The heyday of behaviourism: operant learning Flashcards
What did Edward L. Thorndike study?
‘Human-like’ attributes in animals, explained in terms of reflexes and connections
What was Thorndike’s idea on human psychology?
> In humans, ‘mental life’ requires the assumption of internal events
-> mediated the stimulus-response relationship
> Mediation = key to cognitive psychology
- cognitive processes are mediational
What does the behaviourism vs. cognitivism debate on?
> The nature of the mediating events between observable events (input, output)
> Wether they are necessary for a comprehensive model of the mind
What did Thorndike use as a measure of intelligence?
Is it contested?
Ability to learn as measure of intelligence
- historically challenged by later behaviourists
What are Thorndike’s puzzle boxes?
How do they work?
Puzzle box to study learning:
- hungry cat in cage has to escape to fet the food placed out of reach
- > how long does it take the cat to do it?
- at one point, the cat will push the lever that opens the cage door
- with repeated trials, animal learns to push the lever to get the food
What is Thorndike’s process behind his puzzle boxes?
What is his subsequent learning theory?
Trial and error learning
-> Connectionism
What is the type of learning Thorndike set out, that differs from classical conditioning?
Operant / Contingency (SR) learning:
- association of stimulus-response- outcome
(rather than simple pairing)
- when a specific response is made contingent to a specific stimulus being present
Was Thorndike’s operant learning in experiments with animals limited to simple behaviours?
No, experiments from Thorndike showed animals could learn complex behaviours with same operant learning
What did Thorndike emphasise, which represented a fundamental step in behaviourist thinking?
Importance of the Effect:
> Critical role of the consequences of the response for the organism and in future behaviour
> Dissatisfaction -> less likely to repeat behaviour
Satisfaction -> more likely to repeat behaviour
=> law of effect
What is Thorndike’s concept of 3-Term contingency?
- Situation (stimulus) - antecedent
- Response
- Effect - consequence
What was the work of BF Skinner on behaviourism?
Defined and codified behaviourism
- standardised the tools
- defined its language
Why was BF Skinner more than an experimental psychologist?
He applied principles of behaviourism:
- to child development
- inter-individual differences
- education
- the criminal justice system
- and its wider impact in shaping society/culture
What is Skinner’s categorisation system?
Describes types of consequences:
- increase of behaviour -> reinforcement
- decrease of behaviour -> punishment
What is Skinner’s meaning of positive and negative in his categorisation system?
> Positive (reinforcement/punishment) = add, present, provide something
> Negative (reinforcement/punishment) = remove, take away something
What is a positive reinforcement (Skinner)?
Stimulus is added/provided contingent on the behaviour
- leading to an increase of behaviour in the future
-> add to increase
What is a negative reinforcement (Skinner)?
Stimulus is removed contingent on the behaviour
- leading to an increase of behaviour in the future
-> remove to increase
What is a positive punishment (Skinner)?
Stimulus is added/provided contingent on the behaviour
- leading to a decrease of behaviour in the future
-> add to decrease
What is a negative punishment (Skinner)?
Stimulus is removed contingent on the behaviour
- leading to a decrease of behaviour in the future
- remove to decrease
Why do we have to be careful about how we understand and use terms in psychology (e.g. “reinforcement”, “punishment”)?
They have precise technical meanings and similar but often different everyday usage
e.g. the act of fining as retribution for a crime is seen as punishment by behaviourists only if the fine lead to a reduction of the offending behaviour in the future
What are primary reinforcers?
Natural, unconditioned reinforcers
- adding or taking away any of the primary reinforcers is a powerful determinant of learning and future behaviour
What does the power of primary reinforcers rely on?
Context dependent
- on the state of the organism at a time
e.g. same food will influence behaviour more if animal deprived/hungry vs. satiated
What are secondary reinforcers?
Conditioned reinforcers
- that have acquired reinforcing properties by association with another reinforcer (often primary)
e.g. ‘Little Albert’
Do primary and secondary reinforcers provide different results in animal behaviour studies?
They have similar properties, and show the same effects of deprivation and satiety
What is Skinner’s box?
Puzzle box - operant chamber
- operant learning
- reduces behaviour to simple parameters: speed, intensity, duration