Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which associations are formed between behaviors and resulting events. This kind of conditioning is most often used to train animals to do behaviors that are unnatural for them. Operant conditioning uses reinforcers and punishments to shape behavior towards a desired behavior. Reinforcers guide behavior with steps called successive approximations. There are both positive and negative reinforcers, though these do not mean good or bad. A positive reinforcer increases behavior by presenting positive stimuli, while a negative reinforcer increases behavior by removing negative stimuli. Punishment does the opposite of a reinforcer, decreasing a behavior with an aversive event.

There have been some famous experiments involving operant conditioning, including Thorndike’s Experiment and the Skinner Box experiment.

Edward Thorndike’s work regarding learning theory is known for leading to the development of operant conditioning and behaviorism. He led an experiment using cats and a puzzle box. Simply, the cats had to figure out how to get out of the box in order to get fish that was on the outside of the box. The cats were put back in the box repeatedly once they stumbled across the lever that opened the box. Eventually, Thorndike observed that the time it took the cats to escape was decreasing; they were finding the lever much quicker. Thorndike concluded that rewarded behavior (getting out of the puzzle box and getting fish) is likely to recur.

B. F. Skinner elaborated more on Thorndike’s findings, developing his own Skinner Box. Skinner used pigeons and rats in his experiments. A rat would be in the box and if the rat did what Skinner wanted it to do, then it would be rewarded with food. If the rat did not perform how Skinner wanted, then it received an electric shock. These procedures were repeated until eventually the rats did almost exactly what was asked of them.

Having a thorough understanding of operant conditioning can help considerably when training animals. My family has trained my dog to tell us when he wants to go outside on our back deck using this theory of learning. Most people attribute dog training to classical conditioning because of Pavlov’s Dogs, but dogs are usually trained with operant conditioning. With my dog, we taught him to ring a set of bells that are hanging from the handle whenever he wants outside. To do this, we started ringing the bells ourselves whenever we let him outside to allow him to associate the bells with the opening of the door. Then we started to let him try to ring the bells. If he rang them, then he got to go outside (positive reinforcer). But if he did not ring them he did not get to go outside (negative reinforcer). He eventually caught on and learned that ringing the bells means he can go outside. We also taught him to sit before he could be let back inside, and we did it in the same way. If he sat, he got what he wanted and came inside. If he did not sit, then he was stuck outside until he did. We taught him this hoping that it would get him to stop jumping on the door when he wanted inside, but as he is a very energetic dog, it only works some of the time.

McLeod, S. A. (2007). Edward Thorndike. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/edward-thorndike.html

McLeod, S. A. (2007). Skinner – Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html

Memory is perhaps one of the most important aspects of who we are as humans. We rely on it heavily for just about everything. But our memory may not always be true. Memory is a constructive process. Constructive processing is the retrieval of memories in which those memories are altered revised, or influenced by newer information. Simply put, hearing a parent or older sibling tell you about a story from when you were too young to remember clearly can influence how you remember the event. When we remember events we attempt to reconstruct the information of the memory, and if we do not have all the information our brains fill it in with past experiences. So when we hear our family members tell us these stories, we try to remember something, even if there is no memory to recall.

When I was younger, my parents loved to tell the story of the time we had gone to Disney World when I was 15 months old. They took me on the It’s A Small World ride, and apparently I had a greater fascination with the water than the colorful, singing dolls, because I kept trying to climb out of the boat into the water, according to my parents. After hearing the story, I tried to see if and what I could remember. I know now that I could not actually remember, but as a young child hearing it described, I unknowingly formed a false memory. I knew nothing about the ride, It’s A Small World, aside from it being an amusement park ride in Disney World. So with that information, I pictured myself trying to climb out of a ride up in the air with the Cinderella castle in the background. This became my memory of the event. Now that I have since been back to Disney World, I know that the ride is actually inside and the boats are, in fact, in water rather than far off the ground. It is obvious to me now that my mind fabricated this memory, but in my early childhood I believed that my “memory” was true.

The story was told often, so I recalled this false memory often. So much that even now, I can still picture it as a memory, though I know it is not real.