Operant conditioning focuses on the response and states that those responses that are followed by some sort of reinforcement are more likely to either strengthen or weaken a behavior.

There are several types of reinforcement:

• Positive reinforcement - strengthesn a response through the giving of a reward contingent upon the response resulting in the strengthening of that response, for example, a child cleans their room and received a candybar as a result.

• Negative reinforcement - strengthens a response through the removal of an aversive stimulus contingent upon the response, for example, a dog receives an electric shock until it learns to jump a fence to get away from the shock.

There are also operant conditioners of punishment and reinforcement removal which decreases behavior:

• Punishment - Punishment refers to the presentation of an aversive stimulus to a response to decrease the emission of that response. For example, a child breaks a dish and then receives a spanking from the parent.

• Extinction - refers to taking away a positive reinforcer to reduce the frequency of a behavior, for example, a child hits a sibling so the parent takes away their allowance for a week.

Reinforcers can also be given in four different ratio schedules, each with their own level of effectiveness. Those ratio schedules include:

• Fixed ratio - the reinforcement is given consistently which could be a good thing when one is first starting out
• Fixed interval - the reinforcement is given after a fixed period of time
• Variable ratio - the reinforcement is given at random response rates
• Variable interval - the reinforcement is given at random time frames (this is said to be the most effective reinforcement schedule)

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