Seals in an aquarium repeating behaviors like slapping and barking to prompt people to toss them a herring illustrate:
Social Studies · High School · Mon Jan 18 2021
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- The behavior that the seals are demonstrating in an aquarium by slapping and barking to prompt people to toss them a herring is an example of "operant conditioning."
- Operant conditioning is a learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment. In the case of the seals, the slapping and barking behaviors have likely been reinforced in the past; when they performed these behaviors, they received a herring as a reward.
- As a result, they have learned to associate the behaviors with a positive outcome (getting the herring), so they repeat these actions in anticipation of receiving the reward.