task 6 - instrumental conditioning

Question 1

operant conditioning

Answer 1

the process whereby organisims learn to make responses in order to obtain or avoid certain outcomes (instrumental conditioning)

Question 2

shaping (response)

Answer 2

an operant conditioning technique in which successive approximations to a desired response are reinforced

Question 3

chaining (response)

Answer 3

an operant conditioning technique in which organisms are gradually trained to execute complicated sequences of discrete responses

Question 4

3 main points of instrumental conditioning

Answer 4

discriminative stimulus -> response -> outcome

Question 5

SD

Answer 5

• a stimulus that signals whether a particular response will lead to a particular outcome
  
  • the box

Question 6

R

Answer 6

the sequence of movements needed to open the door

Question 7

O

Answer 7

the escape

Question 8

discrete trials paradigm

Answer 8

an operant conditioning paradigm in which the experimenter defines the beginning and end points

Question 9

free-operant paradigm

Answer 9

an operant conditioning paradigm in which the animal can operate the experimental apparatus “freely” responding to obtain reinforcement (or avoid punishment) when it chooses

Question 10

skinner box

Answer 10

a conditioning chamber in which reinforcement or punishment is delievered automatically whenever an animal makes (or ceases making) a paticular response (such as pressing a lever)

Question 11

reinforcers (outcome)

Answer 11

a consequence of behavior that leads to increased likelihood of that behavior occuring again in the future

Question 12

primary reinforcer

Answer 12

a stimulus, such as food, water, sex, or sleep that has innate biological value to the organism and can function as a reinforcer

Question 13

drive reduction theory (hull)

Answer 13

the theory that organisms have innate drives to obtain reinforcers and that learning is driven by the biological need to reduce those drives

Question 14

secondary reinforcer

Answer 14

stimulus (such as money or tokens) that has no intrinisic biological value but that has been paired with primary reinforcers that provides access to primary reinforcers

Question 15

negative contrast (still outcome)

Answer 15

situation in which an organism will response less strongly to a less-preferred reinforcer that is provided in place of an expected preferred reinforcer than it would have if the less-preferred reinforver had been provided all along

Question 16

punishers (outcome)

Answer 16

a consequence of behavior that leads to descreased likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future

Question 17

punishment

Answer 17

in operant conditioning the process of providing outcomes for a behavior that decreased the probability of that behavior occurring again in the future

Question 18

differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA)

Answer 18

decreasing unwanted behaviors to increase wanted alternative behaviors

Question 19

positive reinforcement

Answer 19

a type of operant conditioning in which the response cause a reinforcer to be “added” to the environment; over time, response becomes more frequent

Question 20

positive punishment

Answer 20

a type of operant conditioning in which the response causes a punisher to be “added” to the environment; over time, the response becomes less frequent

Question 21

negative reinforcement

Answer 21

a type of operant conditioning in which the response causes a punisher to be taken, away, or “subtracted from” the environment; over time the response becomes more frequent

Question 22

classical conditioning: timing effects

Answer 22

fastest when the CS and US are closely related in time

Question 23

operant conditioning: effects of timing

Answer 23

fastest when no delay between response and reinforcement → this is a better confirmation that the most recent behavior will be identified as the response that caused the outcome → frequency of that response will increase

Question 24

self-control: timing effects

Answer 24

plays a role in the organisms willingmness to froego a small immediate reward in favor for a larger future reward

Question 25

reinforcement schedule

Answer 25

a schedule determining how ofter reinforcement is delievered in an operant conditioning paradigm

Question 26

continuous reinforcement schedule

Answer 26

a reinforcement schedule in which every instance of the response is followed by the consequence

Question 27

partial reinforcement schedule

Answer 27

a reinforcement schedule in which only some responses are reinforced

Question 28

concurrent reinforcement schedule

Answer 28

a reinforcement schedule in which the organism can make any several possible responses, each of which may lead to a different outcome reinforced according to a different reinforcement schedule

Question 29

fixed-ratio (FR) schedule

Answer 29

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule in which a specific number of responses are required before a reinforcer is delivered; for example FR 5 means that reinforcement arrives after every 5th response

Question 30

fixed-interval schedule

Answer 30

in operant conditioning a reinforcement schedule in which the first response after a fixed amount of time is reinforced; FI 1-m means that reinforcement arrives for the first response made after a one-minute interval since the last reinforcement

Question 31

variable-ratio (VR) schedule

Answer 31

in operant conditioning a reinforcement schedule in which a certain number of responses on average are required before a reinforcer is delivered; VR 5 means that on average every fifth response is reinforced

Question 32

variable-interval (VI) schedule

Answer 32

in operant conditioning a reinforcment schedule in which the first response after a fixed amount of time, on average, is reinforced; VI 1-m means that the first response after one minute on average is reinforced

Question 33

matching law of choice behavior

Answer 33

the principle that an organism, given a choice between multiple responses, will make a particular response at a rate proportional to how often that response is reinforced relative to others

Question 34

behavioral economics and the bliss point

Answer 34

• behavioral economics → the study of how organisms allocate their time and resources among possible options
• bliss point → in behavioral economics, the allocation of resources that maximizes subjective value or satisfaction

Question 35

the premack principle: responses as reinforcers

Answer 35

the theory that the oppertunity to preform a highly frequent behavior can reinforce a less frequent behavior; later refined as the response deprevation hypothesis (any behavior can be reinforcing if the oppertunity to preform that behavior is restricted)

Question 36

dorsal striatum

Answer 36

create links between the sensory cortex and the motor cortex so that stimuli can evoke appropriate motor responses

Question 38

orbitofrontal cortex

Answer 38

a role in learning that specific responses lead to particular outcomes

• ability to encode specific predicted outcomes
• selects between potential actions based on their expected consequences

Question 38

(NA) nucleons accumbens

Answer 38

neural interface between motivation and action, key role on feeding, sex, reward, stress & drug related behavior

Question 39

anhedona hypothesis

Answer 39

dopamine gives food its “goodness” or hedonic qualities (the subjective “goodness” or value of a reinforcer); dopamine-blocking drugs take away the “goodness” reducing organisms incentive to work for food

Question 39

(VTA) ventral tegmental area

Answer 39

a region in the midbrain that contains dopamine-producing neurons which project to the frontal cortex and other areas of the brain

Question 39

SNc

Answer 39

part of the basal ganglia, small regions containing neurons that project dopamine to many brain areas, including the dorsal striatim and frontal cortex

Question 39

extention mimicry

Answer 39

• rats given dopamine blocker piomozide (blocks dopamine receptors) gradually stop responding too, even though they are still obtaining food when they press the level ⇒ extinction mimicry
• simply stopped liking food ⇒ !!!!!!! ANHEDONA
• before for the pimozide the food tasted good and after the drug the food stopped tasting food and they would no longer work for it
• parkinson patients have low dopamine so things should taste less good but that is wrong

Question 41

incentive salience hypothesis

Answer 41

dopamine helps provide organisms with the motivation to work for reinforcement

• less to do with how much you “like” a hedonic stimulus and more to do with how much you “want” it
• unwilling to work hard for it when dopamine is depleted

Question 42

reward prediction hypothesis

Answer 42

dopamine is involved in predicting future reward

• monkeys with the light and juice
  1. untrained monkeys the unexpected treat of juice causes breif increase in the firing rate of dopaminergic neurons
  2. if juice is signaled by a light the neuons will fire for the light but not in response to the juice. the neurons signal that reinforcement is predicted to arrive soon
  3. if juice fails to arrive the neurons show an increase of firing in response to the light followed by decreased firing at the time the juice was expected to arrive

Question 43

endogenous opioids

Answer 43

naturally occurring neurotransmitter-like substances with many of the same effects as opiate drugs

Question 44

pathological addiction

Answer 44

a strong habit that is maintained despite harmful consequences

• unable to quit, withdrawel symptoms, obsessed with obtaining the next hit, neglectfing other aspects
• high provides a positive reinforcement
• avoiding the adverse effects of withdrawal

Question 45

behavioral addiction

Answer 45

addiction to behavior that produces reinforcement, as well as cravings and withdrawal symptoms when the behavior is presented

• gambling on a VR schedule → just one more, one more….
• dopamine agonists disrupt the brain’s wanting system in much the same way as shown for cocaine and amphetamines reinforcing the problem behavior

Question 46

opiate drugs

Answer 46

cocaine and emphetamines

E → releases higher levels of dopamine

C → blocking dopamine reuptake so the dopamine remains longer in the synapse

• both increase the amount of dopamine available to activate the postsynaptic neuron

Question 47

how to stop through conditioning

Answer 47

1. extinction
   
   • if response R stops producing outcome O the frequency of R should decline
2. distancing
   
   • avoiding the stimuli
3. differential reinforcement of alternate behaviors
   
   • gratification or rewarding
4. delayed reinforcement
   
   • a fixed delay on doing the behavior