Operant Conditioning

Previously I talked about classical conditioning, so today’s article is about the other type of conditioning, operant conditioning. This is a very different theory, as it talks about how we feel motivated when there is a reward and discouraged when there is a punishment (Cherry, 2024). It is a simple concept so I won’t dwell too much on it.

This theory is also applicable to wild animals, if there is food available at a farm then the animals will gather in the same place regularly to forage, but if there is an electric fence surrounding the area, they will be deterred. Animals are smart.

Naturally, I use this in my workplace. I reward children with praise or they get to do things that other peers do not, such as getting to help me with certain tasks. I ask children to sit down to quiet down when they get too rowdy or take away their privileges. We as adults also let our decisions be determined by rewards and punishments.

Of course, at some point, we need to have delayed gratification. For things like studying for the exam when you would rather play games, it can be tedious to know what is important. For folks who are more mature or self-motivated, they do not need a literal reward in front of them because they can look ahead.

References

Cherry, K. (2024, July 10). Operant Conditioning in Psychology. Retrieved from Verywell Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/operant-conditioning-a2-2794863