Lesson 3: Operant conditioning + skinners research Flashcards
What is operant conditioning
A form of LEARNING in which your behaviour is SHAPED + MAINTAINED by CONSEQUENCES. These consequences may include:
-Punishment
-Positive reinforcement
-Negative reinforcement
What is positive reinforcement?
Receiving something positive when carrying out a certain behaviour.
e.g getting a sticker when you complete your homework
What is negative reinforcement
Performing a behaviour in order to AVOID something UNPLEASANT, and therefore the behaviour continues in the future
e.g completing homework to avoid a detention
What is punishment?
Unpleasant consequence caused by certain behaviours
What is POSITIVE punishment?
something unpleasant is ADDED to someone’s life that was not there before
e.g giving a student a detention
What is NEGATIVE punishment?
something PLEASANT is REMOVED from someone’s life
e.g getting your phone confiscated
Who investigated Operant conditioning?
Skinner
How did Skinner research operant conditioning?
1) Conducted research on rats + pigeons in a device= “Skinner’s Box”
2) Skinner’s box was a cage that consisted of loud speakers, lights, a lever, door + floor that could be electrified
3) One hungry was placed in Skinner’s box and was free to run around
4) They either received NEGATIVE or POSITIVE reinforcement based on the behaviour carried out.
What is an example of POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT in the Skinner box?
The rat might ACCIDENTALLY press the lever and be REWARDED by a FOOD pellet which would drop into the Skinner box (receiving positive reinforcement).
The rat would then CONTINUE to press the LEVER in order to receive a food pellet in the FUTURE, as the rat soon learned that pressing the lever= reward
What is an example of NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT in the Skinner box?
The rat could also learn that by PRESSING the lever they could AVOID something UNPLEASANT
An example is by pressing the lever the rat could AVOID RECEIVING an electric shock (via the electrified floor).
What are the different SCHEDULES of reinforcement
-Continuous reinforcement
-Fixed interval
-Fixed ratio
What is CONTINUOUS reinforcement
everytime a behaviour is carried out it’ll produce the SAME consequence
e.g everytime the rat pressed the lever it received food
What is FIXED interval
a behaviour is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has occured
e.g The rat presses the lever and only receives a FOOD pellet during a fixed time (e.g every 30 secs)
What is FIXED ratio?
the NUMBER of times an action must be done in order to receive an award
e.g the rat must press the lever a set amount of times to receive food
State a POSITIVE evaluation of operant conditioning
(Hint: Experimental method, highly controlled)
Research conducted by Skinner relied on the EXPERIMENTAL METHOD.
He used HIGHLY CONTROLLED conditions to discover the relationship between variables so he could establish a CAUSE + EFFECT relationship.
State a POSITIVE evaluation of operant conditioning.
(Hint: token economy, behaviour modification)
Research surrounding operant conditioning= PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
TOKEN ECONOMY is used in institutions e.g prisons + hospitals as a form of BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION.
token economy works by rewarding appropriate behaviours with tokens which can be EXCHANGED for privileges.
Research conducted by Paul + Lentz token economy was used on patients on schizophrenia-> behaviour became more appropriate
State a NEGATIVE evaluation of operant conditioning
(Hint: biological approach)
Operant conditioning is rooted in the behaviourist approach + would IGNORE the biological approach
Biological approach-> genetics, neurotransmitters have more of an influence on behaviour
Other approaches must be taken into consideration
State a NEGATIVE evaluation of operant conditioning
(Hint: ethical issues& issues with generalising)
Skinner’s box has been criticised in terms of ethical issues
Rats + pigeons were placed in STRESSFUL + AVERSIVE conditions which could have a negative effect upon the psychological & physical health of the animals.
Additionally-> findings of skinner’s box are hard to generalise as humans and animals are psychologically& physiologically different
