Editing Operant conditioning (section)

==Origins==
Operant conditioning originated with [[Edward Thorndike]], whose [[law of effect]] theorised that behaviors arise as a result of consequences as satisfying or discomforting. In the 20th century, operant conditioning was studied by [[Behaviorism|behavioral psychologists]], who believed that much of mind and behaviour is explained through environmental conditioning. Reinforcements are environmental stimuli that increase behaviors, whereas punishments are stimuli that decrease behaviors. Both kinds of stimuli can be further categorised into positive and negative stimuli, which respectively involve the addition or removal of environmental stimuli.

[[Operant conditioning]] differs from [[classical conditioning]] in both mechanism and outcome. While classical conditioning pairs stimuli to produce involuntary, [[reflex]]ive behaviors (like salivating at food), operant conditioning shapes voluntary behaviors through their consequences. Actions followed by rewards tend to be repeated, while those followed by negative outcomes diminish.

The study of animal learning in the 20th century was dominated by the analysis of these two sorts of learning,<ref>Jenkins, H. M. "Animal Learning & Behavior Theory" Ch. 5 in Hearst, E. "The First Century of Experimental Psychology"  Hillsdale N. J.,  Earlbaum, 1979</ref> and they are still at the core of behavior analysis. They have also been applied to the study of [[social psychology]], helping to clarify certain phenomena such as the [[false consensus effect]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Tarantola |first1=Tor |last2=Kumaran |first2=Dharshan |last3=Dayan |first3=Peters |last4=De Martino |first4=Benedetto |date=2017-10-10 |title=Prior preferences beneficially influence social and non-social learning |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=817 |bibcode=2017NatCo...8..817T |doi=10.1038/s41467-017-00826-8 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=5635122 |pmid=29018195 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
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