Week 9: Escape Avoidance and Punishment Flashcards
Escape Behaviour
Performance of behaviour that terminates the aversive stimulus.
Avoidance Behaviour
Performance of behaviour prevents aversive stimulus from occurring.
Shuttle Avoidance Procedure
An animal has to shuttle back and forth in a box to avoid an aversive stimulus.
Two-Process Theory
Classical conditioning of fear response to CS, followed by operant conditioning in which moving from the CS is negatively reinforced by a reduction in fear.
Criticisms and Responses of Two-Process Theory
Avoidance behaviour doesn’t extinguish - anxiety conservation hypothesis (not enough exposure to be extinguished)
No evidence of fear, 2nd process can’t occur - No evidence they are 100% fearless.
What is the difference between experimental avoidance in animals vs phobic avoidance in humans?
Experimental avoidance in animals conditions less readily than phobic avoidance in humans.
The phobic individual learns to make avoidance response early in the chain of events to minimize effort of avoiding.
OCD
Persistent thoughts, impulses, images (obsessions), and repetitive, stereotyped actions (compulsions) are carried out in response to the obsessions.
Explained by two process theory.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
A method of treating OCD that involves prolonged exposure to the anxiety-arousing events while not engaging in compulsive behaviour that decreases the anxiety.
Time-Out
The loss of access to positive reinforcers for a brief period of time following a problem behaviour.
Response Cost
Removal of a specific reinforcer following a problem behaviour.
Intrinsic Punishment
Punishment that is an inherent aspect of the behaviour being punished. The activity itself is punishing.
Extrinsic Punishment
Punishment that is not an inherent aspect of behaviour being punished, but follows the behaviour.
Primary (Unconditioned) Punishers
An event that is innately punishing. Ex: shock.
Secondary (Conditioned) Punishers
An event that has become punishing because it has in the past been associated with some other punisher. Ex: tone: shock.
Generalized (Generalized Secondary) Punishers
An event that has become punishing because it has in the past been associated with many other punishers.
Problems with the use of Punishment
- Doesn’t reinforce adaptive behaviour.
- Generalized suppression of other behaviour.
- Punisher becomes SD for punishment.
- Punished may avoid punisher.
- Strong emotional response.
- Aggressive reaction.
- Models poor teaching techniques.
- Could be negatively reinforcing the act of punishing.
Benefits of Punishment
- Quickly suppresses behaviour.
- Can result in an improvement of mood.
- Can increase attention to environment.
Requirements for Punishment
- Immediate - not delayed.
- Follows each occurrence at outset.
- Intense enough to stop behaviour.
- Neg > Positive.
- Explanation
- Combine with positive reinforcement.
Conditioned Suppression Theory
Assumes that punishment does not weaken a behaviour, but produces an emotional response that interferes with the occurrence of the behaviour.
Avoidance Theory of Punishment
Punishment involves a type of avoidance conditioning in which the avoidance response consists of any behaviour other than the behaviour being punished.
The Premack Approach to Punishment
A LPB can be used to punish a HPB.
Learned Helplessness
A decrement in learning ability that results from repeated exposure to uncontrollable aversive events.
Depression.
Predictable, but uncontrollable.
Masserman’s Experimental Neurosis
Unpredictable aversive stimuli lead to neurotic-like symptoms.
PTSD.
Infrequent, and unpredictable.
