Instrumental Conditioning Flashcards
Instrumental Conditioning:
the learning of a contingency between behaviour and consequence
instrumental conditioning involves explicit training between
voluntary behaviours and their consequences
a specific behaviour leads to
a specific consequence
“stamping in” and “stamping out” determines
whether a behaviour was maintained or eliminated respectively
Edward L. Thorndike and his puzzle box what behaviours were stamped in
Behaviours like rope pulling were stamped in because they were followed by the favourable consequence of access to food
Edward L. Thorndike and his puzzle box what behaviours were stamped out
random behaviours like turning in a circle, were stamped out
“stamping in” and “stamping out” leads to in regards to Thorndike puzzle box
process leads to refinement, and the cat learns the contingency between the specific behaviour of rope pulling and
the specific consequence of food reward
Law of Effect:
Behaviours with positive consequences are stamped in and produced more frequently
Behaviours with negative consequences are stamped out and produced less frequently
4 different types of instrumental conditioning
- Presenting a positive reinforcer
- Removing a positive reinforcer
- Presenting a negative reinforcer
- Removing a negative reinforcer
Reward Training
the presentation of a positive reinforcer following a response which increase the frequency of the behaviour
An example of reward training
if you present your puppy with a treat every time he sits on command, the behaviour is likely to increase
Punishment Training:
the presentation of a negative reinforcer following a response that decreases the frequency of the behaviour
An example of punishment training is:
if little Billy teases his sister, and his mother tugs his ear and scolds him, he will likely decrease the behaviour
Omission Training
removing a positive reinforcer following a response that decreases the behaviour
An Example of omission training is:
little Billy is doing his 2 favourite things, watching his favourite TV show and teasing his sister
- Billy’s mom wants to eliminate the teasing behaviour
- she decides to turn of the TV for 30 seconds every time Billy teases Sally
- access to the TV show is a positive reinforcer and removing it, will likely cause Billy to stop his teasing behaviour
Escape Training:
removing a negative reinforcer following a response that increases the behaviour
a constant negative reinforcer being presented that the learner is motivated to have remove
An example of escape training is:
ex. the floor of one side of a rats cage delivers a constant mild electric shock, it can be avoided if the rat moves to the opposite side of the cage
Instrumental conditioning is that is proceeds best when (timing)
he consequence immediately follows the response
Acquisition
When an organisms learns the contingency between a response and its consequence
auto shaping is :
For simple behaviours
and can be learned without the careful guidance of the researcher
shaping by excessive
approximation:
the complex behaviour can be organized into smaller steps which gradually build up to the full response that we hope to condition
Discriminative Stimulus (SD/S+):
signals when a contingency between a particular response and reinforcement is on
S∂ (S-):
a cue which indicates when the contingent relationship is not valid
An example of Discriminative Stimulus (SD/S+):
ex. the environment of the childs parents home becomes an SD for the response of vegetable eating behaviour which is reinforced with access to a dessert reward
