Operant conditioning is the theory of B.F. Skinner and is defined as "The type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment." Through operant conditioning subjects associate behaviors with their consequences. Therefore, they become more likely to repeat rewarded (reinforced) behaviors and less likely to repeat punished behaviors.

Operant conditioning involves acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization and discrimination. It involves operant behavior because the act operates on the environment to produce rewarding or punishing stimuli

Principles of operant conditioning include the following:

1. Reinforcement - a reinforcer is a thing or stimulus while reinforcement is the effect of this stimulus.
2. Primary reinforcer is a stimulus that is naturally reinforcing; something that people do not need to learn.
3. Generalized reinforcer is a previously neutral stimulus that through repeated pairing with other reinforcers becomes generally reinforced for many behaviors.

As the...