Chapter 1: Behaviorism

Question 1

Empircists

Answer 1

infants must learn to interpret sensations

Question 2

Nativists

Answer 2

René Descrates

• shift from understanding how human behaviour can be studied and understood, identified a class of behaviours: reflexive behaviours eg, pulling your hand away from a hot stove
• Spinal cord can stop behaviours from happening and continue other behaviours
• Being able to come up with a science of the behaviour, if x happens then y occurs

Question 3

Enrichment Theory (Piaget)

Answer 3

Cognitive schemes are needed to make sense of sensory information
Eg, you have the concept of what a stool looks like, how we perceive things that we already know

Question 4

Differentiation Theory (Gibson)

Answer 4

Sensory information can be interpreted on its own
Children learn to detect distinctive features
Eg, how do we know it is a stool? It has a flat top, no back, 4 legs (look at all the components and add them up)

Question 5

What are the three features of learning?

Answer 5

1. Individual thinks, perceives or reacts to environment in a new way (something changes)
2. Change is the result of experience (create new connections)
3. Change is relatively permanent

Question 6

Classical Conditioning

Answer 6

BEFORE: unconditioned stimulus to unconditioned response (physiological) food makes you salivate, reflexive response
DURING: Pair a neutral stimulus, there is no connection between salivating and the bell
AFTER: the bell starts to illicit salivation, CR (conditioned response) - caused by a neutral stimulus to a conditioned stimulus (CS)

Question 7

Habituation

Answer 7

• Learning what not to respond to and how to filter out non-relative information
• Learn what not to respond to

Individual differences that predict later competencies:
1. Language acquisition
2. Intelligence test scores

Question 8

Thorndike’s 3 Laws:
The Law of Exercises

Answer 8

The more frequently a stimulus and response are associated, the more likely the response will follow the stimulus (practice)
The more I do something, the better I get at it

Question 8

Thorndike’s 3 Laws:
The Law of Readiness

Answer 8

Learning is dependent upon the learner’s readiness to act
There is has to be readiness from the learner

Question 9

Thorndike’s 3 Laws:
The Law of Effect

Answer 9

Any behaviour that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated (if the cat gets cat food once it gets out it will do it again) , any behaviour that is followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to be stopped (if the cat gets out and it gets shocked it won’t do it again)

Question 10

Thorndike’s 3 Laws:
Primacy

Answer 10

Things learned first create a strong impression
Unteaching wrong first impressions is harder than teaching them right the first time
A part of our jobs is to create a environment for the children to lear

Question 11

Thorndike’s 3 Laws:
Recency

Answer 11

Things most recently learned are best remembered
Ex, midterm; the material learned closer to the midterm will be easier for us to remember
Tell them more then once

Question 12

Thorndike’s 3 Laws:
Intensity

Answer 12

The more intense the material taught, the more likely it will be retained
Ex, you will have a hard time remembering your 6th birthday party unless something really important happened at the birthday because it is more intense
What consequences are the child learning from the result of their behaviour, set the change

Question 13

Operant Conditioning

Answer 13

The outcome of responses can predict the probability of the response occurring again
An initial voluntary response elicits a pleasant or unpleasant consequence
How our behaviours ‘operant’ on the environment

Question 14

What adds something to a behaviour?

Answer 14

positive

Question 15

What removes something from a behaviour?

Answer 15

negative

Question 16

what always increases behaviour?

Answer 16

reinforcers

Question 17

what always decreases behaviours?

Answer 17

punishment

Question 18

can babies learn from operant condition?

Answer 18

yes

Question 19

do older infants learn faster?

Answer 19

yes, their are fewer trials

Question 20

continues reinforcement schedule

Answer 20

reinforcement after every response

Question 21

fixed interval schedule

Answer 21

reinforcement after a set period of time

Question 22

variable interval schedule

Answer 22

reinforcement after varying lengths of time

Question 23

fixed-ratio schedule

Answer 23

reinforcement after a set number of responses

Question 24

variable ratio schedule

Answer 24

reinforcement after a varying length of responses

Question 25

step 1 of behaviour learning principles to change behaviour?

Answer 25

clearly specific the behaviour to be changed and note the current level

Question 26

step 2 of behaviour learning principles to change behaviour?

Answer 26

Plan a specific intervention using antecedents (before, classical conditioning), consequences (after, operant conditioning) or both (ex, antecedents leading to the behaviour,

Question 27

step 3 of behaviour learning principles to change behaviour?

Answer 27

Keep track of the results, and modify the plan, if necessary

Question 28

Premack Principle

Answer 28

High frequency behaviour (a preferred activity) can be an effective reinforcer for a low frequency behaviour ( a less preferred activity)

dishes and Netflix example

Question 29

shaping

Answer 29

Involves reinforcing progress instead of waiting for perfection
Useful for building complex skills, working toward difficult goals, and increasing persistence, endurance, accuracy or speed

Question 30

positive practice

Answer 30

Practise correct behaviour as soon and as much as possible
Ex, when a child is nice to someone who is typically rude and therefore that reinforces that behaviour

Question 31

Handling Undesirable Behaviour:
Negative Reinforcement

Answer 31

Allow students to ‘escape’ from mildly unpleasant situations

Question 32

Handling Undesirable Behaviour:
Reprimands

Answer 32

Soft, calm, and private reprimands most effective

Question 33

Handling Undesirable Behaviour:
Social Isolation

Answer 33

Remove highly disruptive student for short period of time

Question 34

cautions about punishment

Answer 34

Punishment in and of itself does not lead to any positive behaviour or compassion for others, and it may interfere with developing caring relationships with students

Question 35

part 1 of effective punishment is?

Answer 35

First, carry out the punishment and suppress the undesirable behaviour

Question 36

part 2 of effective punishment is?

Answer 36

Second , make clear what the student should be doing instead and provide reinforcement for those desirable actions

Question 37

Behavioural Approaches to Teaching and Management: Group Consequences:

Answer 37

Basing reinforcement for the whole class on the behaviour of the whole class
Pro: if we all finish our homework, we will have a pizza party
Con: the one child was does not, therefore the child can be picked on

Question 38

Behavioural Approaches to Teaching and Management: Contingency Contracts

Answer 38

The teacher draws up an individual contract with teach student describing exactly what the student must do to earn a particular privilege or reward

Question 39

Behavioural Approaches to Teaching and Management: Token Programs

Answer 39

Students earn tokens (points, checks, holes punched in a card, chips etc) for both academic work and positive classroom behaviour

Question 40

what is a functional behaviour assessment?

Answer 40

A teacher studied the antecedents and consequences of problem behaviours to determine the reason or function of the behaviour
What is the actual underlying reason for their behaviour

Question 41

what are the 4 problem behaviours

Answer 41

Need for attention
Escape from unpleasant situation
Gain item or activity
Meet sensory needs

Question 42

what is positive behaviour support?

Answer 42

The actual interventions designed to replace problem behaviours with new actions that serve the same purpose of the student

Question 43

what is self-management?

Answer 43

Students can apply behaviour analysis on their own to manage their own behaviour

Question 44

how can teachers encourage self-management?

Answer 44

Goal setting
Keeping track of progress
Evaluating accomplishments
Giving their own reinforcers
Be sure to emphasise learning and not just good behaviour!