Which of the following experiments involves the use of operant conditioning?

Which of the following experiments involves the use of operant conditioning?

a. pairing a puff of air to the eye with seeing the color red in order to find out how many repetitions it will take for someone to blink when he sees the color red

b. determining how long it takes someone to learn how to fish if he is only allowed to watch other people fishing

c. blindfolding someone and timing him to see how long it takes him to estimate the size of a room

d. rewarding a child for finishing his oatmeal mush and counting how many times the child needs to be rewarded before he finishes his oatmeal voluntarily

Answer: d. rewarding a child for finishing his oatmeal mush and counting how many times the child needs to be rewarded before he finishes his oatmeal voluntarily

This scenario falls under the category of operant conditioning which is a type of learning that focuses on the use of rewards/punishment to alter behavior. In this case, the reinforcement is the dessert given to the child once he or she has finished taking the oatmeal. B. F. Skinner’s behaviorism theory deals with the principle of operant conditioning which centers on the behavior and its outcomes.

In this case, the behaviour being shaped is to finish oatmeal, the next thing that happens is a form of positive reinforcement, wherein the subject is rewarded to ensure that the behaviour is repeated. In the long term, the child is trained to associate oatmeal with positive consequences, leading to voluntary eating to the finish even without the need for encouragement. This procedure is comparable to how a learner is compelled to embrace studying, for example, by being given compliments or good results on homework to get a good grade. Therefore, after some time, the student would get used to studying without having to be bribed an example.

This experiment determines the number of times the above reinforcement has to be given for the signals to be instilled in the subject. Such an approach is implemented in numerous areas of human life, such as education, the upbringing of children, and the use of using dogs. For instance, a dog trainer may use treats in positive reinforcement to encourage good behaviour such as sitting or staying, subsequently, the use of treats becomes less frequent to encourage the dog to perform the above actions as taught.