# Operant Conditioning > The complete guide to how consequences shape behavior. An evidence-based reference on operant conditioning for general readers, students, teachers, trainers and clinicians, published by Operant Conditioning Inc. Every page cites primary sources, is free to read without an account, and has a Markdown version at index.md. ## Key definitions - **Operant conditioning**: Learning in which the future probability of a behavior is changed by the consequences that follow it: behaviors followed by reinforcement become more likely, behaviors followed by punishment less likely. Also called instrumental conditioning. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#operant-conditioning) - **Reinforcement**: The process in which a behavior is followed by a stimulus change — the addition of a stimulus (positive reinforcement) or the removal of one (negative reinforcement) — and increases in future frequency as a result. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#reinforcement) - **Punishment**: The process in which a behavior is followed by a stimulus change — the addition of a stimulus (positive punishment) or the removal of one (negative punishment) — and decreases in future frequency as a result. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#punishment) - **Positive reinforcement**: The process in which a behavior is followed by the addition of a stimulus and increases in future frequency as a result. A treat after a sit; praise after a chore; a like after a post. The most-used procedure in the field. Positive reinforcement in depth › (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#positive-reinforcement) - **Negative reinforcement**: The process in which a behavior is followed by the removal (or avoidance) of a stimulus and increases in future frequency as a result. Buckling up to silence the chime; taking a painkiller to end a headache. It is not punishment: the behavior goes up. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#negative-reinforcement) - **Positive punishment**: The process in which a behavior is followed by the addition of a stimulus and decreases in future frequency as a result. A burn after touching the stove; a reprimand after an interruption, if interruptions then decrease. "Positive" means added, not good. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#positive-punishment) - **Negative punishment**: The process in which a behavior is followed by the removal of a stimulus and decreases in future frequency as a result. Time-out, response cost, and losing privileges are the standard forms. "Negative" means removed, not bad. Negative punishment in depth › (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#negative-punishment) - **Extinction**: The procedure of no longer reinforcing a previously reinforced behavior, and the resulting decline in that behavior. Extinction is not one of the four quadrants: nothing is added or removed, the consequence that used to arrive simply stops. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#extinction) - **Shaping**: Building a new behavior by reinforcing successive approximations toward it while withholding reinforcement from earlier approximations. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#shaping) - **Schedule of reinforcement**: The rule specifying which occurrences of a behavior will be reinforced: continuous, fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, variable interval, and many compound schedules built from them. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#schedule-of-reinforcement) - **Discriminative stimulus (SD)**: An antecedent stimulus in whose presence a behavior has been reinforced and in whose absence it has not, so that it now raises the probability of the behavior. A ringing phone is an S D for answering; a green light for driving on. The discriminative stimulus in depth › (https://operantconditioning.com/discriminative-stimulus/) - **Stimulus control**: The condition in which a behavior occurs reliably in the presence of a particular stimulus and less often in its absence, established by discrimination training. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#stimulus-control) - **Three-term contingency**: Skinner's basic unit of analysis: a discriminative stimulus sets the occasion, a response occurs, and a consequence follows. Written A → B → C, it is the same thing as the ABC model and the frame behind every entry in this glossary. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#three-term-contingency) - **Motivating operation (MO)**: An environmental variable that (1) alters the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer or punisher and (2) alters the current frequency of behavior that has produced that stimulus. Establishing operations increase both; abolishing operations decrease both. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#motivating-operation) - **Extinction burst**: A temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, or variability of a behavior when its reinforcer is first withheld, before the behavior declines. Pressing the elevator button harder and faster when it fails to respond. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#extinction-burst) - **Matching law**: Richard Herrnstein's 1961 finding that when two responses are available, the relative rate of each matches the relative rate of reinforcement it produces: pigeons on two keys distribute their pecks in proportion to the reinforcers each key delivers. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#matching-law) - **Premack principle**: David Premack's 1959 principle that a higher-probability behavior can reinforce a lower-probability behavior when access to it is made contingent: "first homework, then video games." Sometimes called Grandma's rule. The Premack principle in depth › (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#premack-principle) - **Avoidance**: Behavior that prevents an aversive stimulus from occurring at all, maintained by negative reinforcement: buckling up before the chime sounds, paying a bill before the late fee. Contrast escape, which ends an aversive stimulus that is already present. (https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/#avoidance) ## Pages ### Core concepts - [Operant Conditioning: Definition, Examples & How It Works](https://operantconditioning.com/): Operant conditioning is learning through consequences. The definition, Skinner's four quadrants, schedules of reinforcement, examples, and how to apply it. - [Reinforcement in Psychology: Definition, Types & Examples](https://operantconditioning.com/reinforcement/): Reinforcement is any consequence that makes a behavior more likely. Positive vs. negative reinforcement, types of reinforcers, what makes it work, and more. - [Punishment in Psychology: Definition, Types & Evidence](https://operantconditioning.com/punishment/): Punishment is any consequence that makes a behavior less likely. Positive vs. negative punishment, why it is not extinction, side effects, and alternatives. - [Positive Reinforcement: Definition, Examples & How to Use It](https://operantconditioning.com/positive-reinforcement/): Positive reinforcement adds a stimulus after a behavior to make it more likely. Definition, examples, types of reinforcers, what makes it work, and mistakes. - [Negative Reinforcement: Definition, Examples, vs. Punishment](https://operantconditioning.com/negative-reinforcement/): Negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus so a behavior increases. Definition, 17 examples, escape vs. avoidance, and why it is not punishment. - [Positive Punishment: Definition, Examples & Evidence](https://operantconditioning.com/positive-punishment/): Positive punishment adds an aversive stimulus after a behavior to reduce it. Definition, 16 examples, side effects, the spanking evidence, and alternatives. - [Negative Punishment: Definition, Examples & Time-Out](https://operantconditioning.com/negative-punishment/): Negative punishment removes a reinforcer after a behavior so it decreases. Definition, examples, time-out and response cost, and how it differs from extinction. - [Schedules of Reinforcement: Ratio & Interval, Explained](https://operantconditioning.com/schedules-of-reinforcement/): Schedules of reinforcement decide how often a behavior pays: continuous vs. intermittent, fixed and variable ratio and interval, with a live simulator. - [Extinction in Psychology: Definition, Burst & Examples](https://operantconditioning.com/extinction/): Extinction in psychology is the fading of a behavior when its reinforcer is withheld. The extinction burst, spontaneous recovery, resurgence, and how to use it. - [Shaping in Psychology: Successive Approximations Explained](https://operantconditioning.com/shaping/): Shaping is differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a target behavior. How it works, a step-by-step protocol, examples, shaping vs. chaining. - [Stimulus Control: Discrimination, Generalization, Peak Shift](https://operantconditioning.com/stimulus-control/): Stimulus control means a behavior's probability depends on an antecedent. SD vs. S-delta, discrimination, generalization, peak shift, and errorless learning. - [The ABC Model: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence Explained](https://operantconditioning.com/abc-model/): The ABC model of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) explained: the three-term contingency, discriminative stimuli, motivating operations, ABC data. - [Operant vs. Classical Conditioning: The Difference](https://operantconditioning.com/operant-vs-classical-conditioning/): Classical conditioning pairs stimuli to transfer a reflex; operant conditioning changes behavior through consequences. Comparison table, examples, checklist. - [Differential Reinforcement: Definition, Types & Examples](https://operantconditioning.com/differential-reinforcement/): Differential reinforcement reinforces one behavior and withholds reinforcement from another. DRA, DRI, DRO, DRL, DRH, function, FCT, evidence, how to run it. - [Behavior Chaining: Forward, Backward & Total-Task Methods](https://operantconditioning.com/chaining/): Chaining links responses into a sequence where each step cues the next. Task analysis, forward vs. backward vs. total-task chaining, evidence, and mistakes. - [Discriminative Stimulus (SD): Definition, Examples & S-Delta](https://operantconditioning.com/discriminative-stimulus/): A discriminative stimulus (SD) is a cue in whose presence a behavior has been reinforced. Definition, S-delta, examples, SD vs. CS and MO, how to train one. - [Primary and Secondary Reinforcers: Definition & Examples](https://operantconditioning.com/primary-and-secondary-reinforcers/): Primary reinforcers work without learning; secondary reinforcers earn their power by predicting them. Definitions, evidence, tokens, clickers, and mistakes. ### Go deeper - [Avoidance Learning: Escape, Avoidance & Why It Persists](https://operantconditioning.com/avoidance-learning/): Escape and avoidance learning: signaled and Sidman avoidance, the avoidance paradox, two-factor vs. one-factor theory, and learned helplessness. - [The Matching Law: Herrnstein's Equation for Choice](https://operantconditioning.com/matching-law/): The matching law: behavior is allocated in proportion to reinforcement. Herrnstein's experiment, the equations, sports and classroom evidence, self-control. - [Premack Principle: Definition, Examples & Grandma's Rule](https://operantconditioning.com/premack-principle/): The Premack principle: a more probable behavior can reinforce a less probable one. Premack's experiments, Grandma's rule, response deprivation, and mistakes. - [The Neuroscience of Operant Conditioning: Dopamine & Habits](https://operantconditioning.com/neuroscience/): What happens in the brain during operant conditioning: Olds and Milner, dopamine as a prediction-error signal, wanting vs. liking, how actions become habits. - [Skinner Box: What It Is, How It Works & Why It Mattered](https://operantconditioning.com/skinner-box/): A Skinner box (operant conditioning chamber) is the apparatus Skinner built to measure how consequences change behavior: parts, a typical session, and myths. - [B. F. Skinner: Biography, Skinner Box & Behaviorism](https://operantconditioning.com/bf-skinner/): B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) founded radical behaviorism and the science of operant conditioning. His life, the Skinner box, major works, critics, and the myths. - [History of Operant Conditioning: Thorndike to Skinner](https://operantconditioning.com/history/): Who discovered operant conditioning? Thorndike found the law of effect in 1898; Skinner named and systematized it in 1937–38. The full timeline, Bain to AI. - [Law of Effect: Thorndike's Cats, the 1911 Law, and Skinner](https://operantconditioning.com/law-of-effect/): Thorndike's law of effect explained: the 1898 puzzle-box cats, the exact 1911 statement, the 1932 revision that dropped punishment, and Skinner's rebuild. - [Learned Helplessness: Definition, Experiments & the Reversal](https://operantconditioning.com/learned-helplessness/): Learned helplessness explained: the triadic dog experiments, the human studies, the attributional reformulation, the depression model, and the 2016 reversal. - [Superstitious Behavior: Skinner's Pigeons, Rituals & Luck](https://operantconditioning.com/superstitious-behavior/): Superstitious behavior is behavior maintained by accidental reinforcement. Skinner's pigeons, the reanalysis, human rituals, lucky charms, and a self-test. ### Applications - [Operant Conditioning Applications: ABA, School, Work](https://operantconditioning.com/applications/): Operant conditioning in the classroom, parenting, the workplace, therapy, animal training, technology, and AI — and how strong the evidence is for each. - [Operant Conditioning in the Classroom: What Works](https://operantconditioning.com/classroom/): Operant conditioning in the classroom: what the evidence says about praise, token economies, the Good Behavior Game, PBIS, and Skinner's teaching machines. - [Operant Conditioning in Parenting: What the Evidence Says](https://operantconditioning.com/parenting/): Operant conditioning in parenting: praise, the coercion trap behind tantrums, time-out, sticker charts, bedtime extinction, and the evidence on spanking. - [Dog Training With Operant Conditioning: The 4 Quadrants](https://operantconditioning.com/dog-training/): Operant conditioning in dog training: the four quadrants, the evidence on reward-based vs. aversive methods, clicker training, timing, and a recall protocol. - [Build Habits With Operant Conditioning: 7-Step Protocol](https://operantconditioning.com/habits/): How to build habits with operant conditioning: what habit formation psychology shows (66 days, context cues), a 7-step protocol, and how to break bad habits. - [Token Economy: Definition, Examples, and How to Set One Up](https://operantconditioning.com/token-economy/): A token economy pays tokens for target behaviors, exchanged later for backup reinforcers. Definition, history, components, evidence, setup steps, mistakes. - [Operant Conditioning in the Workplace: What Actually Works](https://operantconditioning.com/workplace/): How operant conditioning runs the workplace: the OBM evidence, pay as a schedule, feedback, Kerr's folly, Wells Fargo, intrinsic motivation, incentive design. ### Practice and reference - [50+ Operant Conditioning Examples, Sorted by Quadrant](https://operantconditioning.com/examples/): 50+ operant conditioning examples from everyday life, the classroom, work, and animal training — each labeled by quadrant, plus schedules and tricky cases. - [Operant Conditioning Glossary: 128 Terms Defined](https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/): Operant conditioning glossary: 128 behavior analysis terms, from abolishing operation to variable ratio, defined precisely and linked to full explanations. - [Operant Conditioning Quiz: 20 Questions, Instant Answers](https://operantconditioning.com/quiz/): Free 20-question operant conditioning quiz with instant explanations: reinforcement and punishment scenarios, schedules, extinction, shaping, and more. - [Operant Conditioning Diagrams: Free SVG & PNG Downloads](https://operantconditioning.com/diagrams/): Every diagram on this site — four quadrants, extinction curve, four schedules, shaping, escape vs. avoidance, peak shift, Skinner box — as SVG and PNG, CC BY. - [Virtual Skinner Box: Free Operant Conditioning Simulator](https://operantconditioning.com/lab/): Run a virtual Skinner box in your browser: magazine-train a rat, shape a lever press, put it on a schedule, then watch extinction. Free, no account. - [AP Psychology: Operant Conditioning Study Guide & Practice](https://operantconditioning.com/ap-psychology/): Operant conditioning as the AP Psychology exam tests it: every term in one line, the studies to name, the confusions that cost points, and a practice set. ### Schedules and terms - [Variable Ratio Schedule: Definition, Examples, and Evidence](https://operantconditioning.com/variable-ratio-schedule/): A variable ratio schedule reinforces after an unpredictable number of responses. VR notation, random ratio vs. VR, slot machines, thinning, and ratio strain. - [Fixed Ratio Schedule: Definition, Examples & Break-and-Run](https://operantconditioning.com/fixed-ratio-schedule/): A fixed ratio schedule reinforces every nth response. Definition, FR notation, the break-and-run pattern, ratio strain, piece-rate pay, and how to use it. - [Fixed Interval Schedule: Definition, the Scallop & Examples](https://operantconditioning.com/fixed-interval-schedule/): A fixed interval schedule reinforces the first response after a set time. The scallop, FI vs. fixed time, Congress, cramming, why adults differ, and mistakes. - [Variable Interval Schedule: Definition, Examples & Uses](https://operantconditioning.com/variable-interval-schedule/): A variable interval schedule reinforces the first response after an unpredictable time: VI 30 s notation, the steady rate it produces, matching, and uses. - [Continuous vs. Intermittent Reinforcement: When to Use Each](https://operantconditioning.com/continuous-vs-intermittent-reinforcement/): Continuous reinforcement pays every response; intermittent pays only some. When to use each, the partial reinforcement extinction effect, and how to thin. ### About the site - [Operant: The Habit App Built on Operant Conditioning](https://operantconditioning.com/app/): Operant is a habit app for iPhone and Apple Watch that runs a real operant conditioning loop for each habit. Free to download and try; a subscription unlocks the full app. - [For Teachers: Cite, Assign & Teach Operant Conditioning](https://operantconditioning.com/for-teachers/): A route through the guide, the objectives it covers, discussion questions, citation formats in APA, MLA and Chicago, and exactly what may be reused. - [About OperantConditioning.com](https://operantconditioning.com/about/): Who publishes operantconditioning.com, how the content is written and checked, how the site is funded, and how to reach us. - [Privacy Policy](https://operantconditioning.com/privacy/): How operantconditioning.com handles personal data. In short — this site does not collect it. - [Terms of Use](https://operantconditioning.com/terms/): Terms of use for operantconditioning.com, including the educational nature of the content and copyright. ### Library: public-domain source texts, full text - [The Library](https://operantconditioning.com/library/): Full text of nine public-domain books behind the science of learning from consequences, free to read and published as Markdown, per-chapter Markdown, plain text and JSON. Catalogue for agents: https://operantconditioning.com/library/llms.txt · Manifest: https://operantconditioning.com/library/library.json - [Animal Intelligence: Experimental Studies (Edward L. Thorndike, 1911)](https://operantconditioning.com/library/thorndike-animal-intelligence/): The puzzle-box experiments and the law of effect: the direct ancestor of operant conditioning. 86,616 words. Markdown: https://operantconditioning.com/library/thorndike-animal-intelligence/index.md - [Animal Behaviour (C. Lloyd Morgan, 1900)](https://operantconditioning.com/library/morgan-animal-behaviour/): Morgan's account of learning by trial and error, instinct, and the limits of what animal behavior lets us infer. 115,874 words. Markdown: https://operantconditioning.com/library/morgan-animal-behaviour/index.md - [The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (William James, 1890)](https://operantconditioning.com/library/james-principles-of-psychology-vol-1/): Volume 1 of James's masterwork, including the chapter on Habit that every account of behavior change still quotes. 237,258 words. Markdown: https://operantconditioning.com/library/james-principles-of-psychology-vol-1/index.md - [The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (William James, 1890)](https://operantconditioning.com/library/james-principles-of-psychology-vol-2/): Volume 2: instinct, the emotions, and the will, including the ideo-motor theory of action. 231,048 words. Markdown: https://operantconditioning.com/library/james-principles-of-psychology-vol-2/index.md - [The Dancing Mouse: A Study in Animal Behavior (Robert M. Yerkes, 1907)](https://operantconditioning.com/library/yerkes-the-dancing-mouse/): A complete experimental study of one animal's learning: discrimination boxes, labyrinths, learning curves, and the efficiency of training methods. 82,710 words. Markdown: https://operantconditioning.com/library/yerkes-the-dancing-mouse/index.md - [Clever Hans (The Horse of Mr. von Osten): A Contribution to Experimental Animal and Human Psychology (Oskar Pfungst, 1911)](https://operantconditioning.com/library/pfungst-clever-hans/): The horse that could not count: how Pfungst showed Hans was reading tiny movements of his questioners, and why blind procedures exist. 72,664 words. Markdown: https://operantconditioning.com/library/pfungst-clever-hans/index.md - [Animal Intelligence (George J. Romanes, 1882)](https://operantconditioning.com/library/romanes-animal-intelligence/): The great anecdotal survey of animal minds that experimental psychology was invented to replace. 196,963 words. Markdown: https://operantconditioning.com/library/romanes-animal-intelligence/index.md - [Animal Life and Intelligence (C. Lloyd Morgan, 1891)](https://operantconditioning.com/library/morgan-animal-life-and-intelligence/): Morgan's first full treatment of animal minds, with his early chapters on habit, instinct and the senses. 165,549 words. Markdown: https://operantconditioning.com/library/morgan-animal-life-and-intelligence/index.md - [The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (Charles Darwin, 1872)](https://operantconditioning.com/library/darwin-expression-of-the-emotions/): Darwin on habit: how serviceable actions become habitual, associated, and inherited. 99,943 words. Markdown: https://operantconditioning.com/library/darwin-expression-of-the-emotions/index.md ## Machine-readable versions - Full text of every page in one Markdown file: https://operantconditioning.com/llms-full.txt - Per-page Markdown: append index.md to any page URL (for example https://operantconditioning.com/negative-reinforcement/index.md) - Glossary as JSON: https://operantconditioning.com/glossary.json - Library manifest as JSON (every public-domain book and chapter file): https://operantconditioning.com/library/library.json - Library catalogue for agents: https://operantconditioning.com/library/llms.txt (the books are not included in llms-full.txt; fetch them per book or per chapter) - Examples as JSON: https://operantconditioning.com/examples.json - Diagrams (SVG and PNG, CC BY 4.0): https://operantconditioning.com/diagrams/ - Atom feed of updates: https://operantconditioning.com/feed.xml - Sitemap: https://operantconditioning.com/sitemap.xml ## Citation Ryan Martinson. "." Operant Conditioning, Operant Conditioning Inc., , .