9 - Behaviorism After Watson (Neobehaviorism) Flashcards
Logical positivism
The position that unobservable mental events can be used as explanatory agents as long as they are explanatory, operationally defined, and logically tied to observable events
Positivism
The position that science should only be concerned with objective, publicly observable events
Operational definition
Defines an abstract concept in terms of the procedures used to measure it
Edward Chace Tolman
Purposive behaviorism
Intervening variables
Purposive behaviorism
An approach that emphasizes goal-directed behavior that ceases when the goal is reached
Cognitive maps
A mental representation of the environment acquired through experience
Hypothetico-deductive method
1) generating postulates derived from existing learning research
2) inferring theorems generating testable propositions
Reaction potential postulates (Hull)
Any effective habit strength (SR) is sensitized in reaction potentiality (SR) by the primary drives active within an organism at a given time, the magnitude of this potentiality being a product obtained by multiplying an increasing function of SHR by an increasing function of drive (D)
Mathematical statement of reaction potential postulate
SR = f(SHR) x f(D)
SER is the reaction potential or likelihood of a learned response occurring in a given situation
SHR is the number of reinforcements in a given situation
D equals the strength of the dominant primary drive at a given moment
Drive (Hull)
A nonspecific activated state of an organism caused by a physiological need
Include hunger, thirst, pain and the needs for air, avoidance of tissue injury, defecation, micturition, rest after exertion, sleep, and activity; drive for sexual intercourse and care of the young
Primary reinforcer
Any event that leads directly to the reduction of a primary drive
It increases the likelihood of the behavior that directly precedes it
Secondary reinforcers
Stimuli associated with the reduction of a primary drive that may become reinforcers themselves. For example, money.
Operant chamber (Skinner box)
In this, a rat could be conditioned to press a lever, would then receive a food pellet (or not) from an automated dispenser, and its responses would be recorded automatically
Behavior as defined by Skinner
The movement of an organism or of its parts in a frame of reference provided by the organism itself or by various external objects or fields of force
Explanatory fiction
Using a hypothetical internal factor mediating between a stimulus and response and then using that factor to explain behavior
B.F. Skinner’s research paradigm
1) Atheoretical and descriptive in the spirit of Bacon
2) Inductive logic in accordance with strict positivism
3) Laboratory based; single subject; animal model
4) Dependent measure of response rate, not errors or time
5) Control conditions and you will get order
6) If you see something fascinating, go with it
7) Be on the lookout for easier ways to do things and fortuitous events
Type S (respondent conditioning)
A stimulus elicits a response by the contiguous presentation of two stimuli, one that elicited the response beforehand and one that did not
Type R (operant conditioning)
The response is elicited by the organism on a voluntary basis, and becomes conditioned to the stimulus because of its effect
Schedules of reinforcement
Fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval
Shaping procedure
Operant conditioning procedure where successive approximations to a desired response are reinforced until the response is achieved.
Project Pigeon
Trained pigeons to peck a bullseye target
Projected animals to be the ones to guide missiles to a stationary target
“Birdseye Bomb”
Baby in a box
Baby tender (air crib)
- sound absorbing walls
- large picture window in the front with a curtain for sleep time
- filtered air sent through which warmed and moistened it
- mattress was a tightly stretched canvas
Teaching machines
Arithmetic problems were presented one at a time and when solved by the student the next was presented
- could work at their own pace
- feedback was immediate
Applied behavioral analysis (behavior modification)
Application of the principles of operant conditioning to modify overt behavior. It involves analyzing the functional relationship between a behavior and its environment and manipulating the antecedent conditions and/or the environmental consequences
Kenneth Spence
Added incentive motivation to Hull’s theory of learning and de-emphasized the role of drive reduction; changed so much it eventually more resembled Tolman’s theory
Neal Miller & John Dollard
Simplified Hull’s theory of learning and applied it to psychopathology
Albert Bandura
Social learning theory was inspired by Hull’s theory of learning which provided Bandura with a learning theory account for imitation
