Chapter 12 - Skinner Flashcards
Respondent behaviour
Responses made to or elicited by specific environmental stimuli (I.e. knee jerk)
Reinforcement
The act of strengthening a response by adding a reward, thus increasing the likelihood that the response will be repeated
Extinction
The process of eliminating a behaviour by withholding reinforcement
Operant behaviour
Behaviour emitted spontaneously or voluntarily that operates on the environment to change it
Operant conditioning
The procedure by which a change in the consequences of a response will affect the rate at which the response occurs (behaviour under control of reinforcers)
Reinforcement schedules
Patterns or rates of providing or withholding reinforcers:
- fixed interval
- fixed ratio
- variable interval
- variable ratio
(I.e reinforcement doesn’t occur every time)
Conditioning
Substitution of one stimulus for another
Fixed interval (schedule of reinforcement)
Reinforcer following a fixed amount of time after response
Example: buy 9 cups of coffee and get the 10th for free
Fixed ratio (schedules of reinforcement)
Reinforcer following a fixed number of responses
Example: being paid every 2nd week, yet still go to work every day because you know the pay is coming - showing up allows you to be paid at the end of the pay period
Variable interval (schedules of reinforcement)
Reinforcer after unpredictable amount of time
Example: fishing - unpredictable time to catch a fish, if at all
Variable ratio (schedules of reinforcement)
Reinforcer after unpredictable number of responses (based on an average number of responses between reinforcers, but there is great variability around that average)
Example: gambling
Successive approximation
An explanation for the acquisition of complex behaviour. Behaviour such as learning to speak will be reinforced only as it comes to approximate or approach the final desired behaviour
Behaviour that is closer and closer to the desired behaviour is rewarded until only the desired behaviour will elicit a reward
Superstitious behaviour
Persistent behaviour that has a coincidental and not a functional relationship to the reinforcement received (but behaviour is continued even when reinforcement does not continue)
Self-control
The ability to exert control over the variables that determine our behaviour. Some control is exerted over external variables through self-control techniques such as:
- stimulus avoidance
- self-administered satiation
- aversive stimulation
- self-reinforcement
Stimulus avoidance
Removing oneself from an external variable
Example: alcoholic removing the liquor from their house
Self-administered satiation
Overdoing undesirable behaviour
Example: smoker chain-smoking to make themselves sick so they will be averse to it and this will help them quit
Aversive stimulation
Making negative consequences for oneself
Example: snapping an elastic band on your wrist when having unwanted thought = one will find they will have less of these unwanted thoughts
Self-reinforcement
Rewarding oneself and setting goals
Example: “if I finish this paper tonight, I will allow myself to watch a movie tomorrow night”
Behaviour modification
A form of therapy that applies the principles of reinforcement to bring about desired behavioural changes (I.e. token economy)
Token economy
A behaviour-modification technique in which tokens, which can be exchanged for valued objects or privileges, are awarded for desirable behaviours
Punishment
The application of an aversive stimulus following a response in an effort to decrease the likelihood that the response will recur
Negative reinforcement
The strengthening of a response by the removal of an aversive stimulus (I.e. loud noise stops when the subject emits the desired response)
Functional analysis
An approach to the study of behaviour that involves assessing the frequency of behaviour, the situation in which it occurs, and the reinforcers associated with it.
