up.

2. Skip training

In this procedure, the subject's behavior is followed by the absence of the reward; namely, if the answer is given, the reinforcer will not be obtained. An example of skip training might be parents stopping their daughter from watching television that night because she spoke disrespectfully to them. Another example would be the fact of not going to buy the toys that the children ask for, if they misbehave.

In educational settings, it also serves to promote that the efforts that other people make are valued more to please the little ones and that these, having become accustomed to these treatments, do not value.

3. Differential reinforcement programs

They are a special subtype of reinforcement program used to reduce (not eliminate) target behaviors by increasing others alternative answers. For example, a child could be rewarded for reading and exercising and not for playing the console if the latter behavior is intended to lose reinforcing value.

In low-rate differential reinforcement, the response is reinforced if a certain period of time occurs after the last time it occurred. In differential reinforcement of omission, reinforcement is obtained if, after a certain period of time, the response has not occurred. Differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviors consists of reinforce responses incompatible with the problem behavior; This last procedure applies to tics and onychophagia, among other disorders.

4. Response cost

Variant of negative punishment in which the execution of the problem behavior causes the loss of a reinforcer. The points card for drivers that was introduced in Spain a few years ago is a good example of a response cost program.

5. Time out

Time-out consists of isolating the subject, usually children, in a non-stimulating environment in case the problem behavior occurs. Also a variant of negative punishment, it differs from response cost in that what is lost is the possibility of accessing the reinforcement, not the enhancer itself.

6. Satiation

The reinforcement obtained for carrying out the behavior is so intense or large that it loses value I had for a subject. This can take place by response satiation or mass practice (repeating the behavior until stop being appetitive) or by satiation of stimulus (the reinforcer loses its appetitive by excess).

7. Overcorrection

Overcorrection consists of applying a positive punishment related to problem behavior. For example, it is widely used in cases of enuresis, in which the child is asked to wash the sheets after urinating on himself during the night.

Contingency organization techniques

Contingency organization systems are complex procedures through which you can reinforce some behaviors and punish others.

The token economy is a well-known example of this type of technique. It consists of delivering tokens (or other equivalent generic reinforcers) as a reward for the performance of the target behaviors; Subsequently, subjects can exchange their tokens for prizes of variable value. It is used in schools, prisons and psychiatric hospitals.

Behavioral or contingency contracts are agreements between several people, usually two, through which they agree to carry out (or not carry out) certain behaviors. The contracts detail the consequences in the event that the agreed conditions are met or breached.