An Explanation For His Law Of Effect - 1224 Words

In 1933, Thorndike developed an explanation for his Law of Effect. His experimentations revealed that some events, usually those that one would expect to be pleasant seemed to â€Å"stamp in† a response that had just occurred. Noxious events, he continued, seemed to â€Å"stamp out† the response, or make it less likely to occur (Pierce and Cheney, 2004). Thus, the principles of reinforcement can be summarized as operants followed by consequences that increase or decrease the probability of response in the same situation (Pierce and Cheney, 2004). Based on the operant learning theories developed B.F. Skinner, Cooper, Heron and Heward (2007), define reinforcement as a process that occurs when a stimulus change immediately follows a response and increases the future frequency of that type of behavior in similar conditions. Thus, reinforcement is an operation which reinforces responses. Operant behavior is â€Å"selected, shared and maintained by the consequences that have followed in the past† (p. 31). In other words, our future is shaped by our past. Primary and Secondary Reinforcers In consideration of the history of reinforcement, the biological importance of primary reinforcers must be discussed. Food, water, oxygen and sexual stimulation may be considered as primary reinforcers because they satisfy contingencies of survival. No learning is necessary for these reinforcers to increase the likelihood of a response occurring again due to its presence or absence (Cooper, Heron and Heward,Show MoreRelatedThe Cosmological Argument For The Existence Of God Essay1556 Words   |  7 Pagesmust also be immensely powerful, since it created the universe from nothing. But why has the creative cause she just created the universe? 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