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    Law of Effect and Operant Conditioning

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    Skinner's theory of operant conditioning built upon Thorndike's law of effect by focusing on the relationship between responses and their consequences. Thorndike theorized that learning involves strengthening neural connections between stimuli and responses through reinforcement. He found that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences become more likely. Skinner took Thorndike's research further by arguing that learning occurs through the manipulation of reinforcements independent of stimuli. Skinner analyzed Thorndike's puzzle box experiments and noted Thorndike could not account for thought processes, suggesting his theory of stamping in behaviors was incomplete. While acknowledging Thorndike's contributions, Skinner believed his own emphasis on positive and negative reinforcement provided a more comprehensive explanation of learning.

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    Law of Effect and Operant Conditioning

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    Skinner's theory of operant conditioning built upon Thorndike's law of effect by focusing on the relationship between responses and their consequences. Thorndike theorized that learning involves strengthening neural connections between stimuli and responses through reinforcement. He found that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences become more likely. Skinner took Thorndike's research further by arguing that learning occurs through the manipulation of reinforcements independent of stimuli. Skinner analyzed Thorndike's puzzle box experiments and noted Thorndike could not account for thought processes, suggesting his theory of stamping in behaviors was incomplete. While acknowledging Thorndike's contributions, Skinner believed his own emphasis on positive and negative reinforcement provided a more comprehensive explanation of learning.

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    Skinner's theory of operant conditioning built upon Thorndike's law of effect by focusing on the relationship between responses and their consequences. Thorndike theorized that learning involves strengthening neural connections between stimuli and responses through reinforcement. He found that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences become more likely. Skinner took Thorndike's research further by arguing that learning occurs through the manipulation of reinforcements independent of stimuli. Skinner analyzed Thorndike's puzzle box experiments and noted Thorndike could not account for thought processes, suggesting his theory of stamping in behaviors was incomplete. While acknowledging Thorndike's contributions, Skinner believed his own emphasis on positive and negative reinforcement provided a more comprehensive explanation of learning.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    146 views3 pages

    Law of Effect and Operant Conditioning

    Uploaded by

    api-316442288
    Skinner's theory of operant conditioning built upon Thorndike's law of effect by focusing on the relationship between responses and their consequences. Thorndike theorized that learning involves strengthening neural connections between stimuli and responses through reinforcement. He found that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences become more likely. Skinner took Thorndike's research further by arguing that learning occurs through the manipulation of reinforcements independent of stimuli. Skinner analyzed Thorndike's puzzle box experiments and noted Thorndike could not account for thought processes, suggesting his theory of stamping in behaviors was incomplete. While acknowledging Thorndike's contributions, Skinner believed his own emphasis on positive and negative reinforcement provided a more comprehensive explanation of learning.

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    Running head: LAW OF EFFECT AND OPERANT CONDITIONING

    Law of Effect and Operant Conditioning:


    How Skinner Analyzed Thorndikes Study of Reinforcement
    Randi Morrow
    PSYC 3301-Psychology of Learning
    Tarleton State University

    Law of Effect and Operant Conditioning: How Skinner Analyzed Thorndikes Study of
    Reinforcement
    B. F. Skinner is the founder of operant conditioning, a form of radical behaviorism
    derived from fellow behaviorist, Edward Thorndike (LeFrancois, 2012). Skinners main idea of
    operant conditioning was the use of reinforcements and how their consequences resulted in
    learning. Instead of looking at the stimulus attached to the behavior, Skinner predicted that
    learning could take place through manipulation of the independent variable. By exposing a test
    subject for a given period of time with a magnitude of reinforcement, it would ultimately elicit
    the intended behavioral response. Such reinforcements included those in which presented a
    stimuli of adding something (i.e., food, water, or sexual contact) and those that called for
    removing something (i.e., a loud noise, very bright light, and electric shock) either to increase or
    decrease a particular behavior (Skinner, 2014). Skinners theory focuses on the relationship

    SKINNER AND THORNDIKE

    between response and consequences; positive reinforcement as well as negative reinforcement


    are what drives an individual to increase or decrease the behavior.
    Unlike Skinner, Thorndike theorized that learning focuses on the how stimuli and
    responses form through neural connections (LeFrancois, 2012). Thorndike states that the
    occurrence of the event, frequency, and contiguity were important variables in determining how
    effects of reinforcement effected learning. The law of effect was the main focus area of
    Thorndikes research. Thorndike concluded that certain behavior occurred more readily in
    comparison with other behaviors in a given situation, he called this the process of stamping in
    (Skinner, 2014). In short, he theorized that the consequences of satisfying states would result in
    an organism either maintain or does nothing to avoid the behavior.
    Skinner used Thorndikes research as a stepping stone for his theory of operant
    conditioning and took note of Thorndikes initiative in researching how human behavior works.
    However, Skinner could not account for the use of thought-process in Thorndikes puzzle
    boxes experiment which tested animal intelligence (Skinner, 2014). Suggesting that repetition
    places a stamped in process of predisposition-like learning does not account for all learning
    processes. Skinner wanted to build on Thorndikes theory of the use of stimuli by presenting the
    use of reinforcement to encourage the behavior based on its consequences and not the stimulus.
    Although Thorndike later realized that his original findings were false, he was firm in his belief
    of the law of effect in how satisfying states increased a behavior. Not to discredit Thorndike and
    his findings, Skinner understood that the learning curves Thorndike presented with the use of
    stamping in a single behavior only accounted for that one change, but is not reported directly by
    the change itself (Skinner, 2014). Skinners use of positive and negative reinforcement only
    enhanced Thorndikes theory.

    SKINNER AND THORNDIKE

    References
    Skinner, B. F., (2014) Science and human behavior (pp.59-90) . The B. F. Skinner Foundation.
    Lefrancios, G. R., (2012) Theories of Human Learning: What the Professor Said (6th ed.).
    Wadsworth, CA: Cengage Learning.

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