Operant conditioning

Operant Conditioning can be defined as a way of learning , in which positive behaviours are rewarded and negative behaviours are penalised. This is to say, the behaviours that are considered positive are rewarded, therefore will be more likely to be repeated, what is called reinforcement. On the other hand, the behaviours that are viewed as negative are penalised, thus, there are more unlikely to be repeated.
Operant Conditioning does not look at internal thoughts of motivations, only at  external and observable behaviours.
The founder of this theory is Skinner, and was one of the major psychology trends in the 20th Century.

References
 Alleydog.com, (2015). Operant Conditioning definition | Psychology Glossary | alleydog.com. [online] Available at: http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Operant%20Conditioning [Accessed 12 Nov. 2015].


Cherry, and Cherry, K. (2015). Operant Conditioning: What You Need to Know. [online] About.com Education. Available at: http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/introopcond.htm [Accessed 12 Nov. 2015].