Operant Conditioning (Lateralization Article)

In class we have learned about four different types of operant conditioning.  Operant conditioning works to modify voluntary behavior as a result of consequences and two types were used to train the bees in this experiment.  The first is positive reinforcement, which was used to train the bees to associate extending their proboscis in expectation of a reward.  The researchers conditioned the bees to extend their proboscis only when they smelled sugar water or sugar water mixed with a scent to train them in recognizing the correct scent.  The other type of operant conditioning used in this experiment was punishment, which was used to train bees to associate extending their proboscis to salt water or salt water mixed with a scent with a negative experience.  The bees that extended their proboscis towards salt water would receive a drop of saltwater in the mouth, which was a negative experience.  These two types of conditioning allowed the scientists to train bees to extend their proboscis to sugar water and not to salt water.