Operant conditioning is B.F. Skinner’s name for instrumental learning: learning by consequences. Not a new idea, of course. Humanity has always known how to teach children and animals by means of ...

Positive reinforcement, a key component of operant conditioning, increases the likelihood of repeating a behavior by adding a rewarding stimulus after the behavior occurs. Whether it's receiving ...

This refers to a form of learning wherein certain forms of voluntary behaviour are either encouraged or discouraged through the appropriate use of rewards and punishment. Such learning happens because ...

Scientists have come one step closer to unraveling the molecular basis of learning. Neurobiologists have now discovered the first gene for operant conditioning in the fruit fly Drosophila. Their ...