conditioning and learning

It is much more effective to

reinforce desirable behaviors than it is to punish unwanted behaviors.

A phobia can often be interpreted as a

conditioned emotional response.

Negative reinforcement occurs when a response

leads to the removal of an unpleasant event.

To be effective, punishment should be

immediate.

One thing that reinforcement and punishment have in common is that both

are less effective if they are delayed.

Which of the following best describes the unusual events that occurred in Pavlov’s laboratory, leading him to the discovery of classical conditioning?

Dogs sometimes salivated before meat powder was placed in their mouths.

Negative reinforcement and punishment

have opposite effects on behavior.

Punishment works best when it is

immediate and consistent.

In Bandura’s classic Bo-Bo doll experiment, most of the children imitated

all of the models, whether live, filmed, or cartoon.

In Pavlov’s experiments, the meat powder (food) placed on the dog’s tongue was the

unconditioned stimulus.

stimulus

the cause or producer of a response

response

any unidentifiable behavior

stimulus generalization

A tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar, but not identical, to a conditioned response

Unconditioned stimulus

a stimulus innately capable of eliciting a response

unconditioned response

an innate reflex response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus

neutral stimulus

a stimulus that does not evoke the unconditioned response

conditioned stimulus

a stimulus that evokes a response because it has been repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus 

conditioned response

a learned response elicited by a conditioned stimulus

stimulus discrimination

The learned ability to respond differently to similar stimuli.

operant shaping

Molding responses gradually in a step-by-step fashion to a desired pattern.

operant acquisition

–The training period when a NS is paired with a US.  When the NS becomes a CS.

–When the association begins to take place

classical extinction

The weakening of a CR (when the US is no longer paired with the CS)

operant extinction

When learned responses that are NOT reinforced gradually fade away

A response is extinguished when it is no longer followed by reinforcement

Positive reinforcement

–When a response is followed by a pleasant or desirable event that increases responding (dog treats, money, praise)

Negative reinforcement

–When a response is followed by the removal of an unpleasant event that increases responding

Punishment

–Any event that follows a response with an aversive consequence and decreases the likelihood of it recurring

Positive punishment

–When a response is followed by an unpleasant event that decreases responding (spanking, time out).

Negative punishment

–When a response is followed by the removal of a pleasant stimulus that decreases responding (taking phone, car, video games, etc.)

What does it take to make punishment good?

•Avoid harsh punishment

•Use the minimum punishment necessary

•Apply punishment during or immediately after misbehavior, especially with young kids or dogs

•Be consistent

•Expect anger from a punished person

•Punish with kindness and respect, not in anger

•If possible, use reinforcement along with it

What did skinner believe about punishment?

B.F. Skinner strongly opposed the use of punishment, believing it to be an ineffective and harmful way to control behavior

cognitive learning

Higher-level learning involving thinking, knowing, understanding, memory, and problem-solving.