lesson 3 operant conditioning approaches Flashcards
what is operant conditioning?
learning through the consequences of your actions
what is reinforcement?
a consequence that makes a behaviour more likely to occur
what is punishment?
a consequence that makes a behaviour less likely to occur
what is positive reinforcement?
receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
what is negative reinforcement?
occurs when we carry out a certain behaviour to avoid something unpleasant
what is a positive punishment?
adding something unpleasant to the consequence like slapping your child
what is a negative punishment?
taking something away like the child’s phone
what was in Skinner’s box?
a cage which had loud speakers, lights, a lever, a door and a floor which could be electrified
what was placed in Skinner’s box?
a hungry rat which would be allowed to run around freely
what would the rat need to do to be rewarded and what type of reinforcement is that?
accidentally press the lever giving it a food pellet
positive reinforcement
what would the rat do after getting a food pellet?
continue to press the lever to get more food as it learns that pressing the lever leads to a reward
what else did the rat learn?
pressing the lever could lead to something bad stopping like receiving an electric shock through the floor which is negative reinforcement
what is extinction in Skinner’s box?
when the rat presses the lever and no longer receives a reward so learns that lever leads to no reward so stops pressing the lever
what is spontaneous recovery in Skinner’s box?
after extinction, if the rat presses the lever and does receive a food pellet, the rat will learn very quickly that pressing the lever leads to a food pellet so will link this quickly
what are schedules of reinforcement?
different methods of reinforcement that might occur
what is continuous reinforcement in Skinner’s box?
every time the rat presses the lever they will always receive a food pellet
what is fixed interval in Skinner’s box?
the rat presses the lever and only receives a food pellet during a fixed time only
what is fixed ratio in Skinner’s box?
the rat must press the lever for a fixed number of times and then it will receive a food pellet
strengths of operant conditioning
practical applications- token economy, used in prisons and hospitals rewarding appropriate behaviours with tokens which can be exchanged for privileges
Skinner relied on the experimental method which used highly controlled conditions to establish a cause and effect relationship which explains positive reinforcement
weaknesses of operant conditioning
Skinner ignores the concept of free will which means that humans and animals have a choice over how they behave so operant conditioning doesn’t take this into account
ethical issues psychological and physical harm against animals and can you even generalise animals to humans
