Operant Reinforcement

Operant Reinforcement

Introduction

The aim of this report is to provide information regarding the operant reinforcement of psychology. It aims to use secondary research in order to provide the purpose of the chosen topic, research methods to study the topic, results of the studies of research, discussion/conclusion regarding the future directions of the research and limitations of the findings along with measures that can be taken in order to overcome them in future.

Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, refers to a kind of learning in which behavior of an individual is modified. The modification in an individual's behavior may include change in form, strength or frequency. The concept of operant conditioning was coined in 1937 by B.F Skinner.

Purpose

The topic of operant reinforcement is important to study as it is one of the most important useful tools used by psychologists around the globe in order to enhance learning of human beings. It possesses importance in acquisitioning and maintaining of instrumental behavior. The purpose of this report is give guidance to the psychologists in order to implement learning of individuals in most effective and efficient manner. There are many different areas where the concept of operant reinforcement can be applied. For example: It is a technique that is widely used by teachers around the world to improve the performance of individuals. The system of grades in class performance encourages students to utilize maximum time in studying in order to achieve high grades. The high grades can be seen as a motivational factor that can positively reinforce the behaviors of students to study well (D'Amato, 1979).

Research Methods

The research method that would be used in order to carry forward is secondary research. The scholarly articles that are provided on internet would be used in order to extract information regarding the topic of operant reinforcement. Research method would also include books that include the topic of operant reinforcement in order to extract accurate, reliable and up to date information about the topic. The research method would include the extraction of information from various sources on internet based on which findings would be concluded.

The research method includes both dependent and independent variables. It would take into account whether dependent variable is useful in causing a desirable change in the independent variable. For the purpose of hypothesis testing, statistical test would be performed. By applying the simple linear regression on the two study variables, it would be possible to find and interpret the significant effect of independent variable on dependent variable under the 95% level of confidence.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The dependent variable of this research would be the behavior of children. The purpose of the research is to analyze if positive reinforcement can enable parents to reinforce the behavior of their children.

Independent Variable (IV)

The independent variable of the study would be the motivational tools of reinforcement in order to impact the behavior of children. The aim is to indentify if any kind of relationship or correlation exists between the dependent and independent ...