--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The strengthening of behavior which…" description: "\"The strengthening of behavior which results from reinforcement is appropriately called 'conditioning'. In operant conditioning we 'strengthen' an opera..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_the-strengthening-of-behavior-which-resu_1865804.jpg" --- # The strengthening of behavior which results from… ![“The strengthening of behavior which results from reinforcement is appropriately called 'conditioning'. In operant conditioning we 'strengthen' an operant in the sense of making a response more probable or, in actual fact, more frequent.” quote by B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_the-strengthening-of-behavior-which-resu_1865804.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_the-strengthening-of-behavior-which-resu_1865804.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_the-strengthening-of-behavior-which-resu_1865804.jpg) > “The strengthening of behavior which results from reinforcement is appropriately called 'conditioning'. In operant conditioning we 'strengthen' an operant in the sense of making a response more probable or, in actual fact, more frequent.” [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior, shaping habits through rewards or punishments. **In simple terms:** Reinforcement strengthens habits. Key Takeaway Use positive feedback to build desired actions. Themes learning behavior motivation Mood analytical practical Type educational psychological When to use this quote - education - workplace training - habit formation - parenting Key Concepts operant conditioning reinforcement theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance external reinforcement with internal drive? - When might punishment backfire? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on external rewards may reduce intrinsic motivation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Called Conditioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-conditioning-2542504/) [Conditioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditioning/) [Conditioning Operant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditioning-operant-2542500/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Operant Conditioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/operant-conditioning-2542501/) [Reinforcement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reinforcement/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Strengthen Operant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strengthen-operant-2542502/) [Strengthening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strengthening/) [Strengthening Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strengthening-behavior-2542503/) ## Related quotes > [“Operant conditioning is not confined to deliberate training; it is one way that cats learn how to deal with whatever surroundings they find themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bradshaw/operant-conditioning-is-not-confined-to-deliberate-training-it-is-one/) [John Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bradshaw/) > [We have seen that in certain respects operant reinforcement resembles the natural selection of evolutionary theory. Just as genetic characteristics which arise as mutations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/we-have-seen-that-in-certain-respects-operant-reinforcement-resembles/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Properly used, positive reinforcement is extremely powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/properly-used-positive-reinforcement-is-extremely-powerful/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The way positive reinforcement is carried out is more important than the amount.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-way-positive-reinforcement-is-carried-out-is-more-important-than/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [To say that a man is sinful because he sins is to give an operational definition of sin. To say that he sins because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/to-say-that-a-man-is-sinful-because-he-sins-is-to-give-an-operational/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Reinforcement is being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/reinforcement-is-being-right/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [“What I mean is something like a closed circuit. Everybody on the same frequency. And after a while you forget about the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/what-i-mean-is-something-like-a-closed-circuit-everybody-on-the-same/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [Fussing over children who cry only encourages them. That's positive reinforcement for negative behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/fussing-over-children-who-cry-only-encourages-them-that-s-positive/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [In our view any awareness is an increment to consciousness, an added light, a reinforcement of psychic coherence. Its swiftness or instantaneity can hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-our-view-any-awareness-is-an-increment-to-consciousness-an-added/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [It is more important that you should know about the reverses than about the successes of the war. We shall have all eternity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/it-is-more-important-that-you-should-know-about-the-reverses-than/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) > [I suppose there's something to be said for the sheer reinforcement of our beliefs, but really I think poetry is more useful as disenchantment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-suppose-there-s-something-to-be-said-for-the-sheer-reinforcement-of/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [I had a very marginal understanding of what faith in God was growing up because, although I went to a Catholic school, without having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mauceri/i-had-a-very-marginal-understanding-of-what-faith-in-god-was-growing/) [Patricia Mauceri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mauceri/) > [The secret of literature, which conventional people don't guess, is that writers are forever looking for the surprising revelation - not for reinforcement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bly/the-secret-of-literature-which-conventional-people-don-t-guess-is/) [Carol Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bly/) > [Instead of yelling and spanking, which dont work anyway, I believe in finding creative ways to keep their attention - turning things into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-richardson/instead-of-yelling-and-spanking-which-dont-work-anyway-i-believe-in/) [Patricia Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-richardson/) > [Never mind the odds against you. If you doubled your effort, what would the odds against you do — send for reinforcements?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/never-mind-the-odds-against-you-if-you-doubled-your-effort-what-would/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## More by B. F. Skinner > [To require a citizen to sign a loyalty oath is to destroy some of the loyalty he could otherwise claim, since any subsequent loyal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/to-require-a-citizen-to-sign-a-loyalty-oath-is-to-destroy-some-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A first principle not formally recognized by scientific methodologists: when you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-first-principle-not-formally-recognized-by-scientific/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The problem of far greater importance remains to be solved. Rather than build a world in which we shall all live well, we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-problem-of-far-greater-importance-remains-to-be-solved-rather/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I remember when I was a freshman in college, I was still somewhat bothered by... worried... about religion. I remember going to this professor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-remember-when-i-was-a-freshman-in-college-i-was-still-somewhat/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Those who have had anything useful to say have said it far too often, and those who have had nothing to say have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/those-who-have-had-anything-useful-to-say-have-said-it-far-too-often/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I would be opposed to any kind of totalitarian control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-would-be-opposed-to-any-kind-of-totalitarian-control/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A disappointment is not generally an oversight. It might just be the best one can do the situation being what it is. The genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-disappointment-is-not-generally-an-oversight-it-might-just-be-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The simplest and most satisfactory view is that thought is simply behavior - verbal or nonverbal, covert or overt. It is not some mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-simplest-and-most-satisfactory-view-is-that-thought-is-simply/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/behavior-is-shaped-and-maintained-by-its-consequences/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The alphabet was a great invention, which enabled men to store and to learn with little effort what others had learned the hard way-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-alphabet-was-a-great-invention-which-enabled-men-to-store-and-to/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The people who control the condition in which we live have no reason to think beyond more than the next five or 10 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-people-who-control-the-condition-in-which-we-live-have-no-reason/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I am opposed to the military use of animals. I am also opposed to the military use of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-am-opposed-to-the-military-use-of-animals-i-am-also-opposed-to-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A person's genetic endowment, a product of the evolution of the species, is said to explain part of the workings of his mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-person-s-genetic-endowment-a-product-of-the-evolution-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Reinforcement is being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/reinforcement-is-being-right/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [If you're old, don't try to change yourself, change your environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/if-you-re-old-don-t-try-to-change-yourself-change-your-environment/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) [Explore all 105 B. F. Skinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. Willard Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-gibbs/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I think we've told a lot of lies about human behavior through film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-think-we-ve-told-a-lot-of-lies-about-human-behavior-through-film/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The strengthening of behavior which results from reinforcement is appropriately called 'conditioning'. In operant conditioning we 'strengthen' an operant in the sense of making a response more probable or, in actual fact, more frequent.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "B. F. 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