Exam 3 Flashcards
Additional Reinforcement
an instance in which the delivery of a reinforcer happens to coincide with a particular response, even though that response was not responsible for the reinforcer presentation. Also called adventitious reinforcement. This type of reinforcement was considered to be responsible for “superstitious” behavior
Adventitious Reinforcement
same as accidental reinforcement
Appetitive stimulus
a pleasant or satisfying stimulus that can be used to positively reinforce an instrumental response
Aversive stimulus
an unpleasant or annoying stimulus that can be used to punish an instrumental response
Avoidance
an instrumental conditioning procedure in which the instrumental response prevents the delivery of an aversive stimulus
Behavioral contrast
Change in the value of a reinforcer produced by a 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)
Belongingness
the idea, originally proposed by Thorndike, that an organism’s evolutionary history makes certain responses fit or belong with certain reinforcers. Belongingness facilitates learning.
Conditioned reinforcer
A stimulus that becomes an effective reinforcer because of its association with a primary or unconditioned reinforcer. Also called secondary reinforcer.
Contiguity
The occurrence of two events, such as a response and a reinforcer, at the same time or very close together in time. Also called temporal contiguity.
Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)
An instrumental conditioning procedure in which a positive reinforcer is periodically delivered only if the participant does something other than the target response
Discrete-trial procedure
A method of instrumental conditioning in which the participant can perform the instrumental response only during specific periods, usually determined either by placement of the participant in an experimental chamber or by the presentation of a stimulus.
Escape
An instrumental conditioning procedure in which the instrumental response terminates an aversive stimulus (see also negative reinforcement)
Free-operant procedure
A method of instrumental conditioning that permits repeated performance of the instrumental response without intervention by the experimenter.
Instinctive drift
a gradual drift of instrumental behavior away from responses required for reinforcement to species-typical, or instinctive, responses related to the reinforcer and to other stimuli in the experimental situation.
instrumental behavior
an activity that occurs because it is effective in producing a particular consequence or reinforcer.
interim response
a response that has its highest probability in the middle of the interval between successive presentations of a reinforcer, when the reinforcer is not likely to occur
latency
the time between the start of a trial (or the start of a stimulus) and the instrumental response
law of effect
A mechanism of instrumental behavior, proposed by Thorndike, which states that if a response (R) is followed by a satisfying event in the presence of a stimulus (S), the association between the stimulus and the response (S-R) will be strengthened; if the response is followed by an annoying event, the S-R association will be weakened
Learned-helplessness effect
interference with the learning of new instrumental responses as a result of exposure to inescapable and unavoidable aversive stimulation
learned-helplessness hypothesis
the proposal that exposure to inescapable and unavoidable aversive stimulation reduces motivation to respond and disrupts subsequent instrumental conditioning because participants learn that their behavior does not control outcomes
