Operant Conditioning In Coaching

What is operant conditiong? Operant conditioning also known as instrumental conditioning is an association between behaviour and consequence.

Why is operant conditioning applicable in coaching?

Positive and negative reinforcement works for the process of learning or teaching to get the desired beahviour or outcome.

How can it help learners pick up tennis more effectively?

Creating a positive environment in terms of setting the appropriate behaviour can help improve learning.

How do we improve the use of operant conditioning in our daily lives?

In daily lives context, we can practice use of operant conditioning for example going for a 10 min favourite show for a 10 min.

The Mac's meal after the workout might seem counter productive for a weight loss goal but the reward for the effort to bear in mind from the start would be operant conditioning in play.

It is also applicable to nurturing kids behaviour however we shall not divert from sports coaching context too much.

Operant conditioning for kids versus adults. How kids or adults might respond to feedback?

Kids

Kids generally don't grasp consequences as well as adults which would mean punishments would need to be used more sparingly while managing their motivation and can be counterproductive

Adults

Overwhelming use of postiive or negative feedback can affect adults too. It would depend on the age, development and motivation of the person as well.