Theories

B. F. Skinner's entire theoretical system is based on what he called operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is one of the most basic forms of learning and affects virtually all forms of human behavior. It states that learning occurs as a result of voluntary responses that are operating on the environment. These behavioral responses are either strengthened (more likely to recur) or weakened (less likely to recur) depending on whether the consequences of the response are favorable or unfavorable. Unlike classical conditioning, which depends on the biological responses to some stimulus such as food (Ivan Pavlov's dogs salivating at the sight of meat powder), operant conditioning applies to voluntary responses, which an organism deliberately performs in order to achieve a desired outcome.

One way to understand operant behavior is it operates on the environment in ways that produce...