LEARNING - OPERANT CONDITIONING Flashcards
Operant conditioning
refers to the learning that occurs in the context of experiencing, or avoiding, rewards or punishments contingent upon performing a behaviour.
reinforcement
Any process that increased the frequency of a targeted behaviour is called a reinforcement. We repeat or strengthen a behaviour as a results of a reinforcement (an award/ punishment for not behaving properly). We tend to decrease of weaken behaviour where there is no reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement
the presentation of desirable events or stimuli, e.g., food, a pleasant taste or praise.
Negative reinforcement
a reinforcer that increases behaviour because a negative stimulus e.g., feeling fear, pain or boredom is removed. Increases behaviour be removing something negative.
Conditioned reinforcement
an reinforcer that is given immediately following a behaviour and as long as the association with a primary reinforcer is refreshed (by sometimes pairing it with food again). Conditioned reinforcers can be very powerful.
Schedules for reinforcement:
- Continuous reinforcement
Receiving a reinforcement such as food pellet, for everyday behaviour wanted by the researcher. - Fixed Ratio Schedule
Reinforcement given at certain amount of desired behaviour completed (fruit picker) - Variable Ratio Schedule
reinforcement that occurs when a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses (gambling) - Fixed interval schedule
reinforcement at equal time intervals (fortnightly salary) - Variable interval Schedule
reinforcement that occurs random time intervals (catching fish)
Shaping
involves initially reinforcing behaviour only slightly similar to the one desired.
E.g., the researcher may not want the rat to walk to a particular wall. In order for this behaviour to occur the researcher will give the rat reinforcement when the rat makes small approaches to the wall. It is easier for an animal to receive shaping.
Punishment
weakens behaviour that immediately precedes it.
E.g., a naughty child might be smacked (a painful punishment) or have something peasant, such as a video game, that is taken away or removed.
Stimulus generalisation
refers to a process within operant conditioning and classical conditioning, where a conditioned response starts occurring in response to the presentation of another, similar stimuli, not just the conditioned stimulus.
E.g., a dog is trained to sit when your give the command ‘sit’. Soon after the dog may sit when you say ‘hit’, ‘bit’ and ‘kick’.
Stimulus discrimination
a term that is used in both classical conditioning and operant conditioning. An ability to distinguish between conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli.
E.g., Pavlov trained a dog to salivate when shown a circle and not salivate when shown an ellipse.
Observational learning
occurs when someone uses observation of another’s actions and their consequences to guide their future actions.
Person observing = observer
Person being observed = model
Vicarious conditioning
involves a person observing consequences (reinforcement or punishment) and modifying their own behaviour according to the consequence experienced by the model
The learner plays an active role in the learning process
A) pay attention in order to observe the model
R) mentally represent and retain what is being observed
R) convert these mental representations into actions and reproduce them
M) be aware that reinforcement influences the learning motivation to perform and learn behaviour.
~Reinforcement is the key link between observational learning and conditioning.
Other factors of observational learning
- Gender of the model
the observer will tend to respond to the same sex. - Social status of the model
the higher social status the more their behaviour will be reproduced by the observer. - Relationship between the model and the observer
the closer the relationship the more the observer wants to impress the model and receive positive reinforcement. - Consequence after models behaviour
if the consequence of the behaviour is positive the observer will reproduce the behaviour more. - Instruction
to learn what to do.
Fears and phobias
Fear > unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. E.g., totally rational to be afraid of snakes but to continue to function normally.
Phobia > an extreme and/or irrational fear of or aversion to a stimulus. E.g., living in the CBD/urban area but refuse to go outside in fear of being bitten by a snake.
