Chapter 5 Flashcards
Classic Conditioning
Actions between stimuli
Respondent Behavior
Operant Conditioning
Associations between actions and consequences
Operant Behavior
Operating on the environment to produce rewarding or punishing stimuli
Skinner’s Experiements
Law of Effect, which is the theory that rewarded behavior tends to occur
In the category of behavior control
What are Skinner’s main questions he had going into Behavioral Control?
- How can we more carefully measure the effect of consequences on chosen behavior
- What else can creatures be taught to do by controlling consequences
- What happens when we change the timing of reinforcement?
Skinner Box; Operant Chamber
Reinforcement: anything that strengthens a preceding response
Reinforcers vary with circumstance
Shaping Behavior
- Gradually guiding actions toward a desired behavior
- If you reward nagging, it will continue
- First, build on natural already existing behaviors
- Reward successive approximations (rewarding behaviors ever closer to what you want)
Positive Reinforcement
Pleasurable stimulus immediately after response
Negative Reinforcement
Removing something negative immediately after response
IE taking aspirin to relieve headache, snoozing annoying alarm, NOT punishment
Primary Reinforcers
Unlearned reinforcers (eat when hungry, don’t eat when not hungry)
Conditioned Reinforcers
Learned reinforcers (work to make money to survive)
Immediate Reinforcement
A treat five minutes after a trick that a dog does won’t reinforce the trick.
Delayed Reinforcement
A paycheck can be a delayed reinforcer, paid a month later, if we link it to our performance. Humans have the ability to link a consequence to a behavior even if they aren’t linked sequentially in time. Delayed reinforcement enables longer-term goal setting
Ratio, fixed
Getting a free coffee reward every 10th coffee
Interval, fixed
Reinforcement for a behavior after a fixed time, such as Tuesday discount prices
Ratio, variable
Getting a prize on random times - such as slot machines
Interval, variable
Reinforcement for behavior after a random amount of time, such as checking our phone for a text message
Rat gets food every 3rd time it presses the lever
Fixed ratio
Getting paid weekly no matter how much work is done
Fixed interval
Getting paid for every ten boxes you make
Fixed Ratio
Hitting a jackpot sometimes on the slot machine
Variable Ratio
Checking cell phone all day, sometimes getting a text
Variable Interval
Buy 8 pizzas, get the next one free
Fixed Ratio
Kid has tantrum, parents sometimes give in
Variable Ratio
Repeatedly checking mail until paycheck arrives
Fixed Interval
Positive punishment
Administering something they don’t want - give a traffic ticket for speeding
Negative punishment
Taking away something they want - revoke a rude person’s chat room access
Punishment and Parenting
- punished behavior is suppressed and not forgotten. This temporary state may negatively reinforce parent’s punishing behavior
- IE parents spank kids to stop kids doing something, but kids keep doing it when parents aren’t there
- physical punishment does not replace unwanted behavior
- IE guidance about appropriate behaviors is necessary
- Punishment teaches discrimination among situations
IE kids may learn it is not okay to swear at home, but can do it somewhere else - Punishment can teach fear
- Physical punishment may increase aggression by modeling violence as a way to cope with problems
Operant Conditioning Applied
Sports: Reinforcing small wins and then making the challenger harder. Start learning to shoot a basketball very close to the hoop and then slowly move back.
Work: Rewards for a job well done
Parenting: Reinforce good behavior, explain bad behavior and redirect
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