Factors that affect the effectiveness of reinforcement and punishment

1. Order of presentation:
Reinforcement and punishment must be presented after the response has occurred.

2. Timing:
Reinforcement and punishment are most effective when they occur immediately after the response.

3. Appropriateness:
For any stimulus to be a reinforcer, it must provide a pleasing or satisfying consequence for its recipient. For any stimulus to be a punisher, it must provide a consequence that is unpleasant and therefore likely to decrease the likelihood of undesirable behaviour. An inappropriate punishment may have the opposite effect and act as a reinforcer.

Elements of Operant Conditioning

Acquisition: the establishment of a response through reinforcement. Extinction: the gradual decrease in the strength or rate of a conditioned (learned) response following a consistent non-reinforcement of the response. Spontaneous recovery: after extinction, the response can be shown in the absence of any reinforcement. Stimulus generalisation: occurs when the correct response is made to another stimulus that is similar (but not necessarily identical) to the stimulus that was present when the conditioned response was reinforced. Stimulus discrimination: occurs when an organism makes the correct response to a stimulus and is reinforced, but does not respond to any other stimulus, even when stimuli are similar (but not identical). Organisms will differentiate between stimuli that signal reinforcement and non-reinforcement.

Applications of Operant Conditioning

Shaping
Shaping involves reinforcing successive responses that closely resemble or progress towards the ultimate desired response. By breaking down complex behaviours into smaller the parts, the organism has to perform each step before moving on to learn the next step. Reinforcement in only given when the organism successfully accomplishes each step towards the target behaviour. Also known as the Method of successive approximations.

Token Economies
In a token economy, desirable behaviours are rewarded with a symbolic reinforcer (a token), such as gold stars, plastic tokens or matches. These tokens can later be exchanged for tangible reinforcement such as food or privileges.