Introduction to Psychology 1/IPSY102/Operant conditioning and observational learning/Overview

“	Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select--doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and, yes, even beggarman and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I admit it, but so have the advocates of the contrary and they have been doing it for many thousands of years.	”
—John B. Watson

If you have a dog, think about how you train it to follow your commands, or if it does something wrong, how do you attempt to correct its behaviour? The principles that you are naively applying come from a form of learning known as operant conditioning. In this pathway you will learn about operant conditioning along with observational learning: two forms of learning that are not based on associations. As you make your way through this pathway, consider how you might apply these principles to serve your own goals, such as exercising more and leading a healthier life.

Orientation

Rajiv Jhangiani provides a brief orientation to this learning pathway on the history of psychology.

Video signpost: Operant conditioning and observational learning

Objectives

By the end of this learning pathway you should be able to:

• Explain the difference between reinforcement and punishment
• Distinguish between reinforcement schedules
• Define observational learning
• Discuss the steps in the modeling process
• Explain the prosocial and antisocial effects of observational learning