4.1.3 Operant Conditioning Flashcards
How does operant conditioning compare to classical conditioning in the responses that are learnt?
New behaviours are created in humans/animals in response to a consequence
> Considers VOLUNTARY learning
> Idea that if people behave in a certain way and are rewarded for that behaviour, they’ll repeat it. If punished, they’ll stop behaviour
Define ‘positive reinforcement’.
- Behaviour repeated bc something desirable is given
Give an example of positive reinforcement.
Praise for good grades
What is ‘primary’ positive reinforcement?
One that satisfies a basic need such as getting food.
What is ‘secondary’ positive reinforcement?
One that enables you to access a primary reinforcement such as getting money.
Define ‘negative reinforcement’.
Behaviour repeated bc something undesirable taken away/ to avoid something undesirable
eg. cleaning room to avoid nagging parents
Define ‘positive’ punishment.
Something added to decrease likelihood of behaviour
eg. parent shouting (additional to the undesirable behaviour )
Define ‘negative’ punishment
Something removed to decrease likelihood of behaviour
eg. having phone taken away
List the Schedules of Reinforcement
1) Fixed interval- fixed time when reward/punish given
2)Variable interval- variable time when reward/punish will be recieved
3)Fixed ratio- reward turns up everytime desired behav is carried out
4) Variable ratio- reward dispensed randomly after changing no. of behavs
Define continuous scheduele of reinforcement
When each behaviour receives a reward
Define ‘Shaping Behavs’/ acquisition of OC?
Desired behaviour may have to be shaped by reinforcing steps to attain desired behaviour
Define ‘Extinction’/ Contiguity of behavs in OC/ for effective OC
There shouldn’t be a delay between stimulus and consequence otherwise reinforcement/ punishment is weakened
Define ‘contingency’ for effective OC
When indiv knows exactly what they’re being rewarded/ punished for
Clear link between persons behav and consequence it produces
EACH-Evidence
P- Hobbs & Holt (1976) support
E- Showed that TEPs work to decr antisocial behaviour in a juvenile detention centre.
E- S, TEPs use positive reinforcement to modify undesireable behaviours such as antisocial behav into desirable, social behaviour. Provides evidence for the validity of OC as an explanation for learning behaviours as an active process, as the juveniles learnt to change their behaviour from antisocial to a desireable behaviour.
P-Skinner (1948- Pigeons) supports
E-8 pigeons were starved to incr hunger, then every 15 secs presented w food that swung into cage for 5 secs then swung out. When food was ready to appear, birds carried out strange behav, turning anticlockwise & swaying.
E-S, Skinner believes they carried out superstitions due to the fixed interval of food being presented, this scheduele of reinforcement meant that the pigeons actively learnt when the positive reinforcement of food came so they developed the behaviour of swaying to receive their perceived reward of food. Provides evidence for OC
C/A- Animal studies in a lab exp envir. The conditions are controlled and the task provided is artificial, therefore the research may not be applicable back to learnt behaviour in everyday human life as animals may be driven by more innate factors eg hunger, and may be too different to humans who have different cognition processes and motivations.
EACH-Application
P-Yes
E- Behavioural modification techniques through the aspect of ‘shaping behavs’ ie. teaching social skills to children with autism through reinforcement being maintained when utterances begin to sound like words, and rewards once the child forms the words correctly.
