Chapter 5 Flashcards
Instrumental conditioning
Behaviors that occurs because it was previously effective in producing certain consequences
law of effect
Proposed by Thorndike. The law of effect states that if a response R in the presence of a stimulus S is followed by a satisfying event, the association between the stimulus S and the response R becomes strengthened. If the response is followed by an annoying event, the S-R association is weakened.
discrete-trial procedures
Each training trial begins with putting the animal in the apparatus and ends with removal of the animal after the instrumental response has been performed.
latency
The latency is the time it takes the animal to leave the start box and begin running down the alley. Typically, latencies become shorter as training progresses.
free-operant procedures
experimental procedures that allow the animal to repeat the instrumental response without constraint over and over again without being taken out of the apparatus until the end of an experimental session.
B.F. Skinner
operant response
is defined in terms of the effect that the behavior has on the environment.
Behavior is not defined in terms of particular muscle movements but in terms of how the behavior operates on the environment.
instrumental response
any response that is required to produce a desired consequence because it is instrumental in producing a particular outcome
magazine training
The preliminary phase of instrumental conditioning in which a stimulus is repeatedly paired with teh reinforcer to enable the participant to learn to go and get the reinforcer when it is presented. The sound of the food-delivery device, for example, may be repeatedly paired with food so that the animal will learn to go to the food cup when food is delivered
response shaping
reinforcement of successive approximations to a desired instrumental response
Successful shaping of behavior involves 3 components
(1) clearly define the final response you want the trainee to respond
(2) you have to clearly assess the starting level of performance
(3) you have to divide the progression from the starting point to the final target behavior into appropriate training steps or successive approximations.
appetitive stimulus
A pleasant event
aversive stimulus
An unpleasant stimulus
Positive reinforcement
Response-outcome contingency - Positive: response produces an appetitive stimulus
Result: reinforcement or increase in response rate
Punishment
Also known as positive punishment
Response-outcome contingency - Positive: response produces an aversive stimulus
Result: punishment or decrease in response rate
Negative reinforcement
Response-outcome contingency - Negative: Response eliminates or prevents the occurence of an aversive stimulus
Result: reinforcement or increase in response rate
Omission training (DRO, differential reinforcement of other behavior) or negative punishment
Response-outcome contingency - Negative: Response eliminates or prevents the occurrence of an appetitive stimulus
Result: Punishment or decrease in response rate
Involves the reinforcement of other behavior
How did Thorndike and Skinner differ on explaining instrumental behavior?
Thorndike described instrumental behavior as involving the stamping in of an S-R association.
Skinner wrote about behavior being strengthened or reinforced.
However, they were both wrong to suggest that this is an inevitable outcome - novel response forms can be readily produced by instrumental conditioning if the response variation is a requirement for reinforcement.
VAR and YOKED
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instinctive drift
A gradual drift of instrumental behavior away from the responses required for reinforcement to species-typical, or instinctive, responses related to the reinforcer and to other stimuli in the experimental situation.
Shifts in reinforcer quality or quantity
The effectiveness of a reinforcer depends not only on its own properties but also on how that reinforcer compares with others the individual received in the recent past.
Behavioral contrast effects
Change in the value of a reinforcer produced by prior experience with a reinforcer of a higher or lower value. Prior experience with a lower valued reinforcer increases reinforcer value (positive behavioral contrast), and prior experience with a higher valued reinforcer reduces reinforcer value (negative behavioral contrast)
anticipatory negative contrast
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temporal relation
the time between the response and the reinforcer
temporal contiguity
the delivery of the reinforcer immediately after the response.
response-reinforcer contingency
the extent to which the instrumental response is necessary and sufficient to produce the reinforcer
conditioned reinforcer
a conditioned stimulus that was previously associated with the reinforcer
marking procedure
A procedure in which the instrumental response is immediately followed by a distinctive event (the participant is picked up or a flash of light is presented) that makes the instrumental response more memorable and helps overcome the deleterious effects of delayed reinforcement.
contiguity
the occurence of two events, such as a response and a reinforcer, at the same time or very close together in time.
superstitious behavior
behavior caused by accidental reinforcement.
terminal responses
responses in superstitious behavior that were performed right before delivery of the reinforcer
interim responses
responses in superstitious behavior that were performed between reinforcers
learned-helplessness effect
interference with the learning of a new instrumental responses as a result of exposure to inescapable and unavoidable aversive stimulation
Triadic design
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learned-helplessness hypothesis
assumes that during exposure to uncontrollable shocks, animals learn that the shocks are independent of their behavior - that there is nothing they can do to control the shocks.
activity deficit hypothesis
animals in group show a learning deficit following exposure to inescapable shock because inescapable shocks encourage animals to become inactive or freeze
attention deficit hypothesis
according to the attention deficit hypothesis, exposure to inescapable shock reduces the extent to which animals pay attention to their own behavior, and that is why these animals show a learning deficit.
stimulus relations in escape conditioning
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