Operant Conditioning: Intro

Question 1

What are operant behaviours?

Answer 1

behaviours that are influenced by their consequences; more voluntary, affect future probability/strength of response

Question 2

Describe Thorndike’s Law of Effect…

Answer 2

behaviours leading to a satisfying state of affairs are strengthened or “stamped in”, while other behaviours leading to an unsatisfying/annoying state of affairs are weakened or “stamped out”; extent to which consequences of behaviour are un/satisfying determine whether behaviour will be repeated

Question 3

What is a free operant procedure

Answer 3

experimenter controls contingencies; but animal not forced to respond.

Question 4

What is respondant behaviour (skinner box)?

Answer 4

involuntary, reflexive types of behaviour can often be classically conditioned in different situations

Question 5

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 5

the future probability of a behaviour is affected by its consequences (apaptive/nonadaptive outcomes)

Question 6

What is a reinforcer?

Answer 6

a consequence after a behaviour, which increases future probability of behaviour

Question 7

What is a punisher?

Answer 7

a consequence after a behaviour, which decreases future probability of behaviour

Question 8

What is extinction?

Answer 8

the weakening of a behaviour through the nonreinforcement of a previously reinforced behaviour (halting reinforcer)

Question 9

What is a discriminative stimulus?

Answer 9

a stimulus in the presence of which responces are reinforced and in the absense of which they are not reinforced - SIGNAL that indicates a response will be followed by a reinforcer

Question 10

What is three term contingency (ABC) ?

Answer 10

antecedent, behaviour consequence (descriminative stimulus, operant behaviour, reinforcer/punisher)

Question 11

What is the difference between a discriminative stimulus for punishment and for reinforcement?

Answer 11

Punish - stimulus that signals that a response will be punished; Extinction - stimulus that signals the absence of reinforcement

Question 12

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 12

consists of presentation of a stimulus (usually pleasant/rewarding) following a response, which then leads to an increase in the future strength of the response

Question 13

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 13

consists of removal of a stimulus (usually unpleasant/aversive) following a response, which then leads to an increase in the future strength of the response

Question 14

What is positive punishment?

Answer 14

consists of presentation of a stimulus (usually unpleasant/aversive) following a response, which then leads to an decrease in the future strength of the response

Question 15

What is negative punishment?

Answer 15

consists of removal of a stimulus (usually pleasant/rewarding) following a response, which then leads to a decrease in the future strength of the response

Question 16

What is escape behaviour?

Answer 16

results in the stopping of an aversive stimulus (allows to escape)

Question 17

What is avoidance behaviour?

Answer 17

occurs before aversive stimulus is presented and therefore prevents its delivery

Question 18

Would immediate or delayed reinforcement increase the strength of the reinforcer’s effect on behaviour?

Answer 18

Immediate

Question 19

What is a primary reinforcer?

Answer 19

event that is innately reinforcing

Question 20

What is a secondary reinforcer?

Answer 20

event that is reinforcing because it has been associated with another reinforcer - learned to be reinforcers

Question 21

What is a generalised reinforcer?

Answer 21

has been associated with several other reinforcers

Question 22

What is intrinsic reinforcement?

Answer 22

reinforcement provided by the mere act of performing the behaviour

Question 23

What is extrinsic reinforcement?

Answer 23

reinforcement provided by some consequence that is external to the behaviour

Question 24

What are natural reinforcers?

Answer 24

reinforcers that are typically provided for a certain behaviour (expected in setting)

Question 25

What are contrieved (artificial) reinforcers?

Answer 25

reinforcers that have been deliberately arranged to modify behaviour

Question 26

What is shaping?

Answer 26

gradual creation of new behaviour through reinforcement of successive approximations to behaviour (closer and closer)

Question 27

When can external rewards undermine intrinsic motivation?

Answer 27

when reward is expected and tangible, and given simply for performing the behaviour