Chapter 4 - Lecture Flashcards
evolutionarily, why does our attention drift?
so we can notice surroundings
- pretty normal
mindfulness = recognize that your attention has shifted, requires some deliberate effort
Skinner believed that behaviour should be _
studied and explained in the most direct way possible
*radical behaviourism, very little room for flexibility
What are the 3 components of Skinner’s Behaviourism?
1) rely exclusively on directly observable phenomena
2) psychology is considered an objective science
3) analysis of behaviour without appeal to subjective mental events or speculative physiological events
describe Burrhus Frederic Skinner’s past
- one of the giants of 20th century psych
- as a child, read a lot and wanted to be a novelist
- showed remarkable mechanical skills, put these skills to good use in devising and constructing the devices he later used in his experiments
- as undergraduate, skinner majored in english
- obtained phd in psych
- recognized as the leading proponent of the behaviouristic position, a position that he continued to develop and defend throughout life
skinner’s theory is based on 2 fundamental assumptions:
1) human behaviour follows certain laws
2) causes of behaviour are outside the person, and that these can be observed and studied (contrary to introspection)
describe the experimental analysis of behaviour
*allowed for clear way of thinking about cause and effect
manipulated (cause)> measured (effect)
independent variable (cause) > dependent variable (effect)
in classical conditioning, responses elicited by a stimulus are labelled as _
respondents
- organism reacts to the environment
- involuntary
in operant/instrumental learning, responses simply emitted by an organism are labelled _
operants
- organism acts on the environment
- voluntary (major distinction between IC and CC)
most of the important behaviours in which people engage are _. WHat is central are the _ of the behaviours
operant, consequences
what happens to frequency of behaviour with positive and negative reinforcement?
frequency of behaviour increases with both
how does positive and negative reinforcement increase frequency of behaviour?
Positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again by adding a desired stimulus, such as food, praise, or money
- negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again by removing an aversive (negative) stimulus. ex. dissapointment
contrast negative reinforcement and punishment
NR: a procedure that increases the probability of a behaviour
P: involves introducing a negative contingency or terminating a positive (appetitive) one
which type of reinforcement is used a lot to keep employees engaged
positive reinforcement
- one of the easiest and quickest ways to improve employee happiness and effectiveness
*although management often points out what’s wrong
describe reinforcement schedules
- experimental analysis of behaviour
- dependent variables
- independent variable (the way rewards are administered)
list the dependent variables of reinforcement schedules
- acquisition rate (rate at which they are acquiring behaviour)
- rate of responding (rate at which individual shows behaviour)
- extinction rate (how quickly behaviour decreases over time)
what are the 3 overarching categories for reinforcement schedules?
- continuous reinforcement schedule
- intermittent reinforcement
- combined schedule
define continuous reinforcement schedule
every desired response is reinforced
define combined schedule
a combination of continuous and intermittent reinforcement
define intermittent reinforcement
reinforcement occurs only some of the time
within continuous/intermittent reinforcement, we have
- continuous
- fixed ratio
- fixed interval
- random ratio
- random interval
- concurrent
give an example of fixed ratio
for every 5th correct response, reinforced
give an example of fixed interval
the first correct response is rewarded after a 15 sec lapse
give an example of random interval
reinforcement follows a correct response an average of once every 15 secs but at unpredictable times
give an example of random ratio
an average of one out of every 5 correct responses is rewarded at random
give an example of concurrent schedule
different schedules associated with different behaviours are presented concurrently (multiple behaviours can be rewarded)
continuous training is quite common in animal training, describe how it might be used to train dogs
- rewarded with a treat/praise every time it performs the desired behaviour
- this immediate and consistent reward helps the dog associate the behaviour of sitting with a positive outcome, reinforcing the likelihood of it being repeated in the future
describe the use of fixed ratio in manufacturing/assembly line jobs
- paid based on number of units they produce
- ex. for every 100 unites, get paid. Here the fixed ratio is 100 and the reinforcement is delivered after every 100 units produced
- this type of schedule encourages workers to maintain a high production rate to reach the fixed ratio
describe how fixed interval schedules are used in sales positions
- receive a bonus based on their performance over a fixed interval (ex. month/quarter)
- the bonus/reinforcement is delivered after the specified time period has passed
- serves as motivator for employees to consistently perform well throughout the interval to get reward
describe how random ratio is used in slot machines
ex. could have a schedule of 1:30
- the occurence of winning is unpredictable and can happen at any point within those 30 pulls
- randomness + uncertainty = excitement
*model for the way social media platforms keep people interested in tasks
why can random ratios contribute to the addicitive nature of gambling?
designed to maintain a certain level of variability and uncertainty, which can contribute to the addictive nature of gambling
The intermittent and unpredictable nature of
the reinforcement schedule can lead to a
phenomenon known as _
the “near-miss effect,”
where players experience a near-win that
keeps them motivated to continue playing in
the hopes of achieving an actual win
describe examples of concurrent schedule being used for loyalty programs
- Option A is a frequent diner program where customers earn a free meal after every 5 visits (fixed ratio)
- Option B is a points-based program
where customers earn 1 point for every dollar spent, and they can redeem a free meal once month (fixed interval)
what is the benefit of concurrent schedules providing a choice of different schedules?
**the schedule allows customers to make a choice based on preferences and behaviours
- autonomy = feel good
What does a graphical representation of variable ratio look like?
staight line angled upward
*steepest slope out of all
What does a graphical representation of fixed ratio look like?
- less sloped line than VR
- zigzag pattern, goes up, levels out, goes up
What does a graphical representation of variable interval look like?
- straight line like VR but less steep slope
What does a graphical representation of fixed interval look like?
scalloped
- when slope is 0, animal is resting
- ex. after every 15 seconds, treat
- will stop working as soon as they get a treat
which schedules are more resistant to extinction?
variable
define magazine training
A foundational behavioural training technique used in operant conditioning, particularly when studying animal learning
- The term “magazine” refers to a food delivery system in an operant conditioning chamber (aka “Skinnerbox”)
describe exposure to the food magazine
The rat is placed in the operant conditioning chamber, and food pellets are dispensed at random
intervals into the food tray (the “magazine”)
- during this time, the rat learns to associate
the sound or light (or both presented at the
same time) with the availability of food in
the tray
describe establishing the cue-response association in magazine training
Through repeated exposure, the rat begins
to connect the cues with food delivery and
learns to approach the magazine (food tray)
whenever it hears the cue(s)
what 3 effects do we see on extinction?
- extinction rate - the amount of time that passes before the organism stops responding after the withdrawal of reinforcement
- continuous schedule = rapid extinction
- fixed schedule extinction>variable schedule extinction
OCD symptoms can be classified into partially distinct but also overlapping subtypes based on their presentation : name the 4 signs
- contamination fears and compulsive cleaning
- obsessive thoughts about causing harm and compulsive checking rituals
- obsessions with symmetry and compulsive ordering
- obsessions with collecting useless objects and compulsive hoarding
Brain circuits in the pathophysiology of OCD
could be related to _
reward- and motivational-
related processes, executive function, motor
and response inhibition, and habit-based
behaviour
what may underpin symptoms in OCD?
Dysfunction in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuits may underpin symptoms; and shed light on the possible
neurochemistry within these loops such as the role of serotonin, dopamine, and
glutamate systems
OCD symptom provocation
is linked to_
increased activation of the
Orbitofrontal Cortex and
Striatum, including the
Caudate
describe the effects of schedules on rate of responding
random ratio
- rate of responding is fairly high
fixed interval
- rate of responding drops off when reward is obtained
describe the premack principle
Reinforcers can be activities, or responses, rather than only stimuli
-more preferred activities can be reinforced with less preferred activities
- What David Premack understood is that pleasant tasks are reinforcing tasks, and when we put reinforcing
tasks after something, we get more of that something
describe how you can use the premack principle for convincing child to do homework before video games
identify the desired behaviour (homework)
identify the preferred activity (video games)
Application of the premack principle (parents set rule tha hw needs to be done before video games)
Outcome (child motivated to do homework because it leads to video games
in the attention economy, attention is a _
commodity
- In the attention economy, attention itself becomes a commodity
- companies aim to capture and hold individuals’ attention for as long as
possible, often using various strategies
describe how the attention economy benefits from attention
monetization
- The longer a company
can keep someone’s attention, the more opportunities there are for
monetization
ex. social media platforms can show more advertisements to users who spend more time on their platform
The algorithm on TikTok is designed to personalize the user experience by _
recommending videos based on individual preferences and engagement history
How does the schedule of reinforcement and personalization impact tiktok users?
This algorithmic personalization creates a
sense of novelty and excitement as users are
constantly exposed to new
and engaging content
- The random interval schedule of reinforcement,
as discussed earlier, adds to this addictive nature by
keeping users engaged and motivated to continue
scrolling through the app
what buisness mentioned in class are related to novelty
dopamine labs
- produce a code that triggers neurological response in audience
- trying to cause a rush of dopamine in the brain’s reward center that you basically can’t help but want to experience repeatedly
what did tristan harris) ted talk video) talk about?
- a design thinker and former ethicist at Google, points to how smart phones changed our contract with advertisers, and our relationship with reality.
- rather than being presented with choices as a consumer, software engineers at companies like Facebook leverage deep psychology to make their products addictive
- The longer and more often sites and apps can hold your attention, the more they can make in advertising revenue.
This is the attention economy—and it’s why the average person checks their phone 150 times each day
list the 6 problematic social media use components
1) salience
2) mood modification
3) tolerance
4) withdrawal symptoms
5) conflict
6) relapse
define salience
the domination of social networking as the single most important aspect of the person’s life
define mood modification
an arousing “buzz” or “high” when participating in social media for the purpose of “escape” or “numbing”
define tolerance
the presence of a gradual increase of time spend on social networking sites
define withdrawal symptoms
unpleasant affective states or physical effects when the person is unable to engage in social networking
define conflict
tendion between social networking and other important activities in the individual’s life, ie. hobbies, interests etc.
define relapse
the tendency to revert to repeated patterns of excessive social networking after period of control
describe skinner’s contributions
Probably Skinner’s greatest contribution to the understanding of human behaviour is his description of the effects of reinforcement on responding
- his theory has also been applied directly in many areas: drugs, addictions, choice behaviour, gambling, memory, reasoning, instructional programs, and therapies
describe some philosophical objections relating to Skinner
Says little about other topics of interest to
contemporary cognitive theorists (i.e., decision making, problem solving,
perception, etc.)
- Neglected the role of biology in learning
