Instrumental/Operant Conditioning

Question 1

what is instrumental/Operant conditioning?

Answer 1

learning through reinforcement, a learning process where voluntary behaviours are modified by association with the addition of reward or aversive stimuli

Question 2

what is shaping?

Answer 2

a form of behavior modification based with operant conditioning. Through the process of successive approximation, behaviors that are closer and closer to a target behavior are progressively rewarded with positive reinforcement

Question 3

what is a discriminative stimulus?

Answer 3

a specific environmental cue that signals to an individual that a particular behaviour will be reinforced or punished i.e. a signal that tells an individual what to do in a particular situation

Question 4

what is an example of operant conditioning using appetitive USs (like food)

Answer 4

Skinner and his box - place rats in box when lever is pressed food is dispensed into the box. Over time learn straight to go to the lever

Question 5

what is an example of operant conditioning using aversive USs (like shock)

Answer 5

Thorndike and his puzzle box: Thorndike put hungry cats in cages with automatic doors that could be opened by pressing a button inside the cage. Thorndike would time how long it took the cat to escape. A food was placed outside the box, overtime they learnt how to press the lever to escape the box and get the food which was rewarding

Question 6

how does operant conditioning differ from classical conditioning?

Answer 6

the learner is in control

Question 7

what is the Law of Effect? Thorndike

Answer 7

• Of several responses made to the same situation, those which are accompanied or closely followed by satisfaction to the animal will be more likely to recur
• those which are accompanied or closely followed by discomfort to the animal will be less likely to occur.
• The greater the satisfaction or discomfort, the greater the strengthening or weakening of the bond.

Question 8

how was thorndike’s view wrong?

Answer 8

• there must always be a stimuli present when we condition our response
• Throndike thought this stimuli was learned
• and also he thought that the unconditioned stimulus acted as glue to form a stimulus and response association
• once the association is formed, the stimulus always elicits the response but the animal doesn’t know why as it hasn’t learned the reward

Question 9

differences between throndike and the modern view

Answer 9

Thorndike
- associate stimulus and response
- unconditioned stimuli not incorporated in learning
- respond because the stimulus is there so the value of the unconditioned stimulus is irrelevant
- its a habit

Modern View
- associate response and the unconditioned stimulus
- unconditioned stimuli incorporated in learning
- respond to get unconditioned stimulus because it has value
- a goal-directed action

Question 10

what is positive reinforcement?

Answer 10

• process of encouraging or establishing a pattern of behaviour by offering reward when the behaviour is exhibited
• getting something good e.g. food
• increases likelihood of desired behaviour

Question 11

what is negative reinforcement?

Answer 11

• taking away something occurs when something unpleasant or uncomfortable is removed or taken away in order to increase the likelihood of the desired behaviour
• adding something bad e.g. a shock

Question 12

what is positive punishment?

Answer 12

adding an aversive stimulus after an unwanted behaviour to discourage a person from repeating the behaviour e.g. adding a shock

Question 13

what is negative punishment?

Answer 13

taking something good or desirable away to reduce the occurrence of a particular behaviour e.g. cancel food

Question 14

what are some operant conditioning techniques

Answer 14

• aversion = Responses followed by aversive USs (e.g. shock)
• escape = Responses rewarded by removing aversive USs (e.g. shock) after they’ve begun
• avoidance = Responses rewarded by removing aversive USs (e.g. shock) before they’ve begun

Question 15

what is passive avoidance?

Answer 15

Often use a shuttle-box. These have two chambers; rat can move from one side to the other
- exploits a natural tendency of mice to enter dark environment
- rat must stay where it is to avoid shock i.e. must stay in light chamber

Question 15

what is active avoidance?

Answer 15

Often use a shuttle-box. These have two chambers; rat can move from one side to the other
- mouse learns to avoid shock based upon the presentation of a light cue
- rat must move to other chamber to avoid shock

Question 16

what is signalled avoidance?

Answer 16

Often use a shuttle-box. These have two chambers; rat can move from one side to the other
- explicit conditioned stimulus signal for shock e.g. buzzer
- whenever mouse hears buzzer mouse must move to the other chamber to avoid shock

Question 17

what maintains avoidance response? Kamin, 1956

Answer 17

• Rat in chamber. Buzzer followed by shock; rat must respond to avoid the shock
• Four groups of rats in a shuttlebox; a buzzer signals the shock
• Group 1: Responses terminated buzzer and avoided shock
• Group 2: Responses avoided shock, no effect on buzzer
• Group 3: Responses terminated buzzer, no effect on shock
• Group 4: Matched buzzer-shock pairings, but responses do nothing.

results
- Animals learn most when buzzer terminated and shock cancelled
- Learn least when responses ineffective – (must be operant conditioning)
- Learn something even when they only terminate the warning CS, not the shock!
- both types of reward play a role

Question 18

what is the avoidance response an example of?

Answer 18

an avoidance response

Question 19

Once trained, avoidance responses very persistent, Solomon Kamin & Wynne (1953)

Answer 19

• Dogs in a shuttlebox: 1-s buzzer signalled shock, and barrier raised so they could jump over and avoid the shock. Even when shock cancelled, dogs went on jumping
• Response is a conditioned inhibitor predicting absence of shock
  this can prevent conditioned stimulus from extinguishing

Question 20

Soltysik et al. 1983 Cats. CSs signal mild shock.

Answer 20

Stage 1
- tone and clicker predict shock; light signals absence of expected shock
- Light is a conditioned inhibitor
Stage 2
- tone and click are presented without shock.
- This could allow extinction but tone is extinguished with an inhibitor present, click is extinguished on its own
- compare LOSS of fear to tone and clicker

Animals failed to lose fear to the tone when extinguished with an inhibitor

inhibitory light protected tone from extinction

Question 21

what explains why avoidance responses?

Answer 21

• In an avoidance experiment the inhibitory response could protect the warning signal (buzzer) from extinction, even if there are no more USs (shocks)
• if response keeps on happening, buzzer stays frightening, keeps predicting shock, rat keeps on avoiding it

Question 22

what is an everyday example of avoidance bahaviour?

Answer 22

OCD
- people develop persistent avoidance
responses
- maybe in the past they avoided something bad
- now the responses give relief even though no longer anything to avoid… and can ruin lives

Question 23

what is appetitive reinforcement?

Answer 23

Responses followed by appetitive USs (e.g. food, sucrose)
2 ways of doing this:
1. Can give reward for EVERY response (continuous reinforcement)
2. Can give reward for only SOME responses (partial reinforcement)

Question 24

what is a fixed interval schedule?

Answer 24

for example every minute
- reward a child for tidying their room by a trip to the chippy, but only on Fridays. Child tends to tidy his room on Thursday night!
- Fixed interval; responding occurs near the time of reinforcement

Question 25

what is a variable interval schedule?

Answer 25

for example once per minute on average, but sometimes less sometimes more
- reward a child for tidying their room by a trip to the chippy, but randomly throughout the week. Child will keep his room tidy all week;
- low but steady rates of responding and is often used in experiments

Question 26

what is a ratio schedule?

Answer 26

• reward a fixed number of responses
• can be fixed (e.g. every 10 seconds)
• or variable ( every 10 on avaerage, but sometimes more and sometimes less0

Question 26

how is superstitious behaviour explained?

Answer 26

sometimes accidental pairings of a response and a reward produce a change in behaviour even though there is no reliable relationship in the world