OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which the consequences of behavior lead to changes in the probability that the behavior will occur. Operant conditioning forms an association between a behavior and a consequence. Consequences have to be immediate or clearly linked to the behavior.
For example, you might tell your friends that you will buy dinner for them since they helped you move, or a parent might explain that the child can’t go to summer camp because of her bad grades. With very young children, who don’t have verbal skills, and animals, you can’t explain the connection between the consequences and the behaviour. For the animal, the consequence has to be immediate.
Types
of Reinforcement and Punishment
Schedule of reinforcements
Reinforcements are more effective when they are given as soon as possible after a student performs the target behavior. In continuous reinforcement like this, a person learns very rapidly but when the reinforcement stops, the behavior decreases rapidly too. Therefore, the schedule of the reinforcement was developed. The schedule will determine when a behavior will be reinforced.There are 4 types of schedule of reinforcement, they are
1. Fixed –ratio schedule
2. Variable –ratio schedule fixed
3. Fixed –interval schedule, and
4. Variable –interval scheduleOBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
Processes of observational Learning
There are 4 processes involved in observational .These include;
Attention |
|---|
Retention |
Production |
1. Attention; Before people can imitate model’s behavior, they must pay attention to what the model is doing or saying. For example, seeing a teacher writing from the same perspective as the student see their own makes observational learning easier.
2. Retention; To produce a model’s action, students must be able to store the model’s action in the memory for future retrieval. Students’ retention will be improved when a teacher gives vivid, logical, and clear demonstrations.
3. Production; To attending and remembering, students must be physically cable of reproducing the model’s action. Here, the students need a lot of practice, feedback, and coaching before they can reproduce the model’s action.
4. Motivation; The students must be motivated to demonstrate the model’s action.
Reinforcement can be used to encourage observational learning. For example, a teacher may want to use direct reinforcement such as saying “Good work!” Alternatively, a teacher may want to use vicarious reinforcement. In this case, a student may simply see other students being reinforced for a particular behavior and then he increases his own production of that behavior.
Applying observational learning in counseling
Observational learning focuses on how people learn by observing and imitating others. To motivate learning using approach, a counselor may;
`Use high-achieving and successful peers as models. Model positive behaviors him/ herself.
Use vicarious reinforcement that is make sure clients see that positive behaviors will lead to positive consequences.
Demonstrate and teach good behavior.
Application of observational learning in Real life situations
Observational learning can be and has been used successful for;
Overcoming fears in children Assertiveness training
Treating fear of medical treatment and surgery
Leaning sports and athletics
Learning new skills, like swimming
Classroom situation: good performers and high achievers are rewarded so that they act as models for other children.
The following are also learned through observation of others
performing the same act:
Learning gender roles
Adopting new fashions
Starting smoking
Drug abuse
Drinking alcohol
Violence and aggression learnt and displayed by the community.
Other ways of learning
a) Motor learning
b) Problem solving
a) Motor learning: - it involves the practice application of the learned phenomena. There are various tasks/ activities in which motor skills are of primary importance as compared to the ones requiring verbally learned material; e.g. learning the skills like playing football, tennis, cricket etc.; or the training of technicians whose motor skills need to be highly efficient. In learning motor skills two things are important; quickness of movements and the results that are achieved through it.
b) Problem solving: - problem solving tasks usually involves trial and error and primarily includes verbal processes. While doing the problem – solving task; individual learns many responses that can be helpful for him in different situations.