Operant Conditioning: Intro Flashcards
What are operant behaviours?
behaviours that are influenced by their consequences; more voluntary, affect future probability/strength of response
Describe Thorndike’s Law of Effect…
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
What is a free operant procedure
experimenter controls contingencies; but animal not forced to respond.
What is respondant behaviour (skinner box)?
involuntary, reflexive types of behaviour can often be classically conditioned in different situations
What is operant conditioning?
the future probability of a behaviour is affected by its consequences (apaptive/nonadaptive outcomes)
What is a reinforcer?
a consequence after a behaviour, which increases future probability of behaviour
What is a punisher?
a consequence after a behaviour, which decreases future probability of behaviour
What is extinction?
the weakening of a behaviour through the nonreinforcement of a previously reinforced behaviour (halting reinforcer)
What is a discriminative stimulus?
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
What is three term contingency (ABC) ?
antecedent, behaviour consequence (descriminative stimulus, operant behaviour, reinforcer/punisher)
What is the difference between a discriminative stimulus for punishment and for reinforcement?
Punish - stimulus that signals that a response will be punished; Extinction - stimulus that signals the absence of reinforcement
What is positive reinforcement?
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
What is negative reinforcement?
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
What is positive punishment?
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
What is negative punishment?
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
What is escape behaviour?
results in the stopping of an aversive stimulus (allows to escape)
What is avoidance behaviour?
occurs before aversive stimulus is presented and therefore prevents its delivery
Would immediate or delayed reinforcement increase the strength of the reinforcer’s effect on behaviour?
Immediate
What is a primary reinforcer?
event that is innately reinforcing
What is a secondary reinforcer?
event that is reinforcing because it has been associated with another reinforcer - learned to be reinforcers
What is a generalised reinforcer?
has been associated with several other reinforcers
What is intrinsic reinforcement?
reinforcement provided by the mere act of performing the behaviour
What is extrinsic reinforcement?
reinforcement provided by some consequence that is external to the behaviour
What are natural reinforcers?
reinforcers that are typically provided for a certain behaviour (expected in setting)
What are contrieved (artificial) reinforcers?
reinforcers that have been deliberately arranged to modify behaviour
What is shaping?
gradual creation of new behaviour through reinforcement of successive approximations to behaviour (closer and closer)
When can external rewards undermine intrinsic motivation?
when reward is expected and tangible, and given simply for performing the behaviour
