OPERANT CONDITIONING - SKINNER Flashcards
Progression Exam
Who did Skinner base upon the principles of his research?
Thorndike
What is the law of effect
Thorndike
“Trial and error’ learning. Learning to get out of the box is good, food is obtained as a reward so behaviour is learnt and repeated.
By placing the rats into the Skinner boxes, Skinner was able to ____ the rat’s behaviour through ___________
Manipulate, reinforcements
If the rats carried out a ____ behaviour, they would be ____ with food.
Desired, rewarded
____ with touching a lever and receiving a food reward ____ the likelihood of them pressing the lever.
Association, increased
Reinforcers
increase the probability of a behaviour being repeated.
Punishers
decrease the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated
Primary reinforcers
Eg
Rewards that are focused on meeting a basic need
eg shelter, food, drink
Secondary reinforcers
Eg
Rewards that can satisfy a basic need, but aren’t one
eg. status, money
Reinforcement
Encourage repetition of a desired behaviour
Positive reinforcement
Eg
Something good given in response to behaviour
eg lever press = food pellet
Negative reinforcement
Eg
Something bad taken away in response to behaviour
eg lever press = stops electric shocks
Punishment
weakens the behaviour by presenting something unpleasant whenever behaviour is shown.
Positive punishment
Eg
Adding an aversive stimulus that will reduce the showing of behaviour
eg. parent shouting
Negative punishment
Eg
Removal of liked/desirable stimuli to reduce behaviour
Eg. taking away toy
What does it not do?
What is a difficulty with punishment?
Doesn’t promote/ give info about desired behaviour. Only stops undesirable behaviour.
Behaviour is learnt through…
What is the main essence of Operant Conditioning?
Behaviour is learnt through positive + negative reinforcements.
Define ‘token economy’
+ example study
A treatment method that provides secondary reinforcement for a desirable behaviour that can be exchanged for a primary reinforcer
eg. Paul and Lentz 1977
Evaluation: Evidence in support & methodology
Strength
* Backed by scientific research
Empiricism: only directly observable behaviour studied. Quantitative data. Lab setting = high level of control eg. Skinner box allowed manipulation of rewards + punishments (controlled environment). Cause + effect links. High accuracy, increasing internal validity, providing credibility.
* Falsifiable (testable). Concepts clearly defined.
* Reliable - standardised procedures = replication
Evaluation: Application
- Practical applications. Provides concrete explanations for how a variety of different behaviours are learnt.
- Useful in education and criminal justice system + treatment of dysfunctional behaviours
Eg. ‘token economies’ Paul and Lentz 1977
Evaluation: Generalisability
- Using rats and pigeons as participants lowers the generalisability (different cognitive abilities + everyday experiences). Not fully representative of target population of human beings
Evaluation: Ecological validity
Low, as most organisms learn in a far more complex environment than a Skinner box, limiting credibility
Evaluation: Ethics
Weakness
* Skinner caused unnecessary suffering with his use of electric shocks
Strength
* However, costs to animals may be outweighed by applications that have made human life easier eg. training of guide dogs
Evaluation: Alternative
Social Learning Theory
Why could Operant Conditioning be seen as reductionist?
Focuses only on positive and negative reinforcers to explain human behaviour.
Schedules of reinforcement
- Fixed ratio reinforcement - reinforcement after a set number of behaviour responses. Fast response rate, medium extinction rate
- Fixed interval reinforcement - Reinforcement after fixed time interval (providing one correct response has been made). Medium response rate, medium extinction rate.
- Variable ratio reinforcement - reinforcement given randomly with regard to number of responses achieved. Fast response rate, slow extinction rate
- Variable interval reinforcement - Reinforcement given after variable amounts of time. Fast response rate, slow extinction rate
Variable ratio reinforcement eg. reinforced after 3 responses, then 7, 1
Response rate
Rate at which rat pressed the lever
Extinction rate
Rate at which lever pressing dies out
With continuous reinforcement, the response rate is ____ and the extinction rate ____.
slow, fast
