chapter 4 - reinforcement Flashcards
define reinforcement (3)
- occurrence of a behaviour
- followed by an immediate CONSEQUENCE
- behaviour is MORE likely to occur in the future
how does positive reinforcement differ from negative reinforcement
positive: occurrence of behaviour is followed by the ADDITION of a stimulus (or event)
negative: occurrence of behaviour is followed by the REMOVAL (or AVOIDANCE) of an aversive stimulus
What are two types of negative reinforcement
escape: behaviour terminates aversive stimulus (already present)
avoidance: behaviour PREVENTS the occurrence of an aversive stimulus
socially-mediated reinforcement is through…
actions of someone else
eg asking someone to get the chips for you
automatic reinforcement is through…
direct contact with the environment
eg. getting up and grabbing the bag of chips yourself
what are unconditioned reinforcers?
- biologically determined
give examples of primary reinforcers (what’s the other name for it)
unconditioned reinforcers:
food, water, sex, heat, escape from extreme stimulation
what are conditioned reinforcers?
- neutral stimulus paired with established reinforcer
- the established reinforcer could be conditioned or unconditioned
what are some examples of secondary reinforcers (whats the other name?)
conditioned reinforcers:
- sight, sound, scent from family
- attention, praise
- types of toys, tv shows, clothes
- grades, accomplishments
- money
what are generalized conditioned reinforcers? examples?
- they are paired with a wide variety of other reinforcers
- eg: money, praise, tokens
what are the factors that influence reinforcement? (5)
- immediacy
- contingency
- individual differences
- magnitude (or amount)
- motivating operations
- establishing operations (EO)
- abolishing operations (AO)
what are some schedules of reinforcement?
continuous (crf)
intermittent
fixed ratio / variable ratio
fixed interval / variable interval
concurrent schedules
what is a continuous reinforcement schedule (crf)
every occurrence of a response is reinforced
what is an intermittent reinforcement schedule
some occurrences of a response are reinforced
what is a fixed ratio schedule? what are some effects of it
reinforcer given after specific number of responses
- produces high rates of responding
- PAUSE after reinforcement
eg: Pablo gets a token from his supervisor after every 20 parts that he packages
what is a variable ratio schedule? what are some effects of it
reinforcer delivered after an average number of responses
- produces high and steady rates of responding
- no pause after reinforcement
eg slot machine will hit the jackpot after an avg of x amount of attempts
what is a fixed interval schedule of reinforcement? effects?
reinforcer for FIRST RESPONSE after a given amount of time
- produces low rates of responding, with on-off pattern
- response rates increase near end of interval
eg. every 30 minutes Pablo’s supervisor comes around and gives him a token for the first part Pablo packages
what is a variable interval schedule of reinforcement?
reinforcer for FIRST RESPONSE after an average interval of time
- produces steady, low-moderate rates of responding
- no on/off pattern
a ______ behaviour is strengthened through the process of reinforcement
operant
right after a person has had a large amount of a reinforcer, will the reinforcer be more or less potent at that time?
less
a _____ reinforcer became established as a reinforcer by being paired with another reinforcer
conditioned
all of the schedules of reinforcement that are in effect for a person’s behaviours at one time are called
concurrent schedules of reinforcement
a number of different behaviours or response options are concurrently available for a person. these response options are called
concurrent operants
identify the following schedules of reinforcement (CRF, FR, VR, FI, VI)
- the reinforcer is delivered for the first response after x amount of time
- the reinforcer is delivered after every response
- the reinforcer is delivered after an average of x response
- fixed interval
- crf - continuous
- vr - variable ratio
a consequence that strengthens operant behaviour is a(n) ______________
reinforcer
when Todd gets bitten by bugs, he puts medication on the bites that relieves the itching. as a result, he is more likely to put medication on his bug bites.
this is an example of _____________ reinforcement
negative
when Frida punches her brother, she gets scolded by her parents. as a result she is more likely to punch her brother
this is an example of ____________ reinforcement
positive (attention)
the stimulus that is removed after the behaviour in negative reinforcement is called a(n) ____________ stimulus
aversive
identify the following schedules of reinforcement (CRF, FR, VR, FI, VI)
- a reinforcer is delivered after x responses
- a reinforcer is delivered for the first response after an average of x amount of time
- fixed ratio
- variable interval
what is the schedule of reinforcement in which the reinforcer is Not delivered after every response? what if it is?
intermittent reinforcement schedule
continuous (crf)
deprivation makes a reinforcer _______ potent
more
satiation makes a reinforcer _______ potent
less
in what way are positive and negative reinforcement alike?
both occur after a behaviour.
both increase/strengthen the behaviour
a type of positive reinforcement where a high-probability (preferred) behaviour is a consequence for performing a low-probability behaviour -> increasing the low-probability behaviour
Premack principle
eg. do homework before play video games
Shae checks her email periodically. email messages come at unpredictable intervals. shae’s behaviour of checking her email is reinforced on what schedule?
intermittent reinforcement schedule
Bob is a telemarketer and makes phone calls in an attempt to sell product. He never knows when someone will agree to buy but must make anavg of 13 calls to achieve a sale. his behaviour of making calls is reinforced on what schedule?
variable ratio
what is an operant behaviour?
a behaviour that is strengthened through the process of reinforcement
define positive reinforcement (and negative)
the occurrence of a behaviour
is followed by the addition of a positive reinforce
and the behaviour is more likely to occur in the future
same thing but the behaviour is followed by the removal (or avoidance) of an aversive stimulus
what is an aversive stimulus?
smth unpleasant, painful or annoying that a person wants to get away from
eg. kid yelling annoying to the parent
what is meant by contiguity between a response and a reinforcer?
how immediate a consequence/reinforcer is given
longer delay between response and consequence = less effective
what is a reinforcement contingency?
consistency
a behaviour is strengthened when a reinforcer is contingent on the behaviour (when it only occurs if the behaviour occurs)
what is an establishing operation (EO)
examples?
a motivating operation (MO) that makes a reinforcer more potent (it establishes the effectiveness of a reinforcer)
- deprivation
- not eating for a while is an EO that makes food MORE reinforcing at that time and makes the behaviour of getting food MORE likely to occur
what are two effects of MOs?
- they alter the value of a reinforcer
- they make the behaviour that produces that reinforcer more/less likely to occur at that time
what’s an abolishing operation? (AO)
examples?
a motivating operation (MO) that makes a reinforcer LESS potent (it abolishes or decreases the effectiveness of a reinforcer)
- satiation
- having just eaten a large meal is an AO that makes food LESS reinforcing at that time and makes the bhvr of getting food LESS likely to occur
what are two effects of an EO? AO?
EO:
1. makes a reinforcer MORE potent
2. makes a behaviour that produces the reinforcer MORE likely
AO:
1. less
2. less
a CRF schedule is used for acquisition and an intermittent schedule is used for maintenance. describe what this means
crf for aquisition:
- used when a person is learning a behaviour
intermittent for maintenance:
- used for an acquired behaviour to ensure they keep doing it
are interval or ratio schedules more likely to be used in teaching or training programs?
FI rarely used in training programs because responses drop after the reinforcement is given
FR or VR are more commonly used because they produce higher and steadier rates of responding
what are concurrent schedules of reinforcement
all the schedules of reinforcement that are in effect for a person’s behaviours at one time
what 4 factors influence which response option a person will choose at any point in time
- schedule of reinforcement
- magnitude of reinforcement
- immediacy of reinforcement
- response effort
what is the matching law
a mathematical model of choice in concurrent operants that predicts that a response that produces a greater rate of reinforcement will occur more often than a response that produces a lower rate
what is a multiple schedule of reinforcement?
example?
an example of a combined schedule of reinforcement
two basic schedules occur sequentially and each is associated with a different SD
eg. “question time” vs “quiet time” in classroom
question time: teacher provides help when students ask
- crf
quiet time: teacher no longer provides help when they ask
- extinction is in effect
what is behavioural contrast?
something that may occur when a multiple schedule of reinforcement exists
change in reinforcement schedule changes not only the rate of responding in that component but also changes the rate of responding in the opposite direction in the other component
eg: Class A started using extinction for a problem behaviour but class B did not.
behaviour is likely to decrease in A but also increases in B (even though the schedule of reinforcement did not change in B)
