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]

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

May 6th 2024

grapheme

n. a minimal meaningful unit in the writing system of a particular language. It is usually a letter or fixed combination of letters corresponding to a phoneme in that language. —graphemic adj.