Have you ever wondered exactly why people do what they do? According to a school of thought known as behaviorism, it all ...

Operant conditioning, sometimes called instrumental conditioning or Skinnerian conditioning, is a method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior. Through operant conditioning, ...

This is the second in my ongoing series of articles trying to provide basic lead ins to behaviorist theory. The first is here. How to Explain Behaviorism, version 2: We are Reflections of our World A ...

One of the main influences on our behavior is the consequences of our actions, especially those that come shortly after we perform that action. For example, when a behavior is followed by positive and ...

In Jarek Janio’s Inside Higher Ed opinion column, “Beyond ‘Grit’ and ‘Growth Mindsets,’” Janio argues that, to promote better student learning, college instructors should ignore questions about ...

Positive punishment is a form of behavior modification. In this case, the word “positive” doesn’t refer to something pleasant. Positive punishment is adding something to the mix that will result in an ...