operant conditioning Flashcards
what is reinforcement
responses with rewarding consequences are most likely to happen.
primary reinforcement
refers to rewards that satisfy basic biological needs, like food, water, or warmth, which are naturally reinforcing.
secondary reinforcement
nvolves stimuli that acquire reinforcing properties through association with primary reinforcers, such as money, praise, or tokens, which become rewarding due to their association with basic needs or other valued outcomes.
positive reinforcement
involves adding a rewarding stimulus to encourage a behavior, like giving a treat when a dog sits.
negative reinforcement
involves removing an unpleasant stimulus to strengthen a behavior such as brushing your teeth because it takes away unpleasant bad breath.
operant chamber
highly controlled environment where emitted responses can be monitored and consequences are controlled
ex: An operant chamber (Skinner box) is a device used in behavioral studies where animals perform actions, like pressing a lever, to receive rewards. It helps researchers study operant conditioning by observing how reinforcement or punishment shapes behavior.
cumulative recorder
a recording device that graphically tracks responses and reinforcement over time.
For example, in a Skinner box experiment, the recorder would track how many times an animal presses a lever to receive a reward, producing a continuous line on a graph that shows the frequency of responses. The steeper the slope, the more frequent the behavior.
acquisition and shaping
refers to the initial state of learning.
shaping: reinforcing improving approximations of a desired response
- used in Skinner box research
ex: to teach a dog to roll over, you first reward it for lying down, then for turning its head, and eventually for completing the roll.
extinction
when performing a behaviour gives a reward but overtime the same behaviour no longer gives a reward, so you stop doing that behaviour.
- weakening and disappearance of response tendency.
resistance to extinction
response persists despite lack of reinforcement
ex: a coach would want their team to practice hard even though they do not win often
discriminative stimuli
cues (signals) indicating the probable consequences of a response.
ex: asking permission from a caregiver to go outside if they are in a good/bad mood. if they are in a good mood, they are more likely to say yes.
generalization
responding increases for a new stimulus similar to the original.
ex: For example, a child learns to raise their hand when the teacher asks a question in class (stimulus control). Later, they may raise their hand in other classrooms or even at home when a similar situation occurs, like when their parents ask a question. This shows generalization of the behavior to similar contexts.
discrimination
responding does not increase for a new stimulus similar to the original
ex: when customers learn to expect the discount based on their age and only request it at that particular restaurant, discriminating between the restaurant offering the discount and others that do not. They are trained to associate the behavior (asking for the discount) with a specific stimulus (the restaurant’s policy for older adults).
schedules of reinforcement
conditioning depends on the delay between the response and the reinforcer.
- indicated when a response will have a reinforced attached.
types:
- Fixed ratio
- Variable ratio
- fixed interval
- variable interval
fixed ratio
set # of responses before reinforcement.
ex: taking a break after studying 10 pages.
variable ratio
variable # of responses before reinforcement (predetermined average)
ex: not taking a break every 10 pages but taking a break based on average amount of time.
fixed interval
set time elapsed before reinforcement
ex: being paid every 2 weeks
variable interval
variable time elapsed before reinforcement (predetermined average)
ex: pop quiz happening around every 3 weeks
response patterns
- ratio schedules tend to be quicker (an outcome is seen faster in ratio schedules that in variable responses)
- variable responses are steadier responses and more resistant to extinction ( produce more consistent behavior and make responses more resistant to extinction because the unpredictable nature of reinforcement keeps individuals responding regularly, even when reinforcement is less frequent or stops.)
punishment
decrease in response tendency following a response with negative outcomes.
two ways:
1. positive aversive (adding something unpleasant) or
2. negative appetitive stimulus (removing something pleasant.)
mixed views on physical punishment
legally permitted in Canada (2-12 years old) with restrictions
what is the correlation found with physical punishment
negative correlations are found with physical punishment such as aggression, slowed cognitive development, mental health issues, etc…
instinctive drift
innate tendencies to interfere with conditioning
ex: when a pig trained to place wooden coins into a piggy bank begins pushing the coins around with its snout and rooting at them. This rooting behavior aligns with the pig’s natural instincts, overriding the learned behavior of depositing the coins.
what do cognitive processes influence?
influences what is reinforced following positive consequences.
- decreased losses an increased gains
For example, if someone believes studying will lead to success, their positive expectation reinforces the behavior. These processes highlight how learning involves more than just automatic associations; it’s shaped by perception and reasoning.
personal thinking application: achieving self-control via behaviour modification
refers to behavioural change through a multi-step process which uses conditioning
process:
1. specify target behaviour (eg, going to the gym)
2. gather baseline data
3. design your program
4. execute and evaluate your program
5. bring your program to an end
who are the key players
BF Skinner and throndike
