4-Behavioural Approaches Flashcards
Law of Effect
who coined the term + description
Edward Thorndike
Tendency to repeat behaviours that were successful in the past
Contiguity
definition
when learning occurs because two events/stimuli are experienced close together in time or space
reinforcement
definition
strengthening or reducing a behaviour by providing a positive or negative outcome
Law of Readiness
who coined the term + description
Edward Thorndike
An organisms motivation to perform a behaviour affects the likelihood of learning
??
Thorndike’s subsidiary laws
list
- Law of multiple responses
- Law of set or attitude
- Law of prepotency of elements
- Law of reponse by analogy
- Associative shifting
Law of multiple responses
In a new situation, an organism may try multiple responses until it can find responses that are consequential
(eg: a cat may sniff, lick or claw at a button before pressing it)
Law of set or attitude
previous experiences can effect how we percieve new stimuli
(eg: we may percieve a red button as ‘bad’ and a green button as ‘good’ because of prior experience)
Law of prepotency of elements
capacity to selectively focus on significant details in an environment and ignore others
(eg: focus on a button in a room, not every inch of the floor)
Law of reponse by analogy
approaching new situations using similar experiences from the past
(eg: knowing that buttons with arrows typically control movement for something)
Associative shifting
gradually shifting the response from one stimulus to another through a series of intermediate steps
???
Operant conditioning
founder + description + 3 key terms
B. F. Skinner
learning process where voluntary behaviours are modified using rewards and/or punishments
-
respondents: involuntary responses elicited by stimulus
eg: a dog will naturally want to sniff things in it’s environment -
operants: voluntary responses intended to lead to a consequence
eg: a dog may knock over a cup because it smells a treat underneath - reinforcer: stimulus which increases chance of a behaviour
Reinforcement schedules
description + list types
rules or guidelines dictating how reinforcements will be delivered, their duration (lag between reinforcers) and ratio (responses:reinforcer)
Schedule types:
- continuous
- fixed ratio
- variable ratio
- fixed interval
- variable interval
Continuous Schedule of Reinforcement
description + example + results
ratio: 1:1 reward for every desired behaviour
duration: immediate
eg: dog is given a treat every time it sits
responses:reinforcer (1 sit : 1 treat)
Fixed Ratio Schedule of Reinforcement
description + example + results
ratio: x:1 reward for every x behaviours
duration: N/A
eg: child is given a toy for every 10 chores they complete
graph: post reinforcement pause pattern
responses:reinforcer (10 chores : 1 toy)
Variable Ratio Schedule of Reinforcement
description + example + results
ratio: ?:1 reward has a probability of occurring with every behaviour
duration: N/A
eg: spin the wheel game has a 10% chance of a winning spin
graph: high and steady response pattern
responses:reinforcer (1 wheel spin : 10% chance for reward)
Fixed Interval Schedule of Reinforcement
description + example + results
ratio: N/A
duration: after x time
eg: employee is paid once per week if they show up for work
graph: scalloped response pattern
reward is independent quality or quantity of work
Variable Interval Schedule of Reinforcement
description + example + results
ratio: N/A
duration: after ? time
eg: elevator will show up after pressing the button, waiting time will vary
graph: steady response pattern
Premack Principle
description + example
Placing reinforcing tasks (preferred activity) after less preferred activities (desired behaviour) to increase the likelihood that the less preferred activity is repeated
eg: watching a show after studying to reinforce and increase motivation for the studying behaviour
what does PSMU stand for and mean?
Problematic Social Media Use
uncontrollable urge to engage with social media for excessive periods of time
what are the components that can signal PSMU?
- Salience: social networking is the single most important aspect of their life
- Mood Modification: SM use elicits a buzz or high for the purpose of escape or numbing
- Tolerance: time spent on SM gradually increases
- Withdrawal Symptoms: unpleasant affective state or physical symptoms when SM cannot be used
- Conflict: SM conflicts with important life activities
- Relapse: tendency to revert to excessive SM use after periods of control
Concurrent schedule
for reinforcement, description + example
2 or more schedules of reinforcement are offered and associated with different behaviours
eg: restaurant offers 2 reward plans –> 1: free meal after 5 visits (fixed ratio) 2: redeem a free meal once a month (fixed interval)
Magazine Training
description
behavioural training technique where a magazine (food delivery system) is used in an operant conditioning chamber (Skinner box)
Extinction rate
description + rank extinction rates in various schedules
the amount of time it takes for an organism to stop responding after reinforcement is removed
most rapid extinction
1. continuous schedule
2. fixed schedule
3. variable schedule
most resistance to extinction
Skinner’s rules for behaviourism
list 3
- Rely exclusively on observable phenomena
- Psychology is an objective science
- Analyze behaviour without speculation of psychological events/subjective mental events
Rat OCD study
basic steps leading up to data collection
- classical conditioning: train rat to get food from machine, preceeded by a light and tone
- operant conditioning: train rat to press a lever for the food, lever also triggers light and tone
- extinction: light and tone shown without lever or food reward
- OCD symptoms: lever reintroduced, lever pressing measured (collect whether or not rat checked for food after pressing)
Rat OCD study
results
high dose of drug associated with less lever pressing (both pressing followed by checking for food and pressing without checking)
see graph in notes
Increased activation in which area of the brain is linked to OCD symptom provocation?
Orbitofrontal cortex and striatum, including the caudate
