Industrial Training Course

Any response, which reduces the intensity or removes an unpleasant stimulus, is said to be negatively reinforced. Just like positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement increases the probability that the response will take place again. Negative reinforcement produces two types of learning; escape and avoidance. Skinner believed escape and avoidance were very common in human society. Punishment involves an unwilling stimulus following a response. This reduces the probability of that response happening again.

Punishment can be used in the design of the industrial training course, like for example a trainer responds by telling the trainees the rules and the codes of practice of the company in the training course.

Followed by the real life implications that has occurred in the past when these rules have been broken, this will reduces the chances of any other trainees misbehaving in the future. Skinner (1965) experimented with rewards and punishment. He showed that a response would be learned when it was rewarded.

Learning took place by using rewards for positive behaviours rather than by punishing inappropriate behaviours.

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Punishment plays a role in changing behaviour; therefore it should be used sparingly. Operant theorists believe that reward is a more powerful method of shaping behaviour than punishment. This is true because punishment only indicates what response a person should disown, while reward on the other hand has the morality to indicate what behaviour is required.

Skinner believed that programmes in this case training courses should be designed to make the chances of a learner (the trainer) making a mistake as close to zero as possible.

This is true to some extent, since training is given so mistakes made can be identified and learned from, but on the other hand training an employee cannot make them a perfect candidate, who will not mistakes at all. Classical conditioning being an emotional response, whereas operant conditioning is an analytical response having to do with cause and effect.

It involves thinking and reasoning. In conclusion operant conditioning should be used rather than classical conditioning in the design of an industrial training course. Overall the key elements of operant conditioning that are most likely to be used should be the response and the positive reinforcement as it increases the probability of the former response happening again, which can be useful for the industrial company.

Also reward should be more likely to be used in the design of the industrial training course. It is not to say that punishment should not necessarily be used at all, but it can be used if the trainee feels the need to use it. However, it is not considered as important as the other elements in operant conditioning. Overall the key elements of classical conditioning that are most likely to be used is the unconditioned and conditioned stimulus and response.