Define B. F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning.

B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning is an intervention
that is mostly used to achieve a behavior. The term "operant" indicates that the process
by which we will achieve the behavior is through actions and practices in a sequence or
a pattern. The "conditioning" refers to the expected changes that will take
place.

The basic components of operant conditioning
are:

a) Reinforcement- This is the process by which one
gives feedback, or incentives after the behavior that we want to achieve occurs. An
example would be giving a dog a treat after the dog responds to a command that we want
it to do. What reinforcement does is that it motivates the individual (or, in this case,
the dog) to continue doing what we want it to do. The reinforcement is not always given
at the same rate. In Skinner's theory the reinforcement should be given at different
intervals so that the behavior does not become extinct. Once the behavior remains
consistent it can be considered a "habit".

b) Punishment-
This is the opposite of reinforcement. As you may already assume, when you punish
someone you are giving a consequence that produces discomfort to the individual in order
for a certain behavior to stop. Punishment comes in many ways and it can be verbal
(stern talk, scolding), physical (actual contact with the intention of causing pain), or
psychological (saying something detrimental). Punishment could lead to many different
outcomes depending on how it is applied.

c) Extinction-
When there is no consequence, reinforcement or punishment following a behavior, Skinner
argues that the behavior will slowly end. This is why it is called "extinction". The
basic premise here is that behavior has to be motivated for it to occur. An example
would be a student that does excellent work in the classroom yet his or her efforts are
ignored by the teacher.

Skinner would argue that it is
likely that the student will not feel like taking the extra effort anymore and will
eventually quit working hard altogether.

When we try for
someone to do certain things, or behave in a certain way, reinforcement and punishment
are the likely options that may lead to achieving the behavior. Contrastingly,
extinction should be used with care making sure that we do not end up extinguishing a
good behavior instead of a bad behavior.