operant conditioning: behaviour modification Flashcards
what is reinforcement schedule?
a plan of how often and when reinforcement will be provided
- vary or keep constant the ratio of behaviour to reinforcer and the time interval between reinforcements
what is behaviour modification?
the use of operant conditioning techniques to change the frequency of desired behaviours, for example therapuetic settings
what is continuous reinforcement?
when the reinforcer always follow a behaviour
- for example, we might pay a child every time they do the washing up
it leads to a rapid change in behaviour but the effects tend not to last
what is shaping?
a process of modifying behaviour by reinforcing successive approzimations to a desired behaviour
what is partial reinforcement?
the reinforcement is irregular.
- the reinforcement schedule can vary either the ratio or the interval between the reinforcements
in either case this can be fixed or varied
what is a fixed ratio reinforcement schedule?
a reinforcer is given after a specified number of behaviours, for example paying someone after every 7 times for doing something
what is a variable ratio reinforcement schedule?
a reinforcer is given after an unpredictable number of behaviours that varies around a mean value. a child on variable ratio of 3 may thereofre get paid after 1, 3 or 5 instances
this leads to behaviour change that is difficult to extinguish
what are fixed interval reinforcement schedule?
the time between reinforcers is kept constant
what are variable interval reinforcement schedules?
the time between reinforcers is varied aorund a mean length of time
- a child is paid at the end of the time period if he washes up one or more times during the interval
what is an example of behvaiour modification?
reinforcement is sytematically used to increase the number of instance of desired behaviour.
- cassie ford et al. assessed head impact using helmet sensors in american footballers and used individual mentoring to provide reinforcement to high risk players
mean impact intensity dropped by 3.9%
when does shaping occurs?
as children acquire language. when babies start to babble they are intially reinforced by adult attention and praise but this only continues if the child goes on to produce recognisable words
what is a strength?
they are supported by many studies of humans and children
- hundreds of lab and field experiments have compared the effects of different parital reinforcement scheudules on animal and human learning with results consistently showing the properties of partial reinforcement schedules
what is a weakness?
understanding the properties of reinforcement does not provide a complete account of human motivation
- humans are motivated by a range of factors. reinforcement properties provide a detailed account of extrinsic motivation however our behaviour is also due to instrinsic motivation
what is an example of a study that shows partial reinforcement?
latham and dossett found that mountain beaver trappers responded better to variable ratio pay in which they received $4 for a trapped animal if they also correctly guessed the colour of a marble than fixed ratio pay of $1
how can this be applied?
behaviour modification lends itself well to forms of treatment
- they have been used to treat a range of mental health disorders ranging from schizophrenia to ASD
lovaas therapy involves intensive reinforcement including shaping in order to normalise some aspects of behaviour in children
