Chapter 2 - The Law of Effect Flashcards
What is the law of effect?
instrumental behaviour will increase or decrease depending on its effect on the environment
maximizing benefits (good biological outcomes) and minimize costs (bad biological outcomes)
this does not tell us how behaviour changes though
What is Reward? What effect does it have on behaviour?
reward is when behaviour produces of a good outcome, causing increase in behaviour frequency
What is punishment? what effect does it have on behaviour?
punishment is when behaviour produces a bad outcome, causing decrease in behaviour frequency
what is omission? what effect does it have on behaviour?
omission is when a behaviour prevents a good outcome from happening. It decreases the likelihood of a behaviour happening (i.e. u didn’t get candy)
What is avoidance/escape? what effect does it have on behaviour?
avoidance/escape is when a behaviour prevents a bad outcome from happening; It increases the likelihood of behaviour happening
What is positive reinforcement?
When a behaviour PRODUCES a good outcome and behaviour frequency increases as a result after
what is negative reinforcement?
when a behaviour PREVENTS a bad outcome from happening and the frequency of the behaviour increases as a result after
What is sign tracking?
sign tracking is when an animal approaches a stimulus when it PREDICTS a positive outcome
it is a S-O response
*key is the word “predicts” instead of “produces”, in S-O conditioning, the stimulus comes before the response.
What is negative sign tracking?
when an animal withdraws from S when it PREDICTS a negative outcome
What is the Medicine effect?
an example of approaching a stimulus that predicts no bad outcome
I.e approaching food associated with recovery from illness
What is the frustration effect?
withdrawing from stimulus that predicts no good outcomes
i.e pigeons and lighted disks that predict lack of food
