Behaviorists

define operant conditioning (OC)

learning though rewards and punishment

if a behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence then that behaviour is more likely to occur again in the future

define positive reinforcement

• adding a pleasant stimulus

• encourage behaviour

• rewards behaviour

define negative reinforcement

• encourages behaviour

• removes punishment

what stops behaviours?

• giving a punishment

• taking away a reward

Skinners rat box experiment

• demonstrated using a wrapped mechanisms of positive and negative reinforcement

• Positive reinforcement was shown when the rats press down on the lever to receive food as a reward and subsequently learned to repeat this action to increase their rewards.

• negative reinforcement was shown when the rat learnt to press down lever to avoid the unpleasant consequence of shock

what are the three reward schedules?

1. continuous

2. partial

3. variable

define continuous reward schedule

receiving a reward every time

define partial reward schedule

reward is given every 3rd time

define variable reward schedule

you never know when you’ll get rewarded

define learning

long term change in behaviour

define a punishment

Involves the application of an unpleasant consequence following the behaviour with the result that the behaviour is less likely to occur again in the future

what did Pavlov discover?

classical conditioning

what does the behaviourist approach reject?

rejected the vagueness of introspection, focusing instead on observable events

what is the behaviourst approach

learning is long term change which is shaped by our environment and all behaviour is learnt and acquired through classical and operant conditioning

define classical conditioning (CC)

learning through association

when a neutral stimulus (bell) is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food) so that it eventually takes on the properties of the stimulus and is able to produce a conditioned response

what is the process of CC of pavlovs dogs?

UCS (food) → UCR (saliva)

NS (bell) → NR (no saliva)

UCS (food) + NS (bell) → UCR (saliva)

CS (bell) → CR (saliva)

what are behaviourists

people who believe that human behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning without the need to consider thoughts or feelings

what was John Locke’s philosophy?

• ‘we are all tabula rasa’

• we have no innate (cognitional) knowledge so everything we know is learned

define ‘tabula rasa’

blank slate

what were the features effecting classical conditioning?

1. timing

2. extinction

3. spontaneous recovery

4. stimulus generalisation

How does timing affect classical conditioning

if the NS cant be used to predict the UCS (if it occurs after the UCS or the time interval between the two is too great) then conditioning doesn’t take place

how does extinction effect classical conditioning?

• after a few presentations of the CS (bell) in the absence of the UCS (food) it loses its ability to produce the CR

• The CR doesn’t become permanently established as a response

how does stimulus generation effect classical conditioning?

once animal has been conditioned, they will also respond to other stimuli that are similar to the CS

how does spontaneous recovery effect classical conditioning?

following extinction, if the CS (bell) and UCS (food) are paired together once again the link between them is made much more quickly

what is a strength of classical operant conditioning?

• classical conditioning has been applied in the development of treatments for the reduction of anxiety associated various phobias

what’s punishment?

involves the application of an unpleasant consequence following behaviour, with the result that the behaviour is less likely to occur in the future