Operant Conditioning and B.F. Skinner

 Linked is an article that explains more information on B.F. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning: https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html 

One of my favorite topics in psychology is operant conditioning and how it influences behavior. I thought it would be interesting to post on more in depth than my first post that focused on education and reinforcement in school settings specifically. 

There are two types of conditioning that impact learning and behavior: classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning, discovered by Ivan Pavlov, describes learned associations between two stimuli that are not innately associated with one another. We get hungry when we smell food, which is a natural and unconditioned stimulus. We can learn to associate other stimuli with food, such as when children hear the familiar jingle of the ice cream truck and go running, making the truck's song the conditioned stimulus that is associated with getting ice cream. B.F. Skinner had another theory that is a little different than classical conditioning called operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is when a behavior is not simply associated but is done to increase or decrease a behavior, such as through reinforcers and punishments, respectively (Berg, 2025). Reinforcers and punishments make us into the individuals we ultimately become. Moral conditioning happens when our parents punish us for breaking rules in the household. Or we may receive detention for not doing our homework in school, a punishment that decreases this rule breaking. We may receive ice cream as children as a reinforcer for sharing toys with siblings. All of these things teach us to become productive members of society. According to Simply Psychology, Skinner introduced the Law of Effect, that reinforced behaviors increase in frequency, but halting reinforcement leads to extinction of such behaviors (McLeod, para #4 2025). That is why we are conditioned the way we are by the adults in our lives as children, to ensure we adapt prosocial behaviors in order to function as adults ourselves. 

This conditioning ultimately leads us to make the decisions we make as adults. We go to college for a career to aid society because we are taught from a young age that we need to be productive members of society. We know stealing is unethical from our conditioning so we learn to earn what we need in order to survive, in a healthy, prosocial way such as being employed. These prosocial ideals allow us to make decisions about our long term goals and motivate us to work hard like society values. Ultimately, there is a fundamental relationship between learning and motivation. Basic drives like hunger and social interaction cause us to make choices for a positive future career instead of making bad decisions. This is something I think we can all relate to; we make good decisions to help society, and ourselves. 

Do you think the lessons you learned growing up ultimately impacted your decisions and motivation in college? Feel free to let me know if you decide to reply to my post. 

References 

Berg, M. (2025). Rewards. [Google Slides Presentation]. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LuIvBGeeew7LCtLKyj9dQJqXbL9xh4eUi62rkeuEV8M/edit?slide=id.g2abecc5a1_011#slide=id.g2abecc5a1_011 

McLeod, S. (2025, March 17). Operant conditioning: What it is, how it works and examples. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html 

Impulsivity and Immediate Gratification

 Linked is an article on instant gratification and the issues it creates for our neuropsychology: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-modern-brain/201909/the-real-issue-instant-gratification 

We make impulsive decisions when the immediate outcome feels more rewarding than a long term, better outcome (Berg, 2025). We might choose to play video games all night instead of studying hard for an exam the following day. Many of us have made decisions that feel good in the moment, but are detrimental in the long run. According to Psychology Today, instant gratification increases dopamine release in our brains, making these instant decisions feel more rewarding than more positive long term decisions (Frye, para #5, 2019). So when we play those video games or spend hours on social media instead of studying, we feel good because of the way immediate gratification impacts our neuropsychology. This is problematic because it teaches us to do what feels good now and not what is best for us long term (Frye, para #6-7, 2019). Eating at Burger King might feel good in the moment, but it can give us health issues later. We live in a world driven by immediate gratification, and sometimes, it is important to remember that restraint and long term planning are more important than how we feel in the present. 

References 

Berg, M. (2025). Impulsivity and self control. [Google Slides Presentation]. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1t8RNaXnCnL1F9IClxiwed8IF2S67yXHiTRAXxCtFjeg/edit?slide=id.g2a7a18e1e_00#slide=id.g2a7a18e1e_00 

Frye, D. (2019, September 14). The real issue with instant gratification. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-modern-brain/201909/the-real-issue-instant-gratification 

Reinforcement in Education

 I found a very interesting article on the use of reinforcement in school settings, linked here: https://online.ewu.edu/degrees/education/med/early-childhood-education/positive-reinforcement-in-learning/ 

Reinforcement is anything that will increase a behavior, as opposed to punishment that decreases the behavior (Berg, 2025). Throughout our lives we are socialized through reinforcement and punishment alike, but I think a lot of us work harder for a reward than out of fear of a punishment for undesired behavior. Children are given stars in school for getting questions right, an early form of positive reinforcement. According to Eastern Washington University, reinforcement is vital in the cognitive development of young minds (para #5, 2024). We have all been through the school system and know that teachers frequently reward students for hard work in their studies in order to motivate them to excel. Even grades themselves seem to be a form of positive reinforcement, as the good feeling you get when your paper is returned with an "A" motivates you to keep going with the same work ethic. Do you find that there are any examples of positive reinforcement that helped you in your education? Feel free to share if you leave a comment, and check out the article if you're curious to learn more about reinforcement in schools. 

References 

Berg, M. (2025). Motivation [Google Slides Presentation]. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LuIvBGeeew7LCtLKyj9dQJqXbL9xh4eUi62rkeuEV8M/edit?slide=id.p#slide=id.p 

Eastern Washington University. (2024, May 16). Benefits of positive reinforcement in learning environments. https://online.ewu.edu/degrees/education/med/early-childhood-education/positive-reinforcement-in-learning/