Chapter 16 Notes Flashcards
Skinner: Human behavior is shaped by three forces
(1) the individual’s personal history of reinforcement (2) natural selection (3) the evolution of cultural practices
learning takes place mostly because of the effects that follow a response, and he called this observation
Thorndike the law of effect
“stamped in”
“stamped out”
rewards or punishment more predictable?
effects of rewards are more predictable than the effects of punishments in shaping behavior
second and more direct influence on Skinner was the work of
John B. Watson // consciousness and introspection must play no role in the scientific study of human behavior // the goal of psychology is the prediction and control of behavior
Scientific Behaviorism (Skinner) can best be studied without reference to
needs, instincts, or motives
Skinner’s Philosophy of Science
interpretation should not be confused with an explanation
Characteristics of Science
cumulative
empirical observation
lawful relationships:
scientific method consists of prediction, control, and description
classical conditioning, behavior is
elicited
operant conditioning, behavior is
emitted
called operant because organism operates on the environment to produce a specific effect
Skinner believed that most human behaviors are learned through
operant conditioning
operant conditioning, three conditions are present:
Explain three essential components
the antecedent (A), environment the behavior (B), telling a joke the consequence (C) people laugh
A response to a similar environment in the absence of previous reinforcement is called
stimulus generalization
3 Effects of Punishment
better served by positive and negative reinforcement than by punishment
1) suppress behavior
- if a boy teases his younger sister, his parents
can make him stop by spanking him, but unfortunately this punishment will not
improve his disposition toward his sister. It merely suppresses teasing temporarily
2) conditioning of a negative feeling
- thought of being spanked may elicit a classical conditioned response, such as fear, anxiety, guilt, or shame. Lamentably, it offers no positive instruction to the child
3) the spread of its effects
- behavior toward his family becomes maladaptive. Yet this inappropriate behavior serves the purpose of preventing future punishment. Skinner recognized
the classical Freudian defense mechanisms as effective means of avoiding pain
there are two types of punishment:
The first requires the presentation of an aversive stimulus
The second involves the removal of a positive reinforcer
An example of the former is pain encountered from falling as the result
of walking too fast on an icy sidewalk. An example of the latter is a heavy fine levied
against a motorist for driving too fast.
money is a
conditioned reinforcer, sometimes called secondary reinforcers
it is a generalized reinforcer because it is associated with more than one primary reinforcer
primary reinforcers
food, water, sex, or physical
comfort
five important generalized reinforcers that sustain
much of human behavior:
attention approval affection submission of others tokens (money)
behavior trained on an intermittent schedule is much more ______ to extinction
resistant
Operant extinction
takes place when an experimenter systematically withholds reinforcement
significance of drives
simply refer to the effects of
deprivation and satiation and to the corresponding probability that the organism will respond
Creativity
Accidental traits, arising from mutations, are selected by their contribution to survival, so accidental variations in behavior are selected by their reinforcing consequences
Unconscious Behavior
could not accept the notion of a storehouse of unconscious ideas or emotions. He did, however, accept the idea of unconscious behavior.
- because people rarely observe the relationship between genetic and
environmental variables and their own behavior, nearly all our behavior is unconsciously Motivated
Dreams
- He agreed with Freud that dreams may serve a wish-fulfillment purpose.
- behavior that are subject to the same contingencies of reinforcement as other behaviors
- To act out sexual fantasies and to actually inflict damage on an enemy are two behaviors likely to be associated with punishment. Even to covertly think about these behaviors may have punitive effects, but in dreams these behaviors may be expressed symbolically and without any accompanying punishment.
3 reasons for social control in groups
some group members are reinforcing them
some people, especially children, may not possess the means to leave the group; and
reinforcement may occur on an intermittent schedule so that the abuse suffered by an individual is intermingled with occasional reward
societal control
1) Society exercises control over its members through the four principal methods
of operant conditioning: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and the two
techniques of punishment
2) describing contingencies,: subtle means of social control is advertising, designed to manipulate people to purchase certain products. In none of these examples will the attempt at control be perfectly successful, yet each of them increases the likelihood that the desired response will be emitted.
- 3) Third, behavior can be controlled either by depriving people or by satiating
them with reinforcers: People deprived of food are more likely to eat; those satiated are less likely to eat even when delicious food is available
4) Finally, people can be controlled through physical restraints, such as holding children back from a deep ravine or putting lawbreakers in prison
Self-Control
People can manipulate the variables within their own environment and thus exercise some measure of self-control
as opposed to free will
people can take drugs, especially alcohol, as a means of self-control
a woman can set an alarm clock so that the aversive sound can be stopped only by getting out of bed to shut off the alarm
3 counteracting Strategies
escape: withdraw from the controlling agent
revolt: behave more actively
passive resistance: most likely to be used where escape and revolt have failed. stubbornness
Inappropriate Behaviors
vigorous behavior
blocking out reality
self-deluding responses as boasting, rationalizing
self-punishment
Psychotherapy
one of the chief obstacles blocking psychology’s attempt to become scientific
A therapist molds desirable behavior by reinforcing slightly improved changes
in behavior
behavior therapy merely skips it and deals directly with the history of the organism; and it is this history that, in the final analysis, is responsible for any hypothetical internal cause
pointing out the positive consequences of certain behaviors and the aversive effects of others and also suggesting behaviors that, over the long haul, will result in positive reinforcement
No therapeutic purpose is served by postulating explanatory fictions and internal
causes
6 ways in which people manipulate variables within their own environment to exercise self-control
(1) physical restraint
(2) physical aids, such as tools
(3) changing environmental stimuli
(4) arranging the environment to allow escape from aversive stimuli
(5) drugs
(6) doing something else
Distinguish between conditioned and generalized reinforcers.
Conditioned reinforcers are those stimuli that are not by nature satisfying (e.g., money), but that can become so when they are associated with a primary reinforcers, such as food. Generalized reinforcers are conditioned reinforcers that have become associated with several primary reinforcers.
The Unhealthy Personality
Social control and self-control sometimes produce counteracting strategies and inappropriate behavior
