Operant Conditioning | Psychology Hacked

The main features of operant conditioning, including types of reinforcement (positive and negative) and punishment (positive and negative) and properties of reinforcement (primary, secondary and schedules) including researching Skinner (1948) Superstition in the pigeon.

Identify the secondary reinforcer used by the teacher. (1) January 2020
Rosie has recently started to pull her brother Jim’s hair. Her mother uses operant conditioning to teach Rosie not to pull his hair. Every day that Rosie does not pull Jim’s hair their mother gives her a sticker. Once Rosie has 10 stickers she can have some ice cream. (a) Identify the primary reinforcer that Rosie’s mother uses with Rosie. (1) June 2021
Rosie no longer pulls her brother’s hair, but she recently pulled the dog’s tail. Rosie’s mother took away her favourite toy for a day as a punishment. State the type of punishment that Rosie’s mother used after Rosie pulled the dog’s tail. (1) June 2021

The use of punishment did not teach Rosie how to play nicely with the dog. Explain why punishment did not help Rosie learn how to play nicely with the dog. (2) June 2021
Describe the schedule of reinforcement the teacher is using with Georgia. (2) January 2020
Georgia’s mother decides to use positive punishment to make Georgia do her homework. Describe how positive punishment could be used to teach Georgia to do her homework. (2) January 2020
Andrija decides to use operant conditioning to encourage his son, Alexi, to make his bed. Explain one weakness of Andrija using operant conditioning to encourage Alexi to make his bed. (2) January 2018
Ore also likes to be outside playing cricket with his friends. His mother gives Ore his favourite food when he comes back home after playing cricket. Describe, using positive reinforcement, one reason why Ore likes to be outside playing cricket with his friends. (2) June 2018
Explain one weakness of Skinner’s (1948) Superstition in the Pigeon study. (2) June 2019
Describe the following features of operant conditioning using an example from the context above. (a) Positive reinforcement (2) (b) Negative reinforcement. (2) June 2019

Describe the results and/or conclusion of Skinner’s (1948) Superstition in the Pigeon study. (3) June 2019

Rina wants to encourage her three-year-old daughter Sangita to clean her teeth. Describe how Rina could encourage Sangita to clean her teeth using principles from operant conditioning. (4) January 2017
Andrija wants to train his cat to come into the house when he calls its name. Andrija decides to use operant conditioning to train his cat. Describe how Andrija could use operant conditioning to train his cat to come into the house when he calls its name. (4) January 2018
In learning theories and development you will have learned about Skinner’s (1948) Superstition in the pigeon study. (a) Describe the procedure of Skinner (1948) Superstition in the pigeon. (4) October 2020
(b) Explain one strength and one weakness of Skinner (1948) Superstition in the pigeon, in terms of ethical considerations. (4) October 2020

Peter is 3 years old and his father is concerned about his safety near roads. He is worried Peter will be in an accident as he often runs into the road without looking to see if any vehicles are coming towards him. His father is trying to teach Peter to be more careful near roads. Discuss, using operant conditioning, how Peter’s father could teach him to be more careful near roads. You must refer to the context in your answer. (8) October 2017
Axel has a young dog. He is taking it to puppy class to teach it how to sit and how to wait. He also wants to teach the puppy how to do tricks such as roll over and put a paw into his hand. The puppy class instructor has told him to use treats and praise to teach the puppy. Axel’s father says that if the puppy misbehaves then it should be put in a cage for a short while. Axel is concerned about giving the puppy treats all the time. Discuss how operant conditioning can be used to train Axel’s puppy. You must make reference to the context in your answer. (8) January 2022

To what extent does operant conditioning explain human behaviour? (12) January 2019