The Effect of Reward and Punishment on Learning 4.3.1 Flashcards
What is operant conditioning?
A type of associative learning in which a behavior is strengthened or weakened depending on whether the consequences are favorable or unfavorable
-involves rewards
-operant = functioning or tending to produce effects
-conditioning = taught/train way to think/act
-Edward Thorndike
What is law of effect?
Responses that lead to satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated, and those followed by negative outcomes are less likely to be repeated.
What is reinforcement?
Any consequence that strengthens a behavior.
-ex. praise for a child
-repeat the likely hood that the behavior being repeated
What is classical conditioning?
An unconditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus, which eventually becomes the conditioned stimulus, leading to a conditioned response in the learner
something unconditioned sets of a response
-no rewards
-something picked up (gotten use too)
-form of associative learning
ex. father, baseball hat, park
What a operant chamber or (Skinner Box)?
Contained a response lever that the animal (rat or pigeon) pressed or pecked to release food.
Operant chamber was to monitor how the animal went about the task of learning to give themselves rewards of food
-food was the reinforcement for the animal to keep pressing the lever
-B. F. Skinner uses this to observed operant behaviors of reinforcement and punishment
What is punishment?
Weakens the responses and make it less likely to occur
-any unpleasant stimulus
What is discrimination?
occurs when certain responses, but not others, are reinforced.
ex. father giving candy, but grandfather does not
What is discriminative stimulus?
A stimulus that produces a response because it was associated with a reinforcement (as opposed to a stimulus that does not elicit a reinforcement)
ex. giving candy when a child has a meltdown
What is generalization?
When a response to similar stimuli is also reinforced
ex. child saying thank you, other children start catching an say thank you
What is extinction?
when a behavior is no longer reinforced
-in operant conditioning
-ex. discipling your child
What is positive reinforcement?
Strengthens a response by presenting a pleasurable stimulus after a response
(increase response)
ex. praise for student
Adding a favorable consequence (giving praise) reinforces the behavior of working hard.
What is negative reinforcement?
Strengthens a behavior by reducing or removing something undesirable or unpleasant
(increase response)
ex. taking an aspirin so that a headache can go away
Removal of the aversive stimulus (the headache) reinforces the behavior of taking aspirin.
What is positive punishment?
Weakens a behavior by presenting an aversive consequence after a behavior
aversive = causing strong dislike
What is negative punishment?
Weakens a response by removing a desirable stimulus
ex. using time out on a child
What do reinforcements and punishments do?
Reinforcements increase a behavior (add)
Punishments designed to stop it (take away)
What are the negative effects of punishment?
Behavior is suppressed, learning to discriminate, teaching fear, and increased aggression
