Learning Theory Operant Conditioning Flashcards
Law of Effect
developed by Thorndike. States that any response that is followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” is likely to be repeated, while any act that results in “annoying state of affairs” is less likely to reoccur.
______ refers to the application of a stimulus
“positive”
______ refers to the withholding or removal of a stimulus
“negative”
Reinforcement
INCREASES the behavior is follows.
Positive reinforcement
Performance of a behavior INCREASES as the result of the APPLICATION of a stimulus (reinforcer).
EX: Behavior is safe driving. Goal is to be a safe driver. Positive reinforcement would be to receive a gas gift card for driving safely.
Negative reinforcement
A behavior INCREASES as the result of the WITHDRAWAL of a stimulus following the behavior.
EX: Behavior is safe driving. Goal is to be a safe driver. Negative reinforcement would be to have the seat belt sound stop when you put your seat belt on.
Punishment
DECREASES the behavior it follows.
Positive punishment
Occurs when the APPLICATION of a stimulus following a response DECREASES that response.
EX: Behavior is safe driving. Goal is to be a safe driver. Positive punishment is when you get a speeding ticket for speeding.
Slapping a dog after he chews your favorite shoes to stop the dog’s chewing behavior.
Negative punishment
Occurs when REMOVAL of a stimulus following a behavior decreases that behavior.
EX: Behavior is safe driving. Goal is to be a safe driver. Positive punishment is when you get your license taken away because of reckless driving.
Taking away a child’s allowance whenever she talks back to decrease her back-talking.
Operant extinction
Occurs when reinforcement is consistently withheld from a previously reinforced behavior to decrease or eliminate that behavior.
Findings: does not cause immediate cessation of the response, instead, has a gradual disappearance.
Behavioral contrast
When a subject has been reinforced for 2 different behaviors and reinforcement for one behavior is withdrawn in order to extinguish it, the other behavior is likely to increase.
What are the four intermittent schedules?
1) Fixed Interval (FI)
2) Variable Interval (VI)
3) Fixed Ratio (FR)
4) Variable Ratio (VR)
____ are inherently desirable and do not depend on experience to acquire their reinforcing value
primary reinforcer
____ acquire their value only through repeated association with primary reinforcers.
Secondary reinforcers
Fixed Interval (FI)
When using an FI schedule, reinforcement is delivered after a fixed period of time regardless of the number of responses made.
Subjects in this schedule typically stop responding after a reinforcer is delivered and then begin responding again toward the end of the reinforcement interval, which produces a “scallop” in the cumulative recording of the number of responses made.
Variable Interval (VI)
The interval of time between delivery of reinforcers varies in an unpredictable manner from interval to interval.
Produces a steady but relatively low rate of response. EX: specific amount of “pop quizzes” given during a semester, but the time between quizzes will vary.
Fixed Ratio (FR)
a reinforcer is delivered each time the subject makes a specific number of responses.
EX: A pellet is provided every 6th peck a pigeon gives.
Piecework, when workers receive payment following completion of a specific number of units.
produces a high, steady rate of responding, usually with a brief pause following delivery of the reinforcer.
Variable Ratio (VR)
Reinforcers are provided after a variable number of responses.
Number os responses needed for reinforcement varies.
Matching Law
concurrent schedules of reinforcement are used which involves providing 2 or more simultaneous and independent schedules of reinforcement, each for a different response.
The correspondence between responding to 2 or more alternatives and the frequency of reinforcement for responding is predicted by the matching law.
Stimulus control
a behavior is “under stimulus control” when certain cues signal that the
behavior will or will not be reinforced
cues that signal that a behavior will be reinforced are referred to as
positive discriminative stimuli
cues that signal that a behavior will not be reinforced are referred to as
negative discriminative stimuli
positive discriminative stimuli
Simulus control:
cues that signal that a behavior will be reinforced are referred to as
positive discriminative stimuli
negative discriminative stimuli
Simulus control:
cues that signal that a behavior will not be reinforced are referred to as
negative discriminative stimuli
In operant conditioning, _____ evoke stimulus generalization.
positive discriminative stimuli
_____ are verbal or physical cues that signal what behavior is
expected or that a particular behavior will or will not be reinforced
Prompts
Difference between “fading” and “thinning”
fading refers to the gradual removal of a PROMPT
thinning refers to reducing the number of REINFORCERS
escape and avoidance conditioning are both applications of _______
negative
reinforcement
escape conditioning
escape conditioning occurs when a behavior increases because it
permits escape from an undesirable consequence
avoidance conditioning
avoidance conditioning occurs when a behavior increases because it
permits avoidance of an undesirable consequence
* avoidance conditioning is an application of two-factor learning that
combines classical conditioning and negative reinforcement
A “scallop” in the cumulative recording is characteristic of which schedule of reinforcement?
Fixed Interval (FI)
Escape conditioning becomes avoidance conditioning when:
a signal is provided that indicates that an aversive stimulus is about to be delivered
The Premack Principle
a behavior that occurs frequently is used to reinforce a behavior that doesn’t a behavior that occurs frequently is used to reinforce a behavior that doesn’t
occur often enough
*is particularly useful when it’s difficult to identify a stimulus that would serve as
an effective reinforcer
Shaping
used to establish complex behaviors and involves REINFORCING SUCCESSIVE
approximations to the desired behavior
Chaining
used to establish complex behaviors when the behavior consists of
responses that must be linked together to form a “behavior chain”
- when using shaping, only the final behavior is important
- however, with chaining, each response in the behavior chain is important
EX: Making a cake. getting the ingredients, following directions, baking it, eating it!
Positive punishment findings
techniques that use positive punishment involve applying a stimulus following techniques that use positive punishment involve applying a stimulus following
a behavior to reduce or eliminate that behavior
- these techniques are usually less effective than those that rely on positive
punishment - they tend to suppress rather than eliminate a behavior
- they are associated with a number of negative consequences including fostering aggressive behaviors
- they’re susceptible to habituation, which occurs when the punishment loses its aversive characteristics
Negative Punishment findings
involves removing a stimulus following a behavior to decrease that
behavior
- response cost involves taking away a specific source of reinforcement
following the undesirable behavior - time out involves removing all opportunities for reinforcement for a predefined period of time following the undesirable behavior defined period of time following the undesirable behavior
- its effectiveness is increased when it’s combined with a warning signal or
explanation about why it’s being applied
Overcorrection
type of punishment in which the penalty for the undesirable behavior is performing more desirable alternative behaviors
- consists of two phases –
1-during the RESTITUTION phase, the person corrects the consequences of
his/her behavior
2-during the during the POSITIVE PRACTICE phase positive practice phase, the person practices appropriate the person practices appropriate
behaviors - may also require physical guidance, which can be problematic for
individuals who are very resistant or have been physically abused
Negative practice
opposite of positive practice. IND is asked to repeat the undesirable behavior to the point that it becomes aversive to the individual or they become fatigued.
Used in treating tics when people were asked to engage in their tic voluntarily versus suppressing it.
Response cost
application of negative punishment and involves removing a specific reinforcer each time the target behavior is performed.
An operant technique in which all opportunities for positive reinforcement are made unavailable for a specified period of time following the performance of an undesirable behavior in order to reduce that behavior is known as:
time out
Operant extinction
entails withholding reinforcement from a previously reinforced response in order to eliminate/ decrease that response.
Cons to operant conditioning
removal of reinforcement often produces an
extinction burst, which is a temporary increase in the behavior
* another problem is that it eliminates a behavior without fostering more
desirable behaviors
* differential reinforcement overcomes this problem by combining extinction
with positive reinforcement for other behaviors
A chimpanzee pushes a button to turn on a tone. Once the tone sounds, the chimpanzee pulls a lever to turn on a green light. Once the green light is on, the chimpanzee slides a door open to obtain a treat. Which of the following techniques was used to teach this sequence of behaviors to the chimpanzee?
chaining
Differential reinforcement is best conceptualized as which of the following?
A combination of extinction and positive reinforcement
-involves reinforcing the alternative behaviors while ignoring the target behavior.
“Grandma’s rule” (e.g., “You must eat your string beans before you can go outside to play.”) is most similar to which of the following techniques?
the Premack Principle
In a token economy, the tokens are:
generalized, secondary reinforcers
You would conduct a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to:
identify the antecedents and consequences that control or maintain a specific behavior
