operant conditioning

Question 1

Edward Thorndike’s law of effect

Answer 1

according to this principle, actions that are followed by desirable outcomes are more likely to be repeated while those followed by undesirable outcomes are less likely to be repeated

Question 2

B.F skinner

Answer 2

founder of modern behavioural perspective, research on operant conditioning and schedules of reinforcement

• where the early behaviorists had focused their interest on associative learning, skinner was more interested in how the consequences of people’s actions influenced their behaviour

Question 3

skinner box

Answer 3

operant chamber known as the skinner box

hold a small animal ie rat

contained a bar or key that the animal could press in order to receive a reward of food- positive reinforcement

mild electric current was passed through the box until the rat pulled the lever - negative reinforcement

Question 4

operant conditioning

Answer 4

learning through consequence

Question 5

shaping

Answer 5

procedure in which reinforcers gradually guide an animal’s actions toward a desired complex behavior

successive approximations, you reward responses that are ever-closer to the final desired behavior, and you ignore all other responses

chaning breaks a task down into small steps and teaches each step within the sequence by itself

Question 6

reinforcing stimulus

Answer 6

any event that strengthens or increases the behaviour it follows

reinforcement occurs each time the desired behavior occurs

involves the most amount of effort and resources

Question 7

positive reinforcement

Answer 7

addition of favourable outcomes or events like praise or reward that are presented after the behavior, response or behavior is stenghtened by the addition of something

Question 8

negative reinforcement

Answer 8

the removal of an unfavourable events or outocmes after the display of behavoir

response is strenghted by the removal of something unpleasant.

Question 9

token reinforces

Answer 9

symbols or tokens that can be exchnaged for other reinforcers

can be exchanged for material reinforcers, services, or privileges otherwise tokens are worthless

Question 10

punishment

Answer 10

presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows

• the timing of a consequence must be close to behavior for it to be effective

Question 11

positive punishment

Answer 11

presents an unfavourbale event or outcome in order to to weaken the response it follows

Question 12

negative punishment

Answer 12

occurs when a favourable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs

Question 13

factors influencing the effectiveness of operant conditioning

Answer 13

1. appropriateness
2. timing
3. scheduals of reinforcement

Question 14

appropriateness

Answer 14

reinforcement needs to match the behaviour

Question 15

timing

Answer 15

the punishment or reinforcement must occur after the behaviour, so it is seen as a consequence

must be immediate

Question 16

schedules of reinforcement

Answer 16

A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.

takes place in both naturally occuring learning situations and structured training situations

different patterns influence

response rate: how many times the behaviour is displayed

extinction how long does it take for the behaviour to disappear without reinforcement.

Question 17

continuous reinforcement

Answer 17

desired behaviour is reinforced each and every time it occurs, used to teach a new behaviour

rat gets food each time it pulls the lever

response: slow
extinction rate: fast

(+) desired behaviour is learn fast typically

(-) difficult to maintain over a long period of time due to effort of having to reinforce a behaviour each time it is performed

Question 18

fixed ratio

Answer 18

response is reinforced only after a specific number of responses

(+) builds a high response rate

(-) Irregular responding may occur if reinforcement is stopped

response : fast
extinction : medium

Question 19

variable-ratio schedules:

Answer 19

response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses

(+) learner’s rate of responding remains constant

(-) not effective for teaching new behaviours

response : fast
extinction: slow

Question 20

fixed interval schedules

Answer 20

the first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has gone by.

+ tend to respond more frequently as the anticipated time for reward draws near

• produces a choppy stop-start pattern rather then a steady state of response

response medium
extinction medium

Question 21

variable - interval schedules

Answer 21

occur when a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passes

+ produce slow, steady responding minimal pause after reinforcement is given

response: fast
Extinction: slow