Operant conditioning & tourism

Operant conditioning in tourism

Operant conditioning was first introduced by B.F Skinner. His views were that although we do have a mind it was simply more productive to study observable behavior rather than the internal mental events. He stated that behavior which is reinforced tends to be repeated and that behavior which is not reinforced tends to die out. In 1948 Skinner experimented on animals and placed them in a box (Later nicknamed the Skinner box).

Positive reinforcement

In his experiment Skinner found that positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in a box. The box contained a lever which dropped food every time the rat accidentally knocked it over. After a few times of being in a box the rat learned to drop the lever. The consequence of receiving food every time they pressed the lever insured that they would repeatedly press it. Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence that is rewarding for the individual.

Negative reinforcement

On the other hand negative reinforcement strengthens behavior because it ends a negative experience. A way in which Skinner showed negative reinforcement worked was by placing a rat in the box once again. He subjected it to an unpleasant electric current which made it uncomfortable. Whenever the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever and every time it did so the electric current would switch off. Each time the rats were placed in the box they learned to go straight to the current and switch it off. The consequence of escaping the electric current ensured that they would repeat the action each time.

In the Tourism industry

Operant conditioning happens all the time in the industry, it’s a way of companies to compensate customers and reward them for using their services. Various companies in the tourism industry have various ways of rewarding loyal customers. British airways have a rewards system which ranges from the Blue exclusive club, Bronze, Silver and Gold membership. Each time a customer flies with them they get a chance to add points each of their exclusive clubs have different benefits for the consumer. Consumers get attracted to such schemes it’s a good way to draw customers in. Virgin Atlantic also offers air miles for frequent flyers.  Negative reinforcement on the other hand happens the other way round, for example an airline delaying a flight or losing a passenger’s bag, the company would have to find a way to compensate the customer for example rewarding them with a free flight or compensating them back a certain percentage of money to get them into the next earliest flight. The companies mentioned above are not the only ones who do this a few examples include, Starbucks, Subway, and royal Caribbean (Crown & anchor society). In conclusion this is a good marketing scheme for companies lastly it is a good way to enforce customer loyalty. 

References

http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/tiers-and-benefits/lifetime-tier-points

McLeod, S. (2007). Skinner - Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/flying-club/spend-miles/reward-flights/reward-seats.html

Video examples of Operant conditioning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt4N9GSBoMI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA