What is operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning is a fundamental concept in behavioral psychology that describes a learning process in which the strength of a behavior is modified through reinforcement or punishment. This means that behaviors followed by positive outcomes (reinforcement) are more likely to be repeated in the future, while behaviors followed by negative outcomes (punishment) are less likely to occur again.

This concept was primarily developed by B.F. Skinner, who demonstrated that organisms learn to associate their actions with consequences. For instance, if a rat presses a lever and receives food, it learns to associate the lever-pressing behavior with the reward of food, thus increasing the likelihood of that behavior being repeated. Conversely, if pressing the lever results in a mild shock or unpleasant stimulus, the rat is less inclined to repeat the action.

This learning process is distinct from methods focused on cognitive processes, therapeutic techniques for anxiety, or classical conditioning, which involves associating an involuntary response with a neutral stimulus. Operant conditioning specifically emphasizes the role of external consequences in influencing voluntary behavior.