8: Skinner - Learning

Question 1

B.F. Skinner’s system of altering behavior - a behavior is followed by a consequence, and the nature of the consequence (positive/negative) modifies the organism’s tendency to repeat the behavior

Answer 1

operant conditioning

Question 2

a stimulus that increases the operant and increases the probability of the behavior occurring

Answer 2

reinforcing stimulus

Question 3

any behavior that is freely emitted by an organism in response to its environment

Answer 3

operant

Question 4

a cage for testing operant conditioning on rats, with a pedal on one side that releases food - researcher can also control light and sound in the cage

Answer 4

Skinner box

Question 5

when an operant behavior no longer causes a reinforcing stimulus, making it less likely to occur going forward

Answer 5

extinction

Question 6

schedule of reinforcement in which every time an operant behavior is done, it results in a reinforcing stimulus

Answer 6

continuous reinforcement

Question 7

schedule of reinforcement in which every “x” number of times an operant behavior is done, it results in a reinforcing stimulus (ex. every 3 times pedal is pressed, a piece of food comes out)

Answer 7

fixed ratio schedule

Question 8

schedule of reinforcement in which every “x” length of time an operant behavior is done, it results in a reinforcing stimulus (ex. every 20 seconds, pedal will release a piece of food - even if pressed 100 times in that 20 seconds, only one piece of food will be given)

Answer 8

fixed interval schedule

Question 9

schedule of reinforcement in which the number of behaviors or length of time for a reinforcing stimulus to occur changes every time, keeping individual constantly “on their toes”- behavior is resistant to extinction (gambling addiction)

Answer 9

variable schedule

Question 10

method of operant conditioning in which you reinforce a behavior only vaguely similar to one desired, then reinforce variations that gradually come closer until achieving desired behavior (teaching pigeons to bowl) - reinforcing successive approximations of a zero base rate behavior

Answer 10

shaping

Question 11

operant conditioning method inspired by behaviorist Joseph Wolpe - encouraging an individual with a phobia to relax their muscles while imagining increasingly frightening scenarios, until even the worst scenario does not arouse tension

Answer 11

systematic desensitization

Question 12

opposite of a reinforcing stimulus - something that is found unpleasant or painful and discourages a behavior

Answer 12

aversive stimulus

Question 13

inflicting an aversive stimulus to make a behavior less likely to occur in the future

Answer 13

punishment

Question 14

increasing probability of a certain behavior by removing an active aversive stimulus when the behavior is done (ex. blaring a noise until a rat stands on its hind legs, at which point the noise stops - rat does more standing)

Answer 14

negative reinforcement

Question 15

therapy technique based on Skinner’s work - remove an undesirable behavior by removing its reinforcer, and replace it with a desirable behavior by adding a reinforcer

Answer 15

behavior modification (b-mod)

Question 16

an offshoot of behavior modification in certain institutions (schools, prisons) - behaving yourself appropriately, according to certain rules, is rewarded with a “token”, and behaving inappropriately results in the removal of a “token” - tokens can be exchanged for desirable things

Answer 16

token economy

Question 17

book written by B.F. Skinner, in which he describes a utopian society run on his operant principles

Answer 17

Walden II

Question 18

book written by B.F. Skinner in response to criticisms of Walden II - emphasizes that his “utopia” doesn’t take away freedoms (no negative reinforcement) and simply encourages positive behaviors

Answer 18

Beyond Freedom and Dignity

Question 19

concepts that Skinner deems unobservable and therefore useless for scientific psychology (“freedom”, “dignity”, “unconscious”, “archetypes”, “self-actualization”, even “hunger” and “thirst”)

Answer 19

mentalistic constructs

Question 20

Skinner’s term that derides concept of a “little man” that lives inside us - concepts like soul, mind, ego, will, self, personality, which he feels should not be focused on since they aren’t observable

Answer 20

homunculus

Question 21

branch of psychology started by James Watson which attempts to define “laws” that pertain to learning - focuses only on observable behaviors

Answer 21

behaviorism

Question 22

form of behaviorism that rejects absolutely everything that isn’t observable or measurable (B.F. Skinner)

Answer 22

radical behaviorism

Question 23

an individual’s collection of usual behaviors, built up from years of experience with stimulus, response and reward

Answer 23

basic behavioral repertoire (BBR)

Question 24

in behaviorist terms, the combination of one’s BBR interacting with their current environmental conditions, leading to predictable behavior

Answer 24

personality

Question 25

Skinner’s invention which created a “perfect environment” for raising a child, in which the air inside was filtered and humidified

Answer 25

Aircrib

Question 26

when something is dependent on the occurrence of another thing (ex. you must work in order to get paid)

Answer 26

contingency

Question 27

the number of responses emitted in a period of time - any change is evidence of learning

Answer 27

response rate

Question 28

an added stimulus contingent on a response that increases behavior

Answer 28

positive reinforcer

Question 29

a removed stimulus contingent on a response that increases behavior

Answer 29

negative reinforcer

Question 30

an added stimulus contingent on a response that decreases behavior

Answer 30

positive punisher

Question 31

a removed stimulus contingent on a response that decreases behavior

Answer 31

negative punisher

Question 32

response rate prior to conditioning

Answer 32

base rate

Question 33

an innate stimulus that increases behavior (biologically-based)

Answer 33

primary reinforcer

Question 34

a learned stimulus that increases behavior

Answer 34

secondary reinforcer

Question 35

learning to respond differentially depending on different environmental stimuli

Answer 35

discrimination learning

Question 36

responding to similar stimuli as if they were the one present during conditioning though they actually weren’t

Answer 36

generalization

Question 37

the specific contingency between a response and its reinforcement (what specifically must be done, based on time or number of responses)

Answer 37

schedule of reinforcement

Question 38

schedule of reinforcement in which the average of the number of responses necessary to receive a reward equals a specific number

Answer 38

variable ratio schedule

Question 39

schedule of reinforcement in which the average amount of time necessary to receive a reward equals a specific number

Answer 39

variable interval schedule

Question 40

determining, through careful observation, the stimuli and consequences that are influencing behavior

Answer 40

functional analysis

Question 41

explaining behavior in terms of mental states - Skinner and behaviorists reject this approach

Answer 41

mentalism

Question 42

psychologist who proposed “psychological behaviorism” which merged ideas from psychoanalysis and behaviorism - used token economies and time outs

Answer 42

Arthur Staats

Question 43

procedure created by Arthur Staats, where to address a problem behavior, an environment is created in which the reinforcement is no longer present, allowing extinction to occur - frequently used on children

Answer 43

time out