Learning and memory are central topics in behavioral neuroscience, and inbred mice strains are widely investigated. However, operant conditioning techniques are not as extensively used in this field as they should be, given the effectiveness of the methodology of the experimental analysis of behavior. In the present study, male C57Bl/6 mice,…

Results of numerous human imaging studies and nonhuman neurophysiological studies on "reward" highlight a role for frontal, striatal, and thalamic regions in operant learning. By integrating operant and functional neuroimaging methodologies, the present investigation examined brain activation to two types of discriminative stimuli correlated with…

Currently, three theories of learning dominate classroom practice. First, B.F. Skinner's Theory of Operant Conditioning states that if behavior, including learning behavior, is reinforced, the probability of its being repeated increases strongly. Different types and schedules of reinforcement have been studied, by Skinner and others, and the…

Reports on a behavior modification study conducted at Stanford University in California nearly 10 years ago. Details the project and provides follow-up data eight years later. (EJT)

This study investigated the effects of prior experience with contingent or noncontingent stimulation of infants' ability to learn different responses to control perceptual stimulation. In the pretest phase, baseline rates of level movement, panel press and vocal responding were determined for each of the twelve, 6-month-old infants in the study.…

This research paper generally relates psychology to teaching; specifically, behavior shaping to curriculum planning. Reports are cited that emphasize operant learning as a means of behavior modification. In this instance, the teacher provides a favorable learning situation and arranges environmental factors to increase or decrease the frequency of…

Assess the effects of patient-experimenter proximity on schizophrenics' learning when the social class of the subjects, both schizophrenics and nonschizophrenics, and the verbal and nonverbal components of social reinforcement are controlled. Also tests males and females to determine whether sex of subjects moderates the responses of…

Article discusses selected observations on behaviorally oriented approaches to counseling, defines behavioral counseling, and examines current techniques. (Author/RK)

Discusses Piaget's and Skinner's approaches to instruction and indicates the possibility of a muddled education system through the superimposition of the new theories on the older ones. (CC)