Operant Learning: The Most Basic Form Of Learning

Humans do the largest amount of learning during childhood. During this time, not only are survival mechanisms, sensory information, and social awareness developed, but we also began to form beliefs, opinions, and ideals about the world around us and how to react to it. The behaviors that we observe or are taught during the beginning years of life, are the environmental factors that, paired with genetics, shape us into individuals. This is called observational learning and is the most basic form of learning. Human and animals alike are instinctively predispositioned to copy or avoid behaviors based on the good or bad consequences they see when others do them.

On the other hand, operant learning is the process by which it is learned that a certain outcome elicits a responsive consequence. This can teach us if we should or should not recreate that scenario. Some behaviors are a result of the person,a child for instance, simply doing something they have seen done. This is in agreement with the clique, “monkey see, monkey do”. Also, organisms with the ability to learn can be taught through the encouragement of reinforcement or the discouragement of punishment. Positive and negative reinforcement and punishment are terms coined by B. F. Skinner in his theory of operant conditioning.

This, "punishment by removal", catches the attention of the learner when they experience the loss of something they wish to keep. In negative punishment, an unpleasant experience deters repeating of the incorrect behavior by taking away a desirable stimulus after a behavior has occurred. Examples such as a teacher promptly telling a child they will have to miss part of free time because of bad behavior are common. A further application of this type of punishment might be parents grounding children, whether it be a restriction on bedtime, electronic use, or going outside of their room or