Lecture 1 Flashcards
What are the two major theories of learning?
- Learning by association
Respondent - classical - conditioning - Learning through consequences
Operant - instrumental - conditioning
What is operant conditioning?
- Focuses on the consequences of a behaviour in that context
- Voluntary behaviour in interaction with the environment or context
- The consequences makes the behaviour more or less likely to happen in the future (during the same context)
What is operant learning theory?
- Behaviour followed by a consequence
- The tendency to repeat the behaviour depends on the nature of the consequence, both pleasant and unpleasant
- Focuses on the immediate consequences of a behaviour, less than 60 seconds
- Consequences that occur immediately have the best direct effect on learning, make the behaviour more likely to both happen or not happen
What is a skinner box?
- A controlled experiment to study the impact or patterns of operant learning
The rat Rudolph
Law of effect
The effects of our actions determine whether we will repeat them
- Accidental action can lead to intentional action
Behavioral contigency
Occasion for response
- Its context
Response = Behavior
Consequence
- Immediate
- Outcome of the response
There is a reason why we do something
Gives a tendency or likelihood to repeat that response in the same occasion - because of the consequences it gave
Causal relationship
What is behaviour/response?
- Overt behaviour ; things we can observe
- Covert behaviour ; things we cant observe
Dead man test
If a dead man can do it, it probably is not behaviour
What is consequences of behaviour?
- Something that happens naturally
Hungry - we eat - Constructed from culture or social interactions
joking - laughing - There are 4 basic behavioural contingencies
- Need to have an impact on behaviour
Positive reinforcement
Basic principle
- A response becomes more frequent if a reinforcer, or increase, has followed the response on previous occasions and under similar circumstances
Reinforcement contingency
- Presentation of a reinforcer contingent to a response, resulting in increase frequency of that response
- Positive refers to presenting a stimulus
Example positive reinforcement contigency
Before
-No Instagram
R as in response
- Gets the app
Consequence - Stimulus Reinforcer (SR)
- Notification from Instagram
- Doing a trick for food
- Begging
- Raise hand for attention
- Disruptive behaviours for attention
How to not talk about behaviour
- Dont assume anything from children or animals in terms of, example, expectancy
- Avoid circular reasoning, think of what actually is behind the behaviour - what taught it to happen, what do you get out of it etc
- Whats the immediate consequence of the behaviour?
- Keep things simple
Negative Reinforcement - Escape
Basic principle
- A response becomes more frequent if the removal of an aversive stimulus has followed the response on previous occasions, under same circumstances
Reinforcement contingency
- Removal of an aversive stimulus contingent to a response, resulting in an increased frequency of that response
- Negative refers to reinforcement by removing a stimulus
- What stimulus is aversive depends on the person
Example of escape contigency
Before
- Scary movie on TV
R
- Covering face with my pillow
or
- Changing the channel
SR
- No scary movie in front of me
Avoidance Contingency
- Prevention of aversive stimulus contingent to a response, resulting in an increased frequency of that response
- Sunglasses on before the sun gets in your face
- Wool socks on before youre cold
- Avoiding situations that have been unpleasant in the past (Maintaining anxiety for example -possibly from escape contingencies or respondent conditioning)
- Dysfunctional behavior
Positive punishment
Basic principle
- A response becomes less frequent if an undesirable consequence has followed the response on previous occasions, under similar circumstances
Punishment contingency
- Presentation of aversive stimulus contingent to a response, resulting in decreased frequency of that response
Aversive stimulus - negative reinforcer = punisher
- No change in behaviour - no punshment
Examples positive punishment
- Spray when cats bite on cables
- Placed in bed (baby)
- Scolding
Positive punishment & parenting
- Use when behaviour is clearly defined
- Used as immediate consequence + reasoning behind it
- Risk of the punishment getting backfired
What should you do before you add a reinforcer?
- Check if its actually a reinforcer for the person, we are all different
- Does the reinforcer actually have an effect on behaviour? (doesnt always have to be a reinforcer just because someone claims it to be)
Preference assessment
Identify protentional reinforcer
Reinforcer assessment
The reinforcers effect on behaviour
Automatic reinforcement
- The response itself automatically produces the reinforcer
Stimming
No outside stimuli
Socially mediated reinforcement
- Another person provides the reinforcer
Comfort
Attention from others
A smile
Delay Gradient
- The effects of reinforcement and punishment contingencies
- decrease
- as the delay between the response and the outcome increase
Noncontingent event
An event that is not dependant on anything *
Environmental enrichment general rule
- You can increase the frequency of entering a setting
- by putting more reinforcements in that setting,
- but to increase productivity, add reinforcements to improve productivity
Sick social cycle
- In escaping
- the perpetrators aversive behaviour (baby crying),
- the victim (parent) unintentionally reinforces
- that aversive behaviour (by giving the baby attention when it cries)
- Dysfunctional behaviours
Overcorrection
- A contingency
- on inappropriate behavior
- requiring the person
- to engage in an effortful response
- that more than corrects
- the effect of the inappropriate behavior
Flipping furniture - clean the entire living room
Negative Punishment
Basic principle
- A response becomes less frequent if the removal of a desirable consequence has followed the response on previous occasions, under similar circumstance
Penalty contingency
- Removal of a desirable stimulus contingent to a response, resulting decreased frequency of that response
- Good to correct behaviour; burning your hand on a stove
- The term negative refers to punishment by removing a stimulus
- Not the same reinforcer thats maintaining the punished response
Examples negative punishment
- Token economy, loosing points for inappropriate behaviour
- Loosing ice cream privileges
Response contingency
- The response-contingent removal of
- a tangible reinforcer
- resulting in a decreased frequency
Time out concepts
- Punishment based procedure based on loss of reinforcement,
- time based
- time outs in games - warnings
Exclusionary time-out
None exclusionary time-out
The response-contingent of access to reinforcer, resulting in decreased frequency of that response
Does punishment work?
- Inappropriate to control children behaviour
- Positive reinforcement is much more effective
- Work if they are well thought out and clearly point out behaviour
Can you undo previous learning?
- No but its possible to to re-learn - add new contingencies
Extinction - following reinforcement
Basic principle
- Stopping the reinforcement contingency for a previously reinforced response means that the frequency of the response decreases
Extinction contingency
- Removal of reinforcing (positive or negative) consequence. resulting in decreased frequency of the previously reinforced response
- Change of context
- “Extinction burst”
Recovery - following punishment
Basic principle
- Stopping the punishment contingency for a previously punished response means that the frequency of the response increases back to its previous level
Recover contingency
- Removal of a punishing consequence, resulting in increased frequency of the previously punished response
- Stopping punishment can lead to old behaviour coming back at the same frequency
