KEY PROCESSES IN OPERANT CONDITIONING

Question 1

Acquisition

Answer 1

In operant conditioning the process of a particular behaviour (response) being followed by a reinforcing or punishing consequence (stimulus) over a number of trials.

Question 2

Extinction

Answer 2

The gradual decrease in the rate of a response until it eventually does not occur at all. In operant conditioning this occurs when reinforcement is no longer delivered following the response it had previously reinforced.

Question 3

spontaneous recovery

Answer 3

The reoccurrence of a conditioned response that had previously been extinguished.

Question 4

Stimulus generalisation

Answer 4

In operant conditioning the learner produces a behaviour in a similar situation to that which normally results in reinforcement occurring.

Question 5

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 5

n operant conditioning the learner produces a behaviour only in the situation where reinforcement occurs and not in other similar situations.