Operant Conditioning

PREFERABLY TO WATCH THIS VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euINCrDbbD4

"Give me a child and I'll shape him into anything." -B.F. Skinner.

This famous quote said by B.F. skinner will never be forgotten; These famous words that were said by such an important psychologist are what have encouraged and given depressed parents, and even pet owners strength and courage. B.F. skinner is credited for the main discoverer and researcher on operant conditioning. He was the same man that came up with the skinner box, which is also called the operant conditioning chamber. In this chamber, there was a bar or key that when placed, the animal that was inside of the chamber would receive a reinforcer, such as food or water. With time passed, it was discovered that the animal would peck or press the bar more because of the reinforcer that was being given. This is in accordance with one of the most important laws in operant conditioning, the law of effect. This law states that any behavior that is followed by a favorable consequence, such as food or something good, will increase the likelihood of that behavior to be done. This is where the good news comes for those parents or pet owners; Skinner's operant conditioning has something called shaping, which is basically a procedure that "shapes" humans or animals into applying the behavior that is desirable for them. They are shaped by sets of punishments and reinforcements; Punishments when undesirable behavior is performed, and reinforcement when desirable behavior is performed. This means that when one has a child or pet that behaves undesirably, everything one has to do is undergo sets of reinforcement and punishment upon the pet or child until slowly, their behavior is changed. Positive Reinforcement, when something is added in order to increase a response, such as giving a dog a treat when they sit or lay down. Negative reinforcement is taking something that is not pleasant away in order to increase a good response, such as screaming while a dog is going to the bathroom in the house. Slowly, a pet or child can be shaped and molded into anything that one wants.