Lesson 7: Motivation Flashcards
Mental mechanistic perspective: definition motivation
Motivation is a mental driving force or state, one found inside the individual which makes them likely to engage in goal-directed behaviour. This mental mechanism (whether it is desire, a belief, goal, or intention) is said to explain why people initiate, continue or terminate a certain behaviour at a particular time.
Behaviour analytic perspective: definition motivation
Motivation is a useful label that orientates us towards a certain class of behaviour. Our job is to figure out what stimuli come before and after “motivated” behaviours, and how those stimuli are functionally related to such behaviour.
From a behaviour-analytic perspective, viewing motivation as an internal “thing” driving behaviour is problematic. Why? (2)
(1) Because this involves circular reasoning: the causal variable (“motivation”) is inferred from the very behaviour that it’s supposed to explain
(2) Viewing motivation as an internal cause also suggests that the factors which influence behaviour are inside of us instead of in the environment. This leads us to ignore the principles of behaviour and their utility in behaviour change.
Four term contingency + definitions
A: antecedent /discriminative stimuli (SD) = cue or trigger, signals whether/when behaviour will be followed by consequences
B: behaviour = what we want to predict and influence
C: consequence = reinforcer or punisher
MO: motivating operations = alters the effectiveness of the consequences and the probability of the behaviour
Two key functions of motivating operations (2)
(1) value altering effect: they alter how effective a consequence (reinforcer or punisher) is
(2) behaviour altering effect: they influence the probability of the behaviour
Two types of MO’s (2)
(1) establishing operations (EO)
(2) abolishing operations (AO)
Definition: establishing operations
This type of stimulus temporarily increases the effectiveness of a reinforcer/punisher, and as a result, the probability of behaviour connected to that reinforcer/punisher.
Two functions of EO’s (2)
(1) value altering effect: it makes you prefer this outcome, the value of the consequence goes up
(2) Behaviour altering effect: evoke the behaviour that seeks out these consequences / behaviours that produce this consequence become more likely
Definition: unconditioned EO’s
= “innate drives” or “physiological motives”
for example: deprivation of food, water, sleep, activity, and oxygen, temperature regulation
Definition: conditioned EO’s
= “acquired drive” or “social motives”
for example: deprivation of attention, toys, objects
Definition: abolishing operations
This type of stimulus temporarily decreases the effectiveness of a reinforcer/punisher, and as a result, the probability of behaviour connected to that reinforcer/punisher.
Two functions of AO’s (2)
(1) value atering effect: the value of the consequence goes down
(2) Behaviour altering effect : avoid the behaviour that seeks out these consequences / behaviours that produce this consequence become less likely
Definition: unconditioned AO’s
= “innate drives” or “physiological motives”
for example: satiation of food, water, sleep, activity, and oxygen, temperature regulation
Definition: conditioned AO’s
= “acquired drive” or “social motives”
for example: satiation of attention, toys, objects
In what ways are SD’s and MO’s similar vs. different?
Similar: they are both antecedents
Different: SD’s signal if and when behaviour will be followed by a consequence. MO’s impact the effectiveness of the consequence that follows behaviour.
Implications of MO’s for interventions (2)
(1) a motivating operation only increases or decreases a reinforcer or a punisher’s effectiveness when that MO is “in effect”
(2) When satiated, the reinforcing value of the consequence decreases, but the greater the deprivation (time without the reinforcer), the more effective the reinforcer will be.
–> AO: if you have too much of something and you are satiated, then you have motivation to get less of it
–> EO: if you have too little of something and you are deprived of it, then you have motivation to get more of it
Definition: continuous reinforcement
a consequence always follows a certain behaviour
Definition: partial reinforcement
consequences follow behaviour only some of the time
Four schedules of reinforcement (4)
(1) fixed ratio schedule
(2) variable ratio schedule
(3) fixed interval schedule
(4) variable interval schedule
Definition: fixed ratio schedule
= ‘work based’
= reinforcement after the same number of times you do a behaviour
Definition: variable ratio schedule
= ‘work based’
= reinforcement after different number of times you do a behaviour
Definition: fixed interval schedule
= ‘time based’
= reinforcement after the same period of time
Definition: variable interval schedule
= ‘time based’
= reinforcement after different period of time
Four schedules of reinforcement give different patterns of behaviour. (2) Which one is the most effective to produce motivated behaviour?
(1) ratio > interval: work based is more effective then time based because it produces a steady rate of responding (vs. an irregular rate of responding)
(2) variable > fixed: variable schedules are slow to extinguish (vs. fixed is quick to estinguish)
–> the most effective schedule: variable ratio schedule = high motivation
–> the least effective schedule: fixed interval schedule = low motivation
MOs and contingenties (schedules of reinforcement) all influence how powerful consequences are, and how strong the relationship is between those consequences and our behaviour.
What consequences can “motivate” behaviour? (4)
(1) Unconditioned reinforcers are stimuli that increase the probability of behaviour without the need for this function to be established.
(2) A conditioned reinforcer is a stimulus that increases the probability of behaviour because it has been previously related to another reinforcer. This reinforcer could be an unconditioned reinforcer or a conditioned reinforcer that had previously acquired its reinforcing value through pairing with some third reinforcer = generalised conditioned reinforcers
(3) Unconditioned punishers are stimuli that decrease the probability of behaviour without the need for this function to be established
(4) A conditioned punisher is a stimulus that decreases the probability of behaviour because it has been previously related to another punisher. This punisher could be an unconditioned punisher or a conditioned punisher that had previously acquired its punishing value through pairing with some third punisher = generalised conditioned punishers
How do conditioned reinforcers and punishers lose their value/ How do they no longer motivate behaviour? (2)
(1) One way is by no longer pairing them with the original reinforcer.
Note: when we no longer pair a conditioned reinforcer or punisher with another stimulus it loses its value and won’t reinforce or punish any response. The conditioned reinforcer or punisher may still change other responses on which it is contingent.
(2) We can also change a conditioned reinforcer or punisher via extinction (i.e., no longer making a reinforcer or a punisher contingent on a response).
