Unit 4 Flashcards
The Law of Effect
Organisms learn through the consequences of their actions
Edward Lee Thorndike
Discovered The Law of Effect
Operant Behavior
Behavior that has an effect on the environment and is primarily under the control of its consequences
Consequences in operant behavior
Have a strengthening or weakening effect on the future probability of the behavior under similar conditions
Operant selection
The ability to learn through consequences, which results in new behavior and changes in dimensions of behavior
Process of operant selection
Behavioral variability, selection by consequences, and behavioral reproduction occurs throughout the organism’s lifetime.
Simplest type of operant contingency
R-S (Response-Stimulus)
Basic 3-term contingency
S-R-S, more popularly stated as A-B-C (antecedent-behavior-consequence)
2 general types of consequences
Reinforcement and Punishment
SR+
Unconditioned Positive Reinforcement
Sr+
Conditioned Positive Reinforcement
SR-
Unconditioned Negative Reinforcement
Sr-
Conditioned Negative Reinforcement
SP+
Unconditioned Positive Punishment
Sp+
Conditioned Positive Punishment
SP-
Unconditioned Negative Punishment
Sp-
Conditioned Negative Punishment
Extinction (from reinforcement) and Recovery (from punishment)
Two other types of consequences that consist of withholding previous consequences
Extinction
Discontinuing reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior
Reinforcement
An environmental change that follows a response and increases or maintains the future frequency of that behavior
5 Critical attributes of reinforcement
Environmental change must occur after the response, must occur immediately after the response, contingent upon the response, must increase or maintain future responding, automaticity
Premack Principle
If the opportunity to engage in a “preferred” or “high-probability” behavior is made contingent on engaging in a “less preferred” behavior, the future duration or frequency of the “less preferred” behavior will increase
Reinforcer
A stimulus that, when presented following a response, increases or maintains the future frequency of that response
6 Variable attributes of reinforcement
Conditioned or unconditioned, positive or negative, automatic or socially mediated, variety of schedules, natural or planned, reinforcing under some conditions but not others
Unconditioned Reinforcer
A stimulus that, usually, is reinforcing without any prior learning; that is, its effect is due to phylogenic provenance(genetics)
Conditioned Reinforcer
A stimulus that initially has no innate reinforcing properties, but acquires reinforcing properties through pairing with unconditioned reinforcers or powerful conditioned reinforcers; effect is due to ontogenic provenance (experiences)
Generalized Conditioned Reinforcer
A conditioned reinforcer that has been paired with a variety of other reinforcers and is effective for a wide range of behaviors
Positive Reinforcement
An environmental change in which a stimulus is added (presented) or magnified following a response, that increases or maintains the future frequency of that response
Negative Reinforcement
An environmental change in which a stimulus is subtracted (withdrawn or removed) or attenuated following a response, and increases or maintains the future frequency of that behavior
Escape
Behavior that terminates an aversive stimulusand is maintained by negative reinforcement
Avoidance
A response terminates a “warning” stimulus; prevents or delays the onset of the aversive stimulus
Warning stimulus
A conditioned aversive stimulus whose presence is correlated with the upcoming onset of an unconditioned aversive stimulus
Unsignaled avoidance
No clear warning stimulus, but a response can still delay or prevent the occurrence of the aversive event
Automatic Reinforcement
The response itself directlyproduces the reinforcing consequence; the consequence is NOT mediated by another person
Socially Mediated Reinforcement
The consequence is mediated by another person
4 Types of Reinforcement
Socially mediated positive, Socially mediated negative, Automatic positive,Automatic negative
Schedule of reinforcement
Specifies the criteria for reinforcement in terms of number of responses required and/or when the response occurs
Planned reinforcement
A person explicitly arranged the contingency
Unplanned reinforcement
The contingency occurred naturally and was not explicitly arranged
5 Variables affecting reinforcer effectiveness
Deprivation and satiation, species-specific biological preparedness, response effort, competing reinforcers, environmentalcontext
Competing reinforcers
Different reinforcers are available at the same time, for the same behavior, and/or for competing behavior and they may alter each other’s value
Operant Extinction
The process by which a previously reinforced behavior is weakened by withholding reinforcement
3 Critical attributes of extinction
Behavior has been previously reinforced, reinforcement must be withheld every time the behavior occurs, the behavior has to be weakened
3 Variable attributes of operant extinction
May be an extinction burst, may exhibit variation in topography and emotional responses following extinction, may involve withholding a stimulus or not withdrawing an aversive stimulus
Operant Spontaneous Recovery
The sudden and temporary reappearance of a behavior following extinction
Resurgence
The reappearance of a previously extinguished behavior during the extinction of a more recently reinforced behavior
Punishment
An environmental change immediately following a response which decreases the future frequency of that behavior in similar conditions
Unconditioned Punisher
A stimulus that, usually, is punishing without any prior learning; its effect is due to phylogenic provenance (genetics)
Conditioned Punisher
A stimulus that initially has no innate punishing properties, but acquires punishing properties through pairing with unconditioned punishers or powerful conditioned punishers; its effect is due to ontogenic provenance (experiences)
Positive Punishment
An environmental change in which a stimulus is added (presented) or magnified following a response, that decreases the future frequency of that response
Negative Punishment
An environmental change in which a stimulus is subtracted (withdrawn, removed) or attenuated following a response, which decreases the future frequency of that behavior
Time-out from positive reinforcement
A procedure based on the principle of negative punishment;the organism cannot access (generally specified) reinforcersfor an amount of time
2 Variables affecting punishment
Motivating Operations (MOs) and competing reinforcement contingencies
Recovery from Punishment
The process by which a previously punished behavior is strengthened by withholding punishment
