AP Psychology: Unit 6 Topic 2

Classical vs Operant Conditioning, Skinner's Experiment

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behaviors are influenced by a desire to earn rewards or to avoid punishments

B.F. Skinner

a psychologist who developed the theory of operant conditioning and an advocate of behaviorism

Edward Thorndike

a psychologist known for proposing the Law of Effect

puzzle box

a laboratory device invented by Edward Thorndike used to study animal learning, specifically trial-and-error learning and the Law of Effect

respondent behavior

in classical conditioning, an automatic response to a stimulus

operant behavior

in operant conditioning, a behavior designed to gain something desired or avoid something unpleasant

law of effect

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

operant chamber/Skinner box

in operant conditioning research, a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing of key pecking

shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

reinforcer

in operant conditioning, any stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior more likely to occur again

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers

negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli

punishment

an aversive event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

positive punishment

administer an aversive stimulus

negative punishment

withdraw a rewarding stimulus

punisher

in operant conditioning, a stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior less likely to occur again

immediate reinforcer

a reinforcer that occurs instantly after a behavior

delayed reinforcer

a reinforcer that is delayed for a certain behavior