Operant Conditioning Flashcards
Operant conditioning
The process whereby organisms learn to make or to refrain from making certain responses in order to obtain or avoid certain outcomes.
Law of effect
The observation, made by Thorndike, that the probability of a particular behavioral response increases or decreases depending on the consequences that have followed that response.
Discriminative stimulus
In operant conditioning, a stimulus indicating that a particular response (R) may lead to a particular outcome (O).
Temporal & causal relationship
N/A
Discrete-trials paradigm
An operant conditioning paradigm in which the experimenter defines the beginning and end points of each trial.
Free-operant paradigm
An operant conditioning paradigm in which the animal can operate the apparatus as it chooses in order to obtain reinforcement (or avoid punishment).
Skinner box
A chamber used for operant conditioning and designed so that reinforcement or punishment is delivered automatically whenever an animal makes a particular response (such as pressing or releasing a lever).
Cumulative recorder
A device used for recording responses in operant conditioning, designed in such a way that the height of the line it draws represents the total (cumulative) number of responses made up to a given time.
Shaping
the production of new forms of operant behavior by reinforcement of successive approximations to the behavior
Chaining
An operant conditioning technique in which organisms are gradually trained to execute complicated sequences of discrete responses.
Reinforcer
A consequence of behavior that leads to increased likelihood of that behavior in the future.
Punisher
A consequence of behavior that leads to decreased likelihood of that behavior in the future.
Primary reinforcer
A reinforcer, such as food, water, or sleep, that is of biological value to an organism.
Drive reduction theory
The theory, proposed by Clark Hull, that all learning reflects the innate, biological need to obtain primary reinforcers.
Negative contrast
The phenomenon in which the reinforcing value of one reward is reduced because a better reward is expected.
Secondary reinforcers
A reinforcer that initially has no biological value but that has been paired with (or predicts the arrival of) a primary reinforcer.
Differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors
A method used to decrease the frequency of unwanted behaviors by instead reinforcing preferred alternative behaviors.
Positive reinforcement
A type of operant conditioning in which the response causes a desirable element to be “added” to the environment; over time, the response becomes more frequent.
Positive punishment
A type of operant conditioning in which the response causes an undesirable element to be “added” to the environment; over time, the response becomes less frequent.
Negative reinforcement
A type of operant conditioning in which the response causes an undesirable element to be “subtracted from” the environment; over time, the response becomes more frequent.
Reinforcement schedule
A schedule that determines how often reinforcement is delivered in an operant conditioning paradigm.
Continuous reinforcement
A reinforcement schedule in which every instance of the response is followed by the reinforcer.
Partial reinforcement
A reinforcement schedule in which only some instances of the response are followed by the reinforcer.
Avoidance paradigm
N/A
Two-factor theory (Mowrer)
A theory that avoidance involves an interaction between classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
Cognitive theory of avoidance
N/A
Response blocking
physically preventing a maladaptive behavior from occurring
Fixed-ratio (FR)
A reinforcement schedule in which a specific number of responses must occur before a reinforcer is delivered; thus, FR 5 means that reinforcement arrives after every fifth response.
Post-reinforcement pause
In operant conditioning, a brief pause in responding that follows delivery of the reinforcer.
Fixed-interval (FI)
A reinforcement schedule in which the first response after a fixed amount of time is reinforced; thus, FI 1-min means that reinforcement follows the first response made after a 1-minute interval since the last reinforcement.
Variable-ratio (VR)
A reinforcement schedule in which a specific number of responses, on average, must occur before a reinforcer is delivered; thus, VR 5 means that, on average, every fifth response is reinforced.
Variable-interval (VI)
A reinforcement schedule in which the first response after a fixed amount of time, on average, is reinforced; thus, VI 1-min means that reinforcement follows the first response made after a 1-minute interval, on average, since the last reinforcement.
Partial reinforcement effect
partial-reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) implies that learning under partial reinforcements is more robust than learning under full reinforcements
