Shaping Behavior 4.3.2 Flashcards
What is shaping?
Reinforcing successive approximations toward a target behavior
(reinforcing steps on their way to the target behavior)
-Reinforcements work by presenting a favorable consequence after an organism behaves.
What is a reinforcer?
Something that will increase the likelihood of a behavior
What are primary reinforcers?
Are innately rewarding, or the value of these does not need to be learned
-often satisfy biological needs
ex. drinking water when you are thirsty
What are secondary reinforcers?
Acquire their reinforcing power through associations with primary reinforcers
-also known as conditioned reinforcers
-value has to be learned
-another reinforcer that comes into play
ex. Praise, grades, and money
What is an immediate reinforcer?
When reinforcement is given directly after the desired behavior
What is an delayed reinforcer?
If there is a time-lapse between the desired behavior and the reinforcement
(incidental behaviors could occur, and they would end up reinforcer anyway)
What are schedules of reinforcement?
Rules about a reinforced behavior influencing how a behavior is learned and maintained
What is continuous reinforcement?
A desired behavior may be reinforced every time
-most effective schedule to use
ex. teaching a dog to sit by using a treat as the reinforcement (associate behavior with treat)
What is intermittent/partial reinforcement?
The desired behavior is rewarded only some of the time
-most effective in reinforcing learned behaviors
-continues longer (mixed messages)
ex. parents who only give in sometimes to their child’s whining (treat or toy can be reinforcer)
What is a fixed-interval reinforcement schedule?
There are higher rates of behavior at the end of the interval (when the reinforcement is close) than at the beginning.
-known as scooping effect
ex. patient with pain medicine
What is a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule?
Produces a high, steady response rate. Behaviors reinforced on this schedule are difficult to extinguish.
ex. kid whining (child is only sometime reinforced)
What is a fixed-ratio reinforcement schedule?
Produces a high, steady response rate, with only a brief pause after receiving the reinforcement
ex.
What is the variable-interval reinforcement schedule?
Produces a slow, steady response rate that is difficult to extinguish
What does fixed, variable, ratio, and interval mean (in terms of behavior)?
-fixed means predictable
-variable means unpredictable
-ratio refers to a number
-interval refers to a length of time
