Dog Trainers define Operant Conditioning as a method of behavioral modification using reward and punishment. And they blame B.F Skinner for that definition – but it’s a blatant lie. It’s not a little white lie.
B.F Skinner is the very father of Operant Conditioning. How did Skinner define Operant Conditioning? Lets make it make sense. The following image is a quote from Skinners’ book “About Behaviorism”. I’ll explain it further down.
Every time you meet something new in the environment – you will either have a positive reaction to it or a negative reaction. Every new introduction is going to be of consequence – positive or negative. If you meet something new in the environment and it is of positive consequence – then either you want to do it again – or it becomes “not a big deal” – not something to be afraid of.
However – if you meet something new in the environment – and it is of negative consequence – then you will look at it as a negative for life – barring learning about it. Example? If a child reaches out and touches a hot stove – the negative consequence of a burn immediately becomes reinforced – it becomes a negative reinforcement that you will avoid in the future – something you will “flight” from. Another quote to back this up – and provide understanding.
Look at the last half of the last sentence – Negative Reinforcement generates behaviors. Which behaviors? When you meet something negative in the environment – your resulting behaviors will be “fight and/or flight”. These are normal behaviors in the human animal – but we are killing the dogs for it. Hate to break it to you – but it’s normal and natural for them too.
Want another quote? Skinner wrote the book “Walden 2” in response to his detractors – to help them understand what he meant by wanting society to be based on Positive Reinforcement.
Again, lets make it make sense. Reinforcement theory – the things that can happen to us fall into 3 classes – but lets shake it up. Lets put it this way – in the face of anything – you have 3 choices. You can “fight”, you can “flight” or you can become indifferent – make it not a big deal. That’s called rationalization – something that dogs today never learn – and it’s a very important skill.
To some things we like – and we take steps to make them happen again. That’s your positive consequences – Positive Reinforcement folks – your desires, your wants, your needs.
Other things we don’t like – we don’t want them to happen again. That’s the negative consequences – the negative reinforcements that you flight from.
To other things we are indifferent. We make them not a big deal. You walk down the sidewalk with cars whipping by you. That’s a negative reinforcement – it’s a danger – but you’ve become indifferent. Learning to drive a car is scary, it’s a negative reinforcement – but as you learn and develop confidence – you become indifferent to driving.
But the fear is always there – just under the surface waiting to reappear. If you don’t understand that – I was hit head on by another car years ago – I was scared to drive for a while cause it rattled me to the core. Driving became a negative reinforcement again – something I had to learn to become indifferent to again.
You fight and flight response – that’s also your positive reinforcement as a verb. But that’s another blog.