Skinner Flashcards
State the three differences of Skinner’s to theory to other theories
- He made no reference to internal, subjective states to account for behavior.
- His choice of experimental subject.
- His therapeutic technique
Two kinds of behavior
- Respondent behavior
- Operant behavior
What is respondent behavior?
A response made to or elicited by a specific stimulus
A response made to or elicited by a specific stimulus
Respondent behavior
Behavior is emitted spontaneously or voluntarily that operates on the environment to change it.
Operant Behavior
What is operant behavior?
Behavior is emitted spontaneously or voluntarily that operates on the environment to change it.
A method of sharing pperantbbehvaior by reinforcing responses similar to the desired behavior
Successive approximation: The shaping of behavior
A form of therapy that applies the principles of reinforcement to bring about desired behavioral changes
Behavior modification
After a specific number of responses, the response is reinforced.
Fixed-ratio schedules
Determine what example of schedules of reinforcement:
A rat only gets food pellets after pressing the lever energy three times
Fixed-ratio schedules
Determine what example of schedules of reinforcement:
A reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses
Variable-ratio schedules
Determine what example of schedules of reinforcement:
A rat presses the lever several times, but a pellet of food is administered at random and is not based on any sort of fixed schedule.
Fixed-interval ratio schedules
Determine what example of schedules of reinforcement:
If a rat presses the lever within a time frame of thirty seconds, it will be given one food pellet. It does not matter how many times the rat presses the lever, because only one pellet will be given during that time frame.
Fixed-interval ratio schedules
Reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable amount of time.
Variable interval ratio
Determine what example of schedules of reinforcement:
the rat may be rewarded a pellet every fifteen seconds, and
then every ve seconds, and then every forty-ve seconds, etc.
Variable interval ratio
The behavior that results from accidental reinforcement of an action so that the organism continues to repeat it
Superstitious behavior
The ability to exert control over the variables that determine our behavior
The self-control of behavior
What are the self control techniques
Stimulus avoidance
Self-administered satiation
Aversive stimulation technique
Self-reinforcement
True or false:
Skinner did not deny the existence of internal forces, only their usefulness for science
True
True or false:
Skinner’s interest was in behavioral responses to stimuli not in childhood experiences or adult feelings
True
Skinner chose experimental subject. The research for his behavioral approach used ____ and ____.
Rats and pigeons
Skinner admitted that human behavior is more complex than animal behavior but suggested that the differences are in ____ not in ____
Degree; kind
Skinner’s approach to behavior is based on
Thousands of hours of well-controlled research
True or false
His fundamental idea is that behavior cannot be controlled.
It involves the substitution of one stimulus for another
Conditioning
The act of strengthening a response by adding a reward, thus increasing the likelihood that the response will be repeated
Reinforcement
What is reinforcement?
The act of strengthening a response by adding a reward, thus increasing the likelihood that the response will be repeated
The process of eliminating a behavior by withholding reinforcement
Extinction
What is extinction?
The process of eliminating a behavior by withholding reinforcement
The ability to exert control over the variables that determine our behavior
Self control
By avoiding a person or situation that makes you angry, you reduce the control that person or situation has over your behavior
Stimulus avoidance
We exert control to cure our selves of bad habits by overdoing the behavior
Self-administered satiation
Technique of self-control involves and pleasant or repugnant consequences
Aversive stimulation
Read a word ourselves for displaying good or desirable behaviors
Self reinforcement
A behavior modification technique in which tokens which can be exchanged for valued objects or privileges are awarded for desirable behavior
Token economy
Application of an aversive stimulus following a response in an effort to decrease the likelihood that the response will record
The strengthening of a response by the removal of an aversive stimulus
Negative reinforcement
The environment changes as a consequence of the behavior; in this case, the noxious stimulus will disappear
Positive reinforcement
