Operant conditioning is based on the idea that we can increase or decrease a certain behavior by adding a consequence. For example, if a dog poops on a carpet, we can either provide reinforcement so the dog does it again, or punishment so the dog stops. Both reinforcement and punishment can either be positive or negative, which means we have four possible ways to teach this dog a lesson. We can draw the four options in a table. If reinforcement is positive, we add something pleasant, like a cookie, to increase the likelihood of a behavior. If reinforcement is negative, we still want to increase the desired behavior, this time by removing something unpleasant, like the leash. If punishment is positive, we add an unpleasant response to decrease behavior. When punishment is negative, we also want to decrease behavior, now by removing something pleasant, like the comfy carpet. If we stop any sort of manipulation, the conditioned behavior will eventually disappear again. This is called extinction. Operant conditioning was first studied by Edward L. Thorndijk, and later made famous by the work of B.F. Skinner. Skinner believed that organisms are doing what they do naturally, until they accidentally encounter a stimulus that creates conditioning, which results in a change in behavior. To test this, he placed a rat inside an operant conditioning chamber, which later became known as the Skinner box. Among other things, inside the box was a lever that would release food when pressed. Something happens in a three term contingency, today known as the ABCs of behavior. A stands for antecedent. The rat accidentally hits the lever that triggers the release of food. B stands for behavior, and refers to the response. The rat keeps pressing the lever. C stands for consequence. Food keeps coming out. The strength of the response to the conditioning depends on the schedule of reinforcement. If there is always food after pressing, the rat behaves predictably. If the food is released randomly, the rat behaves erratically like an addict. Skinner, born in 1904, was a professor of psychology and subscribe to behaviorism. He argued that you can only study behavior that is visible, and anything happening only within the mind is either a misconception or irrelevant to science. He thought free will was an illusion because behavior is either random or a reaction to the environment. His work became the foundation for behavioral therapy, military drills, and animal training. You can try this classroom exercise on positive reinforcement. One individual must exit the room. Now, decide on a task which that individual will complete, such as finding a particular book. Then, choose a non-reval way of reinforcing that task, such as clapping your hands. Invite the person to come back into the room, and let them try and complete the task, but don't give any instructions. Every time they are on the right track in regards to completing the task, clap your hands louder. If they move away from performing the task, reduce your applause or stop it entirely. Once the person understands what they are supposed to do, let them explain the task. Did they get it right? Sprouts videos are published under the Creative Commons license. That means our videos are free, and anyone can download, edit, and play them for personal use. And public schools, governments, and nonprofit organizations can also use them for training, online courses, or designing new curriculums. To help us stay independent and support our work, you can join our patrons and contribute. Just visit patreon.com slash sprouts. Even one dollar can make a difference. If you have deep insights into academic topics and want to help us explain complicated ideas and simple language, please contact us at sproutsschools.com.