B.F Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

One concept of Behaviorism that caught my attention is Operant Conditioning. This is a way of learning which uses rewards and punishments to modify or ascertain a behavior. It is mostly used in schools today. For example, if an exam is given and the results are out, there are two possible scenarios for a student; scenario 1: the student passes the exam or gets a high score, aside from the obvious passing grade, the teacher will likely compliment the student and in some cases the teacher announces the result to the whole class, making this particular student proud and motivated to do better. Scenario 2: The student fails or gets the lowest score, the teacher scolds the student in front of the whole class. With the second scenario, the student is likely to study harder and do better in the next exam so that she won’t get scolded again.

Operant conditioning has some advantages like moving forward the student will learn that her every action may have negative consequences making her think critically before doing something. This also encourages accountability since the student already had thought things through before doing something, so whatever the result is, she knows it’s because of her decision. Also, with operant conditioning, the learning of the students comes from their own experience and not from what others shared.

However, there are also disadvantages that I can think of when it comes to operant conditioning. First, students will be used to extrinsic motivation. Instead of studying because they actually want to learn, instead of being inspired to learn so they can build a good foundation for their future, they might just do it because they just want to be praised in front of their classmates or they want to avoid punishment. Also, there’s a big chance that instead of understanding the lessons they will just use memorization so they can pass their exams. Second disadvantage is operant conditioning does not work with everyone. Other students may be indifferent or apathetic with the concept of rewards and punishment. Lastly, this type of conditioning can’t be used for complicated lessons or concepts.