Operant conditioning Flashcards
Operant conditioning is learning via…
Reinforcement
Define ‘Law of Effect’.
Behaviours which are rewarded will be repeated
What process did the cat in Thorndike’s (1911) experiment learn through?
Trial and error.
Positive reinforcement is?
Being given something you like (reward) to increase the occurrence of a behaviour
Negative reinforcement is?
Having something you dislike taken away to increase the occurrence of a behaviour
Positive punishment is?
Being given something you don’t like to decrease the occurrence of a behaviour
Negative punishment is?
Having something you like taken away to decrease the occurrence of a behaviour
What is a primary reinforcer?
A reward which fulfills a basic need
What is a secondary reinforcer?
Something which you don’t need but can be traded for something you do need i.e. tokens
What is continuous reinforcement?
Being rewarded/punished every time you do a behaviour
What is Partial reinforcement?
Only being rewarded/punished on some occassions
What is variable interval reinforcement?
Being rewarded/punished after a time period which alters as long as you did the correct behaviour in that time
What is fixed interval reinforcement?
Being rewarded/punished after a set period of time as long as you did the right behaviour in it
What is fixed ratio reinforcement?
Being rewarded/punished after a certain number of occurrences
What is variable ratio reinforcement?
Being rewarded/punished after a certain number of occurrences but the number of occurrences changes
Define shaping
Learning a new skill through successive approximation, going through different stages, being rewarded each time for getting closer to the final result
What did Skinner show?
Rats can be taught to press a button when they have an electrical wire in the pleasure areas of their brain
What is an issue with Skinner and Thorndike?
The research from animals cannot be applied to humans because they have differences in their biology which effect behaviour
What did Skinner show about ratio of reinforcement and punishment?
Ferster and Skinner (1957) identified that a variable ratio
schedule of reinforcement produced the highest level of
attempts and responses
Why is operant conditioning useful?
It has been used for processes like Token Economy Programmes
What is a strength about the testability of Operant Conditioning?
It is empirical as it ignores mental processes and only measures behaviour like their responses
Why is operant conditioning reductionist?
Ignores biological explanations of behaviour i.e. genetics, hormones etc as a cause of behaviour and it also ignores cognition and thought processes seeing behaviour as just a stimulus and response
