Operant Conditioning and Education

 - By Zachary Helth

In Psychology, operant conditioning is a form of learning that takes place when paired with an appetitive or aversive stimulus. Unlike Classical Conditioning which is learning through association, Operant Conditioning is learning through consequence. Operant Conditioning is an invaluable tool that can be used to shape valuable behaviors and extinguish undesirable behaviors and this is achieved through reinforcement and punishment. 

In regards to education, Operant Conditioning plays a pivotal role in both academic and developmental outcomes. For education, educators use Operant Conditioning on children at a very young age to culture curiosity, initiative, and industry. This is important not only from an educational standpoint, but from a developmental standpoint too because of the development of identity. According to Erickson's Theory Of Psychosocial Development, personality develops in stages throughout ones lifespan. For example, infants before they reach the age of 1 develop a personality of either trust or mistrust based on if their needs were being consistently met. If the infants needs were not being met, they developed a trait of mistrust that would follow that infant from birth to the end of their life. Another example would be preschoolers between the age range of 3-6. Kids in this age range are self-motivated to seek out their desires. Kids who are discouraged or criticized during this important age of their life will cease to be self-motivated and acquire a sense of guilt, losing confidence in themselves. As kids get older, they begin to care about comparing themselves to their peers. A common method of a kid comparing themselves to others is their academic success. Failure to attain academic success leads to feelings of inferiority. 

The effects of Operant Conditioning in education are not limited to nurturing only academic success but to nurturing resilience, responsibility, and your own sense of identity.