Operant conditioning, sometimes called instrumental conditioning or Skinnerian conditioning, is a method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior. Through operant conditioning, ...

Negative reinforcement encourages specific behaviors by removing or avoiding negative consequences or stimuli. It is different than punishment, which aims to discourage a specific behavior. Negative ...

One of the main influences on our behavior is the consequences of our actions, especially those that come shortly after we perform that action. For example, when a behavior is followed by positive and ...

Eunice Framm, senior keeper of barnyard animals at the Cincinnati Zoo, has taught pigs to bowl, goats to paint, and red pandas to receive vaccines. She, and all other keepers, do so through the zoo’s ...

Some days, it feels like all we do as parents is discipline our children, but do we understand what discipline really means? The goal of disciplining children is not to punish them for bad behavior.

Operant conditioning is B.F. Skinner’s name for instrumental learning: learning by consequences. Not a new idea, of course. Humanity has always known how to teach children and animals by means of ...

Positive punishment means giving an undesirable consequence after an unwanted behavior to make it less appealing. It aims to stop the behavior from happening again. However, long term, there may be a ...