From Pigeons to Media — The Influence of Operant Conditioning
It’s amazing to realize the amount of behavioral psychology present in everyday life. When you think of behaviorism, you typically think of dusty old experiments with pigeons by B.F. Skinner.
However, those theories are very much alive in our daily lives; especially when it comes to things that are digital.
About B.F. Skinner
Burrhus Fredric Skinner (B.F. Skinner) was an American psychologist and behaviorist. He received his Ph.D from Harvard University in 1931 and returned to teach there as a Professor in 1948. He stayed on as a Professor at Harvard till his retirement in 1974.
Skinner had been influenced by the work of John B. Watson’s and his philosophy of psychology called behaviorism. His work, “rejected not just the introspective method and the elaborate psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Jung, but any psychological explanation based on mental states or internal representations such as beliefs, desires, memories, and plans.”
In simple terms, this meant that Watson fought against the notion of there being “free-will” in an individual. Rather a person’s free-will controlling their actions, he believed a person was controlled by their behavior and the society around them. Skinner believed in this behaviorist outlook and he believed that “free will” was an illusion. Instead, he saw that human actions were dependent on the consequences of previous actions, which led to his to the creation of his “Principal of Reinforcement”. His work in this area, compelled him to develop his theory on Operant Conditioning.
What is Operant Conditioning?
Operant Conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through this, an individual makes an association between a particular behavior and a consequence. When Skinner was testing this method, he would use pigeons and rats as his tests subjects and would put them in Skinner boxes. Named after himself, the Skinner boxes would teach the animals behavior through rewards and punishments. For example, Skinner taught pigeons how to “read” by using this technique. He would have the word “Peck” appear, and the bird had learned through operant conditioning that he would be rewarded with food. If the word “turn” appeared, the bird knew to rotate around in the box. The pigeons were compelled to correctly complete these tasks due to the reward of food.
Operant Conditioning uses two different methods: reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement is used when a desired behavior is wanted to be increased or repeated. This method often uses rewards to increase the behavior, like the pigeons being given food for their behavior. In punishment, an undesired behavior is trying to be decreased. An example of this would be in the image above, with the rat being shocked for trying to touch the lever.
Examples of Operant Conditioning in Modern Games
Ed, Edd, N’ Eddy — Episode ‘My Fair Eddy’
This Cartoon Network series ran in the early 2000s. The series displayed the crazy antics and schemes that the main characters, Ed, Edd, and Eddy, would get into. However, the episode ‘My Fair Eddy’, dealt with the topic of Operant Conditioning.
Edd, or more commonly called Double D, decided to conduct an experiment with Operant Conditioning on Ed and Eddy. The experiment consisted of trying to teach the two characters better manners. In particular, Double D used negative punishment to reinforce the positive behavior with their manners. Double D placed Band-Aids on the back of Ed and Eddy’s heads and would rip them off if they displayed bad manners. After 3 Band-Aids had been pulled off, both Ed and Eddy were more compelled to act with good manners. By the end of the scene, both characters were hesitant to display any bad manners, due to the risk of having another Band-Aid pulled off.
Cuphead — Punishing Gameplay
Cuphead is a “classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles”. Developed by Studio MDHR, the game took inspiration from 1930s era cartoons. However, the game became widely known for being extremely punishing and difficult for players.
The game uses the Operant Conditioning method, mainly by its use of distributing negative punishments to players, rather than reward. Like in many classic games, the player only has a limited number of lives to beat the Boss in the Boss battles. This requires the players to have to play very precise and to not be careless. If the player gets hit during the battle and loses all of their lives, it is extremely punishing. The player must then restart the battle from the very beginning, since there are no checkpoints. The reward of operant conditioning comes from when a player is finally able to beat a boss, or even if they are able to beat one stage of a boss battle.
There are also levels in Cuphead called “Run and Guns” that allows the player to try and collect 4 coins hidden on the level, that they can then use in the store to upgrade their abilities. Collecting these coins could be seen as a reward in operant conditioning. However, these levels are also punishing due to having a certain number of lives to complete the level. Also, there is usually a mini-boss battle at the end of the levels. Overall, the Operant Conditioning in Cuphead mainly focuses on the punishment aspect to try and control the players behavior.
Overwatch — Endorsements & Rewards
Overwatch is an online, multiplayer first-person shooter, that focuses heavily on team-based gameplay. Created by Blizzard Entertainment, the game involves teams of 6 to complete various map objectives, all while dealing with an opponent team. This may involve defending a point from the opposing team or pushing a payload while dealing with the opposing team. Due to the team-based element of the game, it is important for teammates to have good communication and positive behavior. Also, having your opponent’s display positive attitudes and sportsmanship creates a better gameplay environment. However, the game suffered from negative behavior and toxicity from the player-base. This led to Blizzard developing a feature that incorporates methods of Operant Conditioning: Endorsements.
After a game has ended in Overwatch, players can award their teammates or opponents, with Endorsements. There are 3 categories of Endorsements that players can choose from: Shot Caller, Good Teammate, and Sportsmanship. The Shot Caller endorsement should be awarded to players that lead or execute strategies on the battlefield. This could mean that a player provided good communication on strategies over the team chat. The Good Teammate endorsement is awarded to players that are highly effective team players. This could mean that the player stayed with the team and did not wander off. The Shot Caller and the Good Teammate endorsements can only be given to players on the same team as you, they cannot be given to opponents. However, the Sportsmanship endorsement can be given to teammates or opponents, who are a positive influence on the game. This player could have simply said “good round” or “good game” in the chat, to display their sportsmanship.
These 3 categories of endorsements accumulate and provide an overall Endorsement Level for your account. The Endorsement Level goes from 1 to 5, and awards players for being a higher level. Players are randomly awarded a certain number of Lootboxes, depending on their Endorsement Level. Lootboxes provide players with new cosmetic items to use in the game, like character skins, player icons, and voice lines. Overall, the Endorsement feature in Overwatch creates positive reinforcement. Players want to be on their best behavior in the game, to gain a high Endorsement Level and earn more Lootboxes.
Bad Examples of Operant Conditioning
Big Bang Theory — Episode ‘The Focus Attenuation’
The Big Bang Theory was a popular television show that ran for 12 seasons on CBS. The show detailed the life of a group of friends, who were all nerdy and scientist. In the episode, ‘The Focus Attenuation’ the group tries to use punishment aspect of Operant Conditioning, so they stay on topic and finish their experiment. However, the group fails at using Operant Conditioning, due to their methods.
Leonard, Sheldon, Raj, and Howard, all agree to use Operant Conditioning to stay on track for their experiment. The group decides to put multiple pieces of duct tape on their arms, which will be the inflictor of the negative punishment. When a member of the group goes off-topic, the group is supposed to rip the duct tape off of their arm. However, the group fails to put proper guidelines in place about the duct tape. This leads to general confusion, particularly from Sheldon, about how to execute the Operant Conditioning properly. Ultimately their lack of guidelines and rules about the duct tape, leads the group to go further off-topic from their experiment.
The Stanley Parable — ‘The Eight Game’
The Stanley Parable is an interactive drama and walking simulator. Developed by Galactic Cafe, the game is unique due to its gameplay. The game involves the player to guide a silent protagonist named Stanley, through multiple pathways. The game is also being narrated by a British voice, who interjects to add funny remarks or add to the story. The multiple pathways and options the game presents, allows for a number of different endings. The game gained popularity due to its humor and unorthodox gameplay. To promote the game with audiences, the developers released a demo of The Stanley Parable. The demo of the game became known as ‘The Eight Game’ and is a bad example of Operant Conditioning.
The demo of the Stanley Parable involves the player traveling pathways, until they reach the end room. In the room, there’s a button with the number 8 labeled on it, along with five black screens. When the player presses the ‘8-button’, the number 8 appears on the black screens and a deadpan voice announces, “Eight”. The British Narrator becomes confused why this is the end of the demo and that something must have gone wrong. The narrator tries to convince the player to leave the room with the 8-button, so that they can finish the demo. However, the player is allowed to stay pressing the 8 button as long as they want. The only punishment the player receives, are snide remarks from the British narrator. The narrator quickly becomes annoyed with the player for continuing ‘The Eight Game’ and eventually gives up on trying to make the player leave. Due to losing snide remarks from the narrator and avoiding any other form of punishment, the player is allowed to continue the 8-button game without any repercussions. “The Eight Game” became a meme with gamers when it was first released, which resulted in players spending hours pressing the 8-button. Without any continuous form of punishment, players pushed the boundaries with the demo.
Conclusion
I hope I’ve been able to show you how operant conditioning is used as a powerful ingredient in several forms of interactive media. Once you understand how it works, it’s much easier to harness it’s power. It also helps you understand how it can shape your own behavior, as you play a video game or use social media.
