Nature of Consequences Flashcards
Operant Behaviour operates on... change is the... function of the behaviour is to... probability of the behaviour recurring depends on...
environment, produces a change.
consequence of the behaviour.
produce that change
the nature of the consequence.
Example 1: Bending down and drinking... Receiving water is... Function of bending is to... Because bending down by the water hole produces water...
Example 2: Operates on environment to produce... Consequence: ? Receiving food is... Function of pecking key is to.... Because pecking produces food when the key is lit the...
Example 3: Holding on operates on environment to... Consequence: ? Avoiding falling is contingent upon... Function of holding strap is... Because holding on reduces...
operates on environment to produce water
contingent upon bending down
produce water
bending down occurs more often by the water hole
food food contingent upon pecking produce food pecking occurs more often when the key is lit
avoid falling avoid falling holding on avoiding falling falling when the train is moving, the little boy holds on more frequently when the train is moving
Positive Reinforcers =
Negative Reinforcers =
adding something (e.g., food, water, or sexual contact) to the situation removing something (e.g., a loud noise, a very bright light, extreme cold or heat, or electric shock) from the situation.
Does the behaviour happen more often or less often because of the consequence?
If more =
If less =
Is the consequence the addition or removal of something?
Add =
Remove =
Reinforcement
Punishment
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
POSITIVE PUNISHMENT
NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT
Q1 Tommy’s behavior. When Tommy screams at the checkout, his mother buys him M&Ms. As a result, he becomes more likely to scream at the checkout in the future
Q2 Mother’s behavior. Tommy screams at the checkout until his mother agrees to buy him M&Ms. As a result his mother buys him M&Ms more frequently during future trips to the supermarket.
Q3 You are mildly allergic to dogs but also love playing with them. When you play with your friend’s dog, you take allergy pills more often. Playing with the dog is most likely _________ for taking allergy pills?
Q4 The cat’s behavior. Whenever Robbie’s cat jumps on his lap, he praises him loudly and cuddles him enthusiastically.
Q5 The cat’s behavior. Whenever Robbie’s cat jumps on his lap, he praises him loudly and cuddles him enthusiastically. As a result the cat jumps on his lab less frequently.
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT!
(A: Dog, B: Taking the allergy pills, C: Reduction of allergy symptoms)
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
POSITIVE PUNISHMENT!
What is a Reinforcer?
behaviours followed by satisfiers will…
>< why does the rate of the behaviour increase? > produces a satisfier > what is a satisfier? > something that increases the rate of the behaviour >
increase while those followed by annoyers will decrease
Premack Principle
- Assume that reinforcers are…
- Determine the…
- More probable behaviors…
Example:
person spends little time practicing the piano but lots of time playing basketball, the Premack principle means that…
Proposed that reinforcement involved a…
Condition 1. Deprived of drinking 2. Deprived of running Most probable response: 1. Drinking 2. Running Reinforcement test: 1. Running unlocks water bottle 2. Drinking unlocks running wheel Result of reinforcement test: 1. Drinking reinforces running 2. Running reinforces drinking Conclusion: ?
behaviors rather than stimuli (e.g., it is eating that is a reinforcer, not food)
probabilities of several behaviors
will reinforce less probable behaviors
playing basketball (high-frequency behavior) reinforces practicing the piano.
contingency between two sets of behaviors (operant behavior and reinforcing behaviour)
More probable behaviors reinforce less probable behaviors
The Premack principle says reinforcement…
- Provided…
- Can identify reinforcers and punishers without…
- Opened up a large variety of…
- Showed the reinforcers were not…
e.g., target behaviour (sit quietly when asked)
read book for 1min (less probable therefore more likely to be punished)
space lego for 10mins (most likely to reinforce target behaviour)
tidy up for 15 min
is relative
a definition of reinforcers and punishers separate from their effect on behaviour
knowledge of individuals’ learning histories.
behaviours as reinforcers
always transituational
premark principle: if you sit quietly now, you can play with lego later
Do you think that the Premack principle provide a satisfying answer to the question “what is a reinforcer?“
Maybe but doesn’t the probability of a behaviour change from setting to setting?
Reinforcement as selection by consequences
Variation -
Natural selection -
New generation -
On the behavioral level, the principle of selection by consequences is a form of explanation by…
When a rat learns to press a lever for food, explain this behavior by pointing to its past consequences. Thus, the current frequency of lever pressing is explained by the contingency between level pressing and food in the past. The rat’s behavior has been…
3 levels of selection:
individuals show variation. Some offer an advantage
best suited. are favoured and selected
variation increases in frequency
remote causation called functional analysis.
selected by its history of reinforcement. Thus, the history of reinforcement is what explains why the rat presses the lever.
genes (i.e., natural selection), the behavior of individual organisms (i.e., operant conditioning), and cultural practices (i.e., cultural selection).
Reinforcement as selection by consequences
There is a pool of variable behaviour
e.g., baby talk (baba, mama, eee)
Reinforcement on a particular variable thing > are selected more
Baby putting behavior out in the world and the environment is continuously providing consequences, then select for the behavior in that variability
Through selection get form of behaviour
reinforcement for ‘mama’ - said more often
What is a Reinforcer?
Skinner (1969)
Biological/genetic make-up includes both:
- The capacity to be reinforced
2. Finding some stimuli related to survival reinforcing (unconditioned reinforcers/primary reinforcers)
Unconditioned Reinforcers =
Unconditioned Punishers =
these are naturally reinforcing therefore did not need conditioning to become reinforcing e.g., warmth, water, food, shelter
naturally decrease behaviour therefore do not need to be conditioned in order to decrease behaviour e.g., making loud noise next to a baby
Unconditioned Reinforcers and Punishers Act as... Related to... Reinforcers are influenced by... BUT...
Where do other reinforcers and punishers come from?
reinforcers and punishers without learning
survival
deprivation and satiation but punishers are not.
many reinforcers don’t fit this definition
processes by which stimuli become reinforcing
Processes by which stimuli become reinforcing.
Pavlovian conditioning
Vicarious Pavlovian conditioning
Stimulus equivalence
