# Operant Conditioning Diagrams to Download and Reuse

> 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.

- Source: https://operantconditioning.com/diagrams/
- Author: Ryan Martinson (https://operantconditioning.com/about/)
- Publisher: Operant Conditioning Inc.
- Published: 2026-09-10 · Updated: 2026-09-10
- License: https://operantconditioning.com/terms/#copyright (quote with attribution and a link; free to reproduce for non-commercial teaching)

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*Reference · Diagram library*

Every diagram on this site, as a crisp vector file for slides and handouts and as a PNG for anything else. All of them are free to reuse with attribution.

Each image below is the diagram exactly as it appears on its page, redrawn as a standalone file with a white background and no external dependencies. Click a diagram to open the SVG, which scales to any size; use the PNG where a bitmap is required. The text under each one gives the page it comes from, and the description that screen readers hear.

> **License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)**
>
> You may copy, adapt, and redistribute these diagrams, including in slides, handouts, worksheets, videos, and commercial textbooks, provided you credit **operantconditioning.com** and link to the diagram's page. A line such as "Diagram: operantconditioning.com (CC BY 4.0)" is enough. The license text is at [creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

![A two-by-two grid. Columns: stimulus added (positive) and stimulus removed (negative). Rows: behavior increases (reinforcement) and behavior decreases (punishment). Top left, positive reinforcement: a treat after a sit. Top right, negative reinforcement: the seat-belt chime stops. Bottom left, positive punishment: a burn after touching a hot pan. Bottom right, negative punishment: losing the car keys after breaking curfew. Extinction sits outside the grid: nothing is added or removed, the reinforcer simply stops.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-four-quadrants-of-operant-conditioning.svg)

**The four quadrants of operant conditioning** — The four quadrants. The column answers "added or removed?"; the row answers "more or less likely?" Positive and negative are arithmetic signs, not judgments. — From [Examples](https://operantconditioning.com/examples/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-four-quadrants-of-operant-conditioning.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-four-quadrants-of-operant-conditioning.png)

![A rectangular chamber. On the left wall: a stimulus light near the top, a lever at mid-height, and a food tray at the bottom. A speaker sits high on the right wall. The floor is a grid. Outside the chamber, a cumulative recorder draws a rising stepped line on a moving strip of paper.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/schematic-of-an-operant-conditioning-chamber.svg)

**Schematic of an operant conditioning chamber** — An operant conditioning chamber for a rat. A press on the lever can be programmed to deliver a food pellet on any schedule; the light signals when pressing will pay off; the recorder draws responses over time. — From [The complete guide](https://operantconditioning.com/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/schematic-of-an-operant-conditioning-chamber.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/schematic-of-an-operant-conditioning-chamber.png)

![A chamber inside a sound-attenuating cubicle. On the left wall, from top to bottom: a cue light, a lever, and a food tray. A house light sits at the top of the chamber and a speaker high on the right wall. The floor is a grid of metal rods. Outside the chamber, a cumulative recorder draws a rising stepped line on a moving strip of paper, with small ticks marking reinforcers.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/schematic-of-an-operant-conditioning-chamber-for-a-rat.svg)

**Schematic of an operant conditioning chamber for a rat** — An operant conditioning chamber for a rat. A press on the lever can be programmed to deliver a pellet on any schedule; the cue light signals when pressing will pay off; the recorder draws responses against time. — From [Skinner Box](https://operantconditioning.com/skinner-box/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/schematic-of-an-operant-conditioning-chamber-for-a-rat.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/schematic-of-an-operant-conditioning-chamber-for-a-rat.png)

![A line that rises from left to right. It begins with steep runs separated by flat pauses, each run ending in a diagonal tick. The pen then resets to the bottom and draws three curved scallops that start flat and accelerate into each tick. Finally, when reinforcement stops, the line rises briefly and then flattens out.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/an-annotated-cumulative-record.svg)

**An annotated cumulative record** — Reading a cumulative record: slope is rate, ticks are reinforcers, flat stretches are pauses, and the curved "scallop" is the fixed-interval pattern. The line only ever goes up; a behavior that has stopped draws a horizontal line. — From [Skinner Box](https://operantconditioning.com/skinner-box/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/an-annotated-cumulative-record.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/an-annotated-cumulative-record.png)

![Four panels. Fixed ratio: steep runs separated by flat post-reinforcement pauses. Variable ratio: a steady steep line. Fixed interval: repeated scallops that start flat and curve upward before each reinforcer. Variable interval: a moderate, steady slope.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/idealized-cumulative-records-for-the-four-basic-schedules.svg)

**Idealized cumulative records for the four basic schedules** — Idealized cumulative records. Each upward step is a response; green ticks mark reinforcers. Patterns after Ferster & Skinner (1957). — From [Schedules of Reinforcement](https://operantconditioning.com/schedules-of-reinforcement/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/idealized-cumulative-records-for-the-four-basic-schedules.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/idealized-cumulative-records-for-the-four-basic-schedules.png)

![Response rate over time after reinforcement stops: a brief spike (the extinction burst), then a decline toward zero, a rest, and a smaller return of responding (spontaneous recovery) that fades again.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-extinction-curve.svg)

**The extinction curve** — The shape of extinction. When reinforcement stops, responding briefly rises (the burst), then declines; after a rest it returns at a lower level (spontaneous recovery) and fades again. — From [Extinction](https://operantconditioning.com/extinction/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-extinction-curve.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-extinction-curve.png)

![Successive bell-shaped distributions of a behavior's form move rightward across the page; a criterion line steps upward so that only the upper tail of each distribution is reinforced, dragging the next distribution further toward the target.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/shaping-as-a-rising-criterion.svg)

**Shaping as a rising criterion** — Shaping as a moving criterion. Reinforcing only the upper tail of what the animal currently does shifts the whole distribution; the criterion is then raised again. Variability (the width of each curve) is what makes the next step possible. — From [Shaping](https://operantconditioning.com/shaping/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/shaping-as-a-rising-criterion.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/shaping-as-a-rising-criterion.png)

![Two generalization gradients plotted against wavelength. A dashed curve for birds trained at 550 nanometers only peaks at 550. A taller solid curve for birds trained at 550 with extinction at 555 peaks at about 540, shifted away from the S-minus, and drops steeply on the 555 side.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/peak-shift-after-discrimination-training.svg)

**Peak shift after discrimination training** — Schematic of Hanson's result. After discrimination training against a nearby S−, the peak of the gradient moves away from the S− (here from 550 to about 540 nm) and rises above the control gradient. — From [Stimulus Control](https://operantconditioning.com/stimulus-control/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/peak-shift-after-discrimination-training.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/peak-shift-after-discrimination-training.png)

![Two timelines. Escape: the aversive stimulus is on, the response occurs, the stimulus ends. Avoidance: a warning signal appears, the response occurs during it, and the aversive stimulus never arrives.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/escape-versus-avoidance.svg)

**Escape versus avoidance** — Escape ends an aversive stimulus that is present; avoidance prevents one that would have come. Both increase the behavior, so both are negative reinforcement. — From [Negative Reinforcement](https://operantconditioning.com/negative-reinforcement/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/escape-versus-avoidance.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/escape-versus-avoidance.png)

![Left panel: a stimulus precedes a reflexive response; the organism does nothing to produce the stimulus. Right panel: a behavior is followed by a consequence, which changes the future rate of the behavior.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/classical-versus-operant-conditioning-as-sequences.svg)

**Classical versus operant conditioning as sequences** — The two kinds of learning as sequences. In classical conditioning a stimulus comes to elicit a reflex; in operant conditioning a consequence changes how often a voluntary behavior recurs. — From [Operant vs. Classical](https://operantconditioning.com/operant-vs-classical-conditioning/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/classical-versus-operant-conditioning-as-sequences.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/classical-versus-operant-conditioning-as-sequences.png)

![A scatter plot with proportion of reinforcers on the horizontal axis and proportion of responses on the vertical axis. Data points lie close to the diagonal line where the two proportions are equal.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-matching-relation.svg)

**The matching relation** — Schematic of the matching relation. Real data cluster around the diagonal; systematic departures from it are captured by the generalized matching law below. — From [Matching Law](https://operantconditioning.com/matching-law/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-matching-relation.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-matching-relation.png)

![Two panels of bar charts. Left: a water-deprived rat spends much more baseline time drinking than running, so drinking reinforces running. Right: a running-deprived rat spends more time running than drinking, so running reinforces drinking.](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-premack-principle-as-a-reversal-of-baseline-probabilities.svg)

**The Premack principle as a reversal of baseline probabilities** — Premack's reversal. Whichever behavior is more probable at baseline can reinforce the other; deprivation changes which one that is. — From [Premack Principle](https://operantconditioning.com/premack-principle/) · [SVG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-premack-principle-as-a-reversal-of-baseline-probabilities.svg) · [PNG](https://operantconditioning.com/assets/diagrams/the-premack-principle-as-a-reversal-of-baseline-probabilities.png)

## Using the diagrams in teaching

- **Slides.** Drag the SVG into Keynote, PowerPoint, or Google Slides; it stays sharp at any projector size and inherits none of the site's fonts.
- **Handouts and exams.** The extinction curve, the escape-versus-avoidance timeline, and the schedules diagram work as unlabeled prompts: crop the labels and ask students to supply them.
- **Learning management systems.** Use the PNG where the platform will not render SVG. Every SVG carries an accessible description in its `<title>` and `<desc>`; the same description appears under each image here, so paste it as the alt text wherever you re-upload.
- **Attribution.** "operantconditioning.com, CC BY 4.0" with a link to the source page satisfies the license.

Want a diagram that is not here? [Ask](https://operantconditioning.com/about/#contact); if it would help other teachers, it will be added to this page.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I use these diagrams in a textbook or a course I sell?**

Yes. CC BY 4.0 permits commercial use. The only conditions are attribution to operantconditioning.com and a note if you changed the diagram.

**Can I edit the diagrams?**

Yes. The SVG files are plain text and open in Figma, Illustrator, Inkscape, or any text editor. Adaptations must be credited as adaptations.

**Does the license cover the rest of the site?**

No. The text, interactive tools, and other images remain © Operant Conditioning Inc. under the [terms of use](https://operantconditioning.com/terms/#copyright), which still allow quoting with attribution and non-commercial classroom use.


## About the author

Ryan holds a master's degree from UCLA, where he studied animal behavior in Daniel Blumstein's lab and was part of the university's Evolutionary Medicine Program, which applies findings from evolutionary biology and animal behavior to human health. He founded Operant Conditioning Inc. and built the Operant habit app (https://operantconditioning.com/app/). Every page here is written from the primary literature and cites it. How pages are checked: https://operantconditioning.com/about/#editorial-standards

## Related

- [For teachers](https://operantconditioning.com/#for-teachers): How to assign pages, the quiz, and the discussion questions.
- [Glossary](https://operantconditioning.com/glossary/): Every term, defined and linked.
- [Examples](https://operantconditioning.com/examples/): Fifty-plus scenarios sorted by quadrant.