Operant conditioning

o three phase model – antecedent, behaviour, consequence o reinforcement - role of reinforcers – positive and negative o punishment - role of punishers – positive and negative o schedules of reinforcement – fixed, variable, interval and ratio o study: Law of effect (Thorndike, 1898) o study: Skinner box (Skinner, 1948)

Operant conditioning

Form of learning where the consequences of a behaviour determines if they’ll be repeated

Three phase model

Antecedent environmental stimulus, Behaviour action/response, Consequence outcome

Reinforcement

consequence encouraging behaviour

Punishment

consequence discouraging behaviour

Positive and Negative (reinforcement/punishment)

Positive addition of stimuli

negative removal of stimuli

Reinforcement schedules

Intermittent (strengthens pre existing behaviour)

Continuous (best w new behaviour)

Types of Reinforcement schedule (6)

Continuous

Intermittent

Fixed ratio

Fixed interval

Variable ratio

Variable interval

Thorndike: Aim

examine influence of reinforcement on cats seeking to escape puzzle box for food

Thorndike: Variables

Independent: # of times cat in box

Dependent: length of time taken to escape

Thorndike: Findings

• cats initially escaped w trial and error

• second time in box, time drastically reduced.

Thorndike: Limitations

• psychological distress hungry cats

• generalisation to humans

Skinner: Aim

Demonstrate operate conditioning in pigeons