Operant Conditioning Essay Example

What is operant conditioning? How could it be useful in your life? There are many ways to explain the types of conditioning and other terminology that participates with the basic forms of learning. The history of operant conditioning and many examples will be given to thoroughly explain the operant conditioning and how it was developed. Operant conditioning is the underlying frame of apprehension and knowledge. In other words it is a type of learning in which the likelihood of a behavior is increased or decreased by the use of reinforcement or punishment. Operant conditioning deals more with the cognitive thought process and it could be used on animals or humans. The history goes way back to the year 1837 with Charles Darwin, who studied plants and animals. Darwin studied the way animals related with each other and their reactions. (1) “In 1888, George Romans was the first to investigate systematically the comparative psychology of intelligence using a anecdotal method.” In 1898, Edward Thorndike was the first empirical and theoretical analyses of animal learning. In 1900, C.L. Morgan studied animal psychology and the way the animals mind works. In 1904, Ivan Pavlov discovered the conditioned response. (1)“In 1925, Wolfgang Kohler developed first cognitive analysis of learning in animals.” Last was B.F. Skinner in 1938, who developed the basic concept of operant conditioning, claiming that this type of learning was not the result of stimulus-response learning. An example of operant conditioning that happened in my life was when I was 7 years old was when I went to the dentist office like I have done prior years before. I always enjoyed going to the dentist office because I got a new toothbrush and a sticker. This year was a little different. When the dentist came over to check my teeth he said that I have a cavity and needed to get it filled as soon as possible. So that same day my mother and the doctor decided to do this. When the