Chapters 5-9 Flashcards
What did Thorndike test for?
Do animals possess intelligence?
The study of consequence
- did Cat & Puzzle Box experiments
- the cat leanred from the consequences of its actions
-
THE LAW OF EFFECT:
- any action has a consequence (positive or negative)
The Law of Effect
4 Key Elements:
Any action has a consequece (can be positive or negative)
4 Key elements (cause and effect chain of events):
- have environment
- have behavior
- change in environment after the behavior
-
change in ithe behavior after the change in environment
- DEMONSTRATES LEARNING HAS OCCURRED
_ex:_ puzzle box, push lever, door opens –> cat more likely to push lever
What did Skinner say about behavior?
- behavior is either strengthened** or _weakened _** by its consequences
- behavior operates in the environment–> behavior effects the environment
Said that there are 4 TYPES OF EXPERIENCES:
- 2 THAT STRENGTHEN BEHAVIOR
- reinforcement
- 2 THAT WEAKEN BEHAVIOR
- punishment
types of operant learning
2 that strengthen behavior: REINFORCEMENT
2 that weaken behavior: PUNISHMENT
what is reinforcement?
an increase in the srength of a behavior due to its consequences
to qualify as reinforcement:
- behavior must have a consequence
- behavior must increase in strength
- the increase must be a result of the consequence
positive reinforcement
a behavior causes appearnece or increase in intensity of a stimulus
stimulus: positive reinforcer (something animal seeks out)
“reward learning”
“add” something to increase behavior
negative reinforcement
behavior strengthened by the removal/ decrease in intensity of the stimulus
stimulus: _negative reinforcer _(usually something we want ot avoid)
“escape learning”
“escape avoidance learning”
how do we measure the strength of a behavior?
frequency
or
probability
of the behavior occurring
- or any other feature of the behavior (as long as its reinforced)*
(ex: duration, form, intensitym latency)
what is behavioral momentum?
behavior persists even AFTER punishment and other reinforcers
its hard to erase the learning
(“learning keeps building up”)
kinds of reinforcers
- primary: innately effective; don’t have to learn to like them (food, water, social)
vs.
-
_secondary: _a result of learning; conditioned reinforcer (applause, money)
- have no vsalue on their own, we give them value
-
generalized reinforcers: paired w/ different reinforcers to be used in differnt situations
- natural: events that psontaneously follow from a behavior
- contrived: events provided by someone in order to modify behavior; do not occur naturally; manipulation
what is satiation?
(“say-she-ay-shun”)
when a reinforcer loses its ability to be effective due to changes in the environment, or the value of the reinforcer
ex: secondary reinforcers satiate more slowly because they tend to be weaker and aren’t as disruptive; provide instant gratification (money)
operant conditioning
behavior causes an effect (event contingent on behavior)
the behavior is voluntary/flexible (can be manipulated)
classical conditioning
events connected to behavior
(event 1 is contingent on event 2)
behavior is reflexive
what is contingency?
X and Y occur together or not at all
the amount of correlation between behavior and its consequence
(how reliably the reinforcer follows behavior)
*in terms of reinforcement: *increase the likelihood of behavior happening again
what is contiguity?
the time gap between behavior and its consequence
shorter gap = faster learning
after a delay between the behavior and the consequence, you may inadvertently reinforce other behaviors
*ex: *press lever, then cat chases tail, then door opens–> cat thinks chasing tail will open door
characteristics of reinforcers
size: larger is better
qualitative differences (individual differences can determine effectiveness)
ex: ice cream not a good reinforcer for someone who is lactose intolerant
behavior characteristics
some behaviors are easier to learn than others
what we’re trying to teach influences how quickly & easily it’s learned
what are motivation operations?
anything that changes the effectiveness of a consequence
2 types
- establishing operations: **increase effectiveness
- abolishing operations: decrease effectiveness
neuromechanics of reinforcement
Olds & Milner–1950s
ESB (electrical stimulation of the brain)
shock rats brain
looked at reward pathway (pathway the deals w/ reinforcement; limbic system)
found that the reward pathway is dopamine rich w/ endorphins
stimulating dopamine receptors triggers a reward
THEORIES OF REINFORCEMENT:
positive
Drive reduction theory
drive: motivational states
reinforcers: events that reduce drives
- pros: works with primary reinforcers*
- cons: not as well for secodary reinforcers or ones that are hard to classify*
THEORIES OF REINFORCEMENT:
positive
Relative value theory
reinforcers aren’t things–>they’re BEHAVIORS
ex: the reinforcer isn’t the food, it’s EATING the food
behaviors have different relative values (“rahter be doing X or Y?”)
something with a higher relative value will reinforce better that somwthing with a low relative value
**comparing differnet behaviors and how much you’d rahter be doing them**
pros: no need for internal “drives”
cons: doesn’t consider secondary reinforcers; sometimes low probability behavior will still be reinforcing under normal conditions
THEORIES OF REINFORCEMENT:
positive
Response Deprivation Theory
compare behaviors to themselves, **not to each other
_baseline: _ amount of time spent engaging in behavior under normal condtions
when does a behaviors become a reinforcer?
- when the behavior is held below baseline value of how much you want to do something
- cons: *still issues w/ praise
THEORIES OF REINFORCEMENT:
negative
Two-Process Theory
**2 processes occurring **
BOTH operant and Pavlovian conditoning occur
escape from an aversive stimulus to learn
when CS loses its aversiveness, avoidance persists; extinction fails to occur
THEORIES OF REINFORCEMENT
negative
One-process Theory
keep operant conditioning (because it can explain everything)
the reduction in the shock is reinforcing
stop avoidance behavior by forcing it to stop
Shaping
a type of learning
reinforce simple behaviors close to what you want/the desired behavior
used to shape behavior that won’t occur spontaneously
behaviors vary: useful behaviors get selected & rewarded
(like natural selection; select for traits)
*rat & basketball video example*
how to shape
- don’t require too much at one time
- provide immediate reinforcement/rewards (latency=bad–> can reinf. wrong behavior)
- give small rewards
- reinforce the closet approximation of the end behavior
- back up when necessary
what is chaining?
forward and backward?
teaching individual to perform a behavior chain in order
behavior chain: **a series of connected actions
**forward chaining: **reinforce FIRST actions, then SECOND, etc
**backward chaining: **reinforce LAST action first, then second to last, etc
** the LAST ACTION in the chain is the most important**