Psychologist B. F Skinner believed that "changes in behavior are the result of an individual's response to events (stimuli) occurring in the environment" ( All About Operant Conditioning, 2006, paragraph 2). The following article will discuss a learning situation where an exercise routine is thought of. The article will evaluate the application of instrumental conditioning to this learning situation. As part of the analysis the learning situation will be described, the paper will compare and contrast the concepts of positive and negative reinforcement in relation to the learning situation and explain the role of reward and punishment in learning an exercise routine. Finally, the article will explain what form of instrumental conditioning would be most effective in teaching someone an exercise routine. Instrumental conditioning is the learning procedure that believes that “the organism must act in a certain way before being reinforced; that is, reinforcement depends on the behavior of the organism” (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2005, p. 23). The major contributors to instrumental conditioning are B.F. Skinner, John Watson, and Edward Thorndike. These three theorists believed that “learning is the result of applying consequences; that is, students begin to connect certain responses with certain stimuli” (Huitt & Hummel, 1997, Para 1). In society, the behaviors that individuals display are behaviors learned through some form of conditioning. The human brain is a “thinking organ that learns and grows by interacting with the world through perception and action” (Russo-Neustadt, Beard, & Cotman, 2000, p.305). Exercise is thought to improve brain function and protect against cognitive decline. Studies on the exe... half of the article... 1, 2010 from http://motivationcentre.blogspot.com/2006/07/all-about-operant-conditioning.htmlHergenhahn, BR, & Olson, MH (2005 ). An introduction to learning theories (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (1997). An introduction to operant (instrumental) conditioning. Interactive educational psychology. The Journal of Social Issues, 63 (1), 199. Retrieved February 11, 2010, from the ProQuest database. Russo-Neustadt, A., Beard, Y., Cotman, C. (2000). Physical activity and antidepressant treatment enhance the expression of specific brain-derived neurotrophic factor transcripts in the rat hippocampus. Journal of Neuroscience. 101, 305-312. Retrieved February 11, 2010, from ProQuest.Terry, W.S. (2009). Learning and memory: basic principles, processes and procedures. (4th edition). Boston. Allyn and Bacon.