Operant conditioning, sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning, is a method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence (whether negative or positive) for that behavior. CBT deploys many of the same operant conditioning techniques as pure applied behavior analysis, but also introduces a talk-based component where the therapist leads the patient through the logic and mechanisms driving the addiction. Jenifer Fox-Gerrits of Life Management Strategies LLC explains how several MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) games hire behaviorists to increase the addictive.
The Twittering Machine, as a wholly designed operant conditioning chamber, needs none of the expedients of the casino or opium den. Whereas gambling was controlled in a paternalistic way in. Classical and operant conditioning article This is the currently selected item. Classical conditioning: Neutral, conditioned, and unconditioned stimuli and responses.
Non-gamblers might wonder what is so appealing about penny-falls, slot machines, horse racing, casinos, sports betting, the pools, the lottery, roulette or blackjack? The answer may lie in the impression that a big win might result from a proportionately smaller amount of money. The reasoning brain knows this is not true in the long run, but when in the grips of a gambling addiction, all reason melts away. I decided to research into gambling obsession for one of my writing projects.
Why People Enjoy Betting
According to the BBC, there are around 350,000 people with some sort of gambling problem in the UK. In the US, the figure is 6% of the adult population (BBC, 2010). Those afflicted typically spend too much time and money on gambling activities, seeing a big win as further opportunity to gamble rather than a reason to stop.
The Lure of Gambling Online
Eye-catching graphics, spinning wheels and close-wins keep gamblers motivated and playing. Rewards, no matter how small create a pleasure sensation in the brain, a form of operant conditioning (explained in a moment). What could be more satisfying for a gambler nursing a slot machine all evening than the sound of clattering coins in the tray? With online gambling on the rise, there is an equivalent sound and graphic to spur the gambler on. Such rewards create an altered psychological state that becomes addictive. This part interested me. How could I describe this altered state of mind for the reader, even though I do not have a gambling habit myself?
Why People Play Gambling Games
On closer inspection, I learned that gambling companies use every trick in the book to keep their customers betting, such as the following:
The ambient atmosphere of casinos and arcades relax the customer and make the activity feel more private. It is easy to lose track of time when in an intimate setting.
Some casinos offer free drinks and cheap buffet meals and place chairs only at slot machines or tables. This might compel a tired customer to sit and relax, and perhaps have a flutter.
Loyal customers earn free or cheap ‘play time’ which implies the customer is getting a great deal from the establishment’s facilities, but in fact loses out.
Exchanging money for chips or vouchers to spend in casinos takes away the reality of what is lost, as the plastic lacks the feel of real money.
Problem with Gambling
Although not a gambling addict myself, like many people, have found certain things addictive. Take Tetris for one. In pure operant Pavlovian style I have experienced the surge of satisfaction each time a row of tiles flicker away. Two hours can seem fleeting whilst playing Tetris. Little better was Angry Birds and Bejeweled. The bright graphics and the little fanfairs create that altered psychological state that gamblers are addicted to.
Operant Conditioning and Gambling Rewards
Such a reward from a stimulus can be taken as a form of operant conditioning, as put forward by behaviorist B F Skinner. (see diagram). By using a simple stimulus coupled with punishment or reward as a consequence could encourage a certain mode of behavior.
Operant Conditioning Gambling Example
Operant conditioning can be seen when a parent rewards a child with a bar of chocolate every time he completes his homework.
Many parents struggle with disciplining their children. Some have the hardest time just trying to toilet train them. The thought alone of teaching a child how to act or perform is an everyday struggle. Especially when it comes to dealing with behaviors. However, there are several techniques that derive from psychological experiments, which can help parents with disciplining. For instance, behaviorists B.F. Skinner came up with Operant Conditioning. Operant Conditioning is when behavior is strengthened or weakened by positive or negative reinforcements (Goldstein p. 10). As a parent I deal with my children’s bad behaviors, as well as their good behaviors. Operant Conditioning shows how behavior is influenced by three different types of responses or operant that affects behavior—positive, negative reinforcements, and punishment (McLeod 2007).
While chastising my children I never knew that I was practicing what Skinner referred to as Operant Conditioning. For example, when my daughter gets a bad report from school stating she was very disruptive during class, once she gets home the daily routine of hanging out with friends is taken away–she has to stay in the house without television, phone, computer or tablet. Say the next day she has a good report about her behavior in class, once she comes home I allow her to play outside, I return all electronics, and take her to McDonalds as a reward. This here is an example of how my child’s behavior was weakened from the punishment but when she no longer displayed this form of behavior she knew that she would be rewarded each time.
Operant Conditioning And Gambling
Another example, of how Operant Conditioning can be applied to my everyday life is when I had to toilet train my 2 year old. Every time she would go pee in the toilet I would give her a piece of candy. Each time she knew that if she had to go pee in the toilet she would be rewarded with a piece of candy. My 7 year old doesn’t like reading, I told her for each book she reads at night I would make her an ice cream cone for desert and each night she faithfully read a book to go with her homework. Both my kids continued to repeat the same behaviors because the positive reinforcement (reward) strengthened there behaviors to read and go to the toilet.
An example of a negative reinforcement of Operant Conditioning as applied to my everyday life as a parent would be when my daughter has tantrums each time she falls out and rolls around on the floor she has to get up and stand in the corner on one leg, for each time she decides that she is going to act up and have a tantrum she knows to go stand in the corner on one leg. From her having to perform this act she no longer displays the same behavior of the tantrums, the negative reinforcement of having to be in the corner on one leg strengthened her behavior by stopping the tantrums.
In conclusion, Operant Conditioning is a method that people use on a daily basis to help change to outcome of ones behaviors. Parents are key components for utilizing this method for trying to strengthen their child or children’s behavior or weaken there behaviors depending on the circumstances. But I can say as a parent I utilize Operant Conditioning in my parenting skills to discipline my children.
Gambling Operant Conditioning
Goldstein, E. B. (2011, 2008). Cognitive Psychology Connecting Mind, Research, And Everyday Experience. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning .
Gambling Operant Conditioning Definition
Gambling Operant Conditioning Training
McLeod, S. (2007). Skinner-Operant Conditioning . Retrieved from Simply Psyhology: http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html