4.1.3 operant conditioning Flashcards
what is operant conditioning?
Involves learning through consequence
suggests that if a person is rewarded for a behaviour, they will continue to do it, if a person is punished, the will not do that behaviour again
what are the 2 types of reinforcers?
- primary reinforcer - the thing that acts as a reinforcer has biological significance e.g food, drink, shelter, etc.
- secondary reinforcer - a reinforcer which has become associated with and allows access to a primary reinforcer e.g. money, tokens, etc.
what is reinforcement?
Occurs when a behaviour is followed by an event that increases the probability of that behaviour being repeated
what is positive reinforcement?
When something pleasant is introduced to an individual following a behaviour, increasing the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated
what is negative reinforcement?
When something unpleasant is removed from the individual following a behaviour, increasing the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated
what is punishment?
Takes place when an event follows a behaviour that decreases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated
what is positive punishment?
When something unpleasant is introduced to the individual following a behaviour, decreasing the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated
what is negative punishment?
When something nice is removed from an individual following a behaviour, decreasing the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated
Skinner box
B.F. Skinner created a box that could dispense food and electric shocks to animals such as rats and pigeons.
The rat or pigeon was given a food pellet when they pressed a lever to positively reinforce this behaviour. This caused the animals to repeat this behaviour.
Negative reinforcement also caused repeated behaviour. Animals were given an electric shock until they pressed the lever. The want to stop the shock caused animals to continue to press the lever.
what is a schedule of reinforcement?
the rules that determine how often an organism is reinforced for a particular behavior
what is continuous reinforcement?
- every instance of a desired behaviour is reinforced
- leads to rapid behavioural change but effects do not last long
e.g. pay a child every time they wash up
what is partial reinforcement?
- reinforce the desired behaviour occasionally (irregular)
- tend to take longer to learn but harder to extinguish
- described as either fixed or variable, and as either interval or ratio.
fixed interval
rewarding a response after a pre-set amount of time
e.g. free cup of coffee every 2 days
variable interval
behaviour is reinforced after varying times
e.g. free cup of coffee after 2 days, then 1 day, then 3 days
fixed ratio
a response is reinforced after a specified number of responses
e.g. free cup of coffee after 8 correct answers
variable ratio
- behaviour is reinforced after varying numbers of responses
- produce behaviour that is hard to extinguish
e.g free cup of coffee after 8 correct answers, then 10 answers, then 15
what is behaviour modification?
using operant conditioning to change behaviour - reinforcement is systematically used to increase a desired behaviour
token economy
- token economy programmes are used successfully to modify undesirable behaviour such as aggression or addiction in closed settings through giving consequence.
- desirable behaviour, such as drug-free urine samples are rewarded with secondary reinforcers (token) which when added up allow access to primary reinforcers (sweets, extra TV time).
shaping
- reinforcing successive approximations to a target behaviour
- starts by reinforcing behaviour which is vaguely like the target behaviour
- then reinforcement only continues each time the behaviour is a step closer to the target behaviour
description of operant conditioning (ao1)
Operant conditioning by BF skinner suggests that we learn our behaviour through consequences either by reinforcement which increases behaviour or punishment which decreases behaviour and there are two types of each.
Positive reinforcement(When someone is given a reward for a behaviour)
Negative reinforcement(when someone does something right and something unpleasant removed),
Positive punishment(adding a negative consequence for a behaviour) and Negative punishment(removing a pleasant consequence for a behaviour).
operant conditioning - supporting evidence
evaluation
P - a strength of the theory is that it has supporting evidence
E - skinner demonstrated that rats/mice could be conditioned through reinforcement in a skinner box which contained a lever. rats/mice learnt to press the lever through pos reinforcement (giving food) and negative reinforcement (an electrical current from the floor would stop when the lever was pressed).
T - this evidence suggests that operant conditioning (OC) is a valid explanation of behaviour
operant conditioning - contradicting theories
evaluation
P - a weakness of the theory is there is contradicting theories
E: - SLT suggests that we learn behaviour (e.g. phobias or aggression) by paying attention to a role model’s behaviour, retaining it and replicating it if we feel motivated to do so, rather than learning through consequences
T - therefore because there are other ways of explaining behaviour OC isn’t a complete explanation, therefore validity is lowered
operant conditioning - application
evaluation
P - Application to real life behaviour
E - Token economy programmes are used successfully to modify undesirable behaviour such as aggression or addiction in closed settings through giving consequence. desirable behaviour, such as drug-free urine samples are rewarded with secondary reinforceres (tokens) which when added up allow access to primary reinforcers (sweets, extra TV time)
T - this is a strength as the principles of the theory can be used to improve people’s quality of life
operant conditioning - reductionist
evaluation
P - a further weakness of the theory is …
E - it reduces complex behaviours such as addicton or aggression down to consequences, suggesting they can be extinguished or modified easily, however token economy schemes are not successful for all individuals
T - therefore by being reductionist, OC theory limits its validity as it ignores how other factors, such as genes or cognitions, play a role in our behaviour
operant conditioning - conclusion
evaluation
overall, there are strengths and weaknesses of OC as an explanation, despite its limitations it offers practical ways to shape people’s behaviour so their quality of life can be improved, however using it in combinatin with other explanations would improve its effectiveness
