Exam 3 Flashcards
Edward Lee Thorndike
- American
- interested in animal intelligence at end of 19th century
- studied animal intelligence by studying animal learning
the statement that that behavior is a function of its consequences. So called b/c the strength of a behavior depends on its past effects on the environment
Law of Effect
What does this demonstrate: a chick in a maze goes down a wrong alley (this is followed by continued hunger). If the chick goes down the right alley, it finds food.
Law of Effect
Who was the first person to show that behavior is systematically strengthened or weakened by its consequences?
Thorndike
According to Thorndike’s Law of Effect, the strength of a behavior depends on its __________.
consequences
experiences whereby behavior is strengthened or weakened by its consequences
operant learning
Who was nicknamed the Darwin of Behavior Science?
B.F. Skinner
an increase in the strength of behavior due to its consequence
reinforcement
3 characteristics to qualify as reinforcement:
- a behavior must have a consequence
- the behavior must increase in strength (occur more often)
- the increase in strength must be a result of the consequence
a reinforcement procedure in which a behavior is followed by the presentation of, or an increase in the intensity of, a stimulus
positive reinforcement (sometimes called reward training)
any stimulus that, when presented following a behavior, increases or maintains the strength of that behavior
positive reinforcer
a behavior is strengthened by the removal of, or a decrease in the intensity of, a stimulus
negative reinforcement (sometimes called escape-avoidance learning)
any stimulus, that, when removed following a behavior, increases or maintains the strength of that behavior
negative reinforcer
Reinforcement _________ behavior
increases
Positive=stimulus is _______
presented
Negative=stimulus is _______
removed
an operant training procedure in which performance of a behavior defines the end of the trial
discrete trial procedure
Thorndike used ___________ to study operant learning
discrete trial procedure
an operant training procedure in which a behavior may be repeated any number of times
free operant procedure
Skinner used _____________ to study operant learning
free operant procedure
Pavlovian conditioning is sometimes called _______ learning
S-S
Operant learning is sometimes called _______ learning
S-R-S
the essential elements of all operant learning, often represented by the letter ABC, for antecedent, behavior, and consequences
three-term contingency
Pavlovian usually includes _____ behavior, while operant usually contains _________ behavior
involuntary; voluntary
Overmier & Seligman study
Strapped dog into harness and presented a tone followed by a shock. When they put the dog in a box divided by a barrier and delivered the shock, the dog made no effort to escape. They called this learned helplessness
any reinforcer that is not dependent on another reinforcer for its reinforcing properties
primary reinforcer
a reduction in the effectiveness of a reinforcer due to exposure to or consumption of the reinforcer
satiation
any reinforcer that has acquired its reinforcing properties through its association with other reinforcers (dependent of their association with other reinforcers)
secondary reinforcers
any secondary reinforcer that has been paired with several different reinforcers
generalized reinforcer
events that have been arranged by someone usually for the purpose of modifying behavior
contrived reinforcers
events that follow automatically or naturally from the behavior
natural reinforcers
when a behavior is decreased bc you got something “bad”
positive punishment
when a behavior is decreased because something good was taken away
negative punishment
behavior increases because you got something good
positive reinforcement
behavior increases because you got rid of something bad
negative reinforcement
a series of related behaviors, the last of which produces reinforcement
behavior chain
in operant training, the procedure of establishing a behavior chain
chaining
the procedure of identifying the component elements of a behavior chain
task analysis
the trainer begins by reinforcing performance of the first link in the chain
forward chaining
a chaining procedure in which training begins with the last link in the chain and adds preceding links in reverse order
backward chaining
a procedure in which a stimulus is followed by a reinforcer regardless of what the organism does. this procedure often result in the “shaping” of behavior without reinforcement
autoshaping
anything that establishes conditions that improve the effectiveness of a reinforcer
motivating operation
formerly reward center, the neural pathways believed to be associated with positive reinforcement. It is thought to be an area in the septal region, the area separating the two cerebral hemispheres and running from the middle of the brain to the frontal cortex (part of the thinking area of the brain)
reward pathway
one of the brain’s major neurotransmitters and one source of a natural “high”. It is thought to play an important role in reinforcement
Dopamine
an important neurotransmitter that is thought to be important in reinforcement
epinephrine
the reappearance during extinction of a previously reinforced behavior
resurgence
in Pavlovian conditioning, the procedure of repeatedly presenting a CS without the US; in operant conditioning, the procedure of withholding the reinforcers that maintain a behavior
extinction
a sudden increase in the rate of behavior during the early stages of extinction
extinction burst
In Hull’s theory of reinforcement, a motivational state (such as hunger) caused by a period of deprivation (as of food)
drives
the theory of reinforcement that attributes a reinforcer’s effectiveness to the reduction of a drive
drive-reduction theory
the observation that high-probability behavior reinforces low-probability behavior
Premack principle
theory of reinforcement that considers reinforcers to be behaviors rather than stimuli and that attributes a reinforcer’s effectiveness to its probability relative to other behaviors
relative value theory
the theory of reinforcement that says a behavior is reinforcing to the extent that the organism has been deprived (relative to is baseline frequency) of performing that behavior
response deprivation theory
the view that avoidance and punishment involve two procedures–Pavlovian and operant learning
two-process theory
an escape avoidance training procedure in which no stimulus regularly precedes the aversive stimulus
Sidman avoidance procedure
the view that avoidance and punishment involve only one procedure–operant learning
one-process theory
Thorndike studied animal learning as a way of measuring animal _______.
intelligence
Positive and negative reinforcement both ______ behavior
strengthen
In the ______ _______ procedure, the behavior ends the trial
discrete trial
The fact that Albert reached for the rat just before the loud noise occurred meant that ______ learning was involved.
operant
Shaping is the reinforcement of successive ___________ of a desired behavior
approximations
Weil wanted to separate the effects of ______ of reinforcement and _____ of reinforcements.
delay; number
In general, the more you increase the amount of a reinforcer, the ____ benefit you get from the increase.
less
Positive reinforcement is associated with the release of _____ in the brain.
dopamine
The two processes in two-process theory are:
Pavlovian conditioning and operant learning
a reinforcement schedule in which a behavior is reinforced each time it occurs
continuous reinforcement
any of several reinforcement schedules in which a behavior is sometimes reinforced
intermittent schedule
a reinforcement schedule in which reinforcement is delivered independently of behavior at fixed intervals
fixed ratio schedule
a pause in responding following reinforcement; associated primarily with FI and FR schedules
post reinforcement pauses
a puse that occurs following reinforcement and before a response run
preratio pauses
the rate at which a behavior occurs once it has resumed following reinforcement
run rate
a reinforcement schedule in which, on average, every nth performance of a behavior is reinforced
variable ratio schedule
a reinforcement schedule in which a behavior is reinforced the first time it occurs following a specified interval since the last reinforcement
fixed interval schedules
a reinforcement schedule in which a behavior is reinforced the first time it occurs following an interval since the law reinforcement, with the interval carrying around a specified average
variable interval schedules
a reinforcement schedule in which reinforcement is contingent on the continuous performance of a behavior for a fixed period of time
fixed duration schedule
a reinforcement schedule in which a behavior is reinforced the first time it occurs following an interval since the last reinforcement, with the interval varying around a specified average
variable duration schedule
a form of differential reinforcement in which a behavior is reinforced only if it occurs no more than a specified number of times in a given period
differential reinforcement of low rate
a form of differential reinforcement in which a behavior is reinforced only if it occurs at least a specified number of times in a given period
differential reinforcement of high rate
the procedure of providing reinforcers independently of behavior
noncontingent reinforcement
a reinforcement schedule in which reinforcement is delivered independently of behavior at fixed intervals
fixed time schedule
a reinforcement schedule in which reinforcement is delivered at varying intervals regardless of what the organism does
variable time schedules
the procedure of gradually increasing the number of responses required for reinforcement
stretching the ratio
disruption of the pattern of responding due to stretching the ratio of reinforcement too abruptly or too far
ratio strain
the tendency of a behavior to be more resistant to extinction following partial reinforcement than following continuous reinforcement
partial reinforcement effect
the proposal that the PRE occurs because it is harder to discriminate between intermittent reinforcement and extinction than between continuous reinforcement and extinction
discrimination hypothesis
the proposal that the PRE occurs because nonreinforcement frustration becomes an S+ for repsonding
frustration hypothesis
the proposal that the PRE occurs because the sequence of reinforced and nonreinforced behaviors during intermittent reinforcement becomes an S+ for responding during extinction
sequential hypothesis
the proposal that the PRE is due to differences in the definition of a behavior during intermittent and continuous reinforcement
response unit hypothesis
a complex reinforcement schedule in which two or more simple schedules alternate, with each schedule associated with a particular stimulus
multiple schedule
a complex reinforcement schedule in which two or more simple schedules, neither associated with a particular sense, alternate
mixed schedule
a complex reinforcement schedule that consists of a series of simple schedules, each of which os associated with a particular stimulus, with reinforcement delivered only on completion of the last schedule in the series
chain schedule
a complex reinforcement schedule that consists of a series of simple schedules, with reinforcements delivered only on completion of the last schedule in the series. The simple schedules are not associated with different stimuli
tandem schedule
a complex reinforcement schedule in which reinforcement is contingent on the behavior of two or more individuals d
cooperative schedules
a complex reinforcement schedule in which two or more simple schedules are available at the same time
concurrent schedules
the principle that, given the opportunity to respond to two or more reinforcement schedules, the rate of responding on each schedule will match the reinforcement available on each schedule
matching law
The term _____ _______ refers to the pattern and rate of performance produced by a particular reinforcement schedule.
schedule effects
The rate at which a behavior occurs once it has begun is called the ___ rate.
run
In ratio schedules, reinforcement is contingent on:
the number of times the behavior occurs
In interval schedules, reinforcement is contingent on:
the behavior occurring after a given interval
In FT and VT schedules, reinforcement in contingent on ____ rather than _____.
time; behavior
The difference between multiple and mixed schedules is that in ____ schedules there is a signal that the schedule has changed.
multiple
What does PRE stand for?
partial reinforcement effect
