operant conditioning

the process in which behavioral change (i.e., learning) occurs as a function of the consequences of behavior. Examples are teaching a dog to do tricks and rewarding behavioral change in a misbehaving child (see behavior therapy). The term is essentially equivalent to instrumental conditioning. Also called operant learning. See behavior modification; shaping. [first described by B. F. Skinner]

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Psychology term of the day

November 18th 2024

Labor Management Relations Act

a series of amendments to the National Labor Relations Act that were passed in 1947 to adjust the power balance between unions and employers in the United States, the previous system being regarded as too restrictive of management. The act identified and prohibited certain unfair labor practices of both unions and employers, created the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to aid in resolution of disputes, and provided a mechanism for dealing with strikes that create a national emergency. Sponsored by U.S. lawyer and politician Robert Alphonso Taft (1889–1953) and U.S. politician Fred Allan Hartley Jr. (1902–1969), it is also known as the Taft–Hartley Act.