ps final

extinction

weakening of operant behaviors

procedure of extinction

withholding reinforcement

process of extinction

decrease in responding

side effects of extinction

extinction burst, depression, resurgence, increase in variability, emotional behavior, agression, resistance to extinction

resistance to extinction

- responding persists after an extinction procedure has been implemented
-high resistance -> still respond
- low resistance - less responses
***most important factor is the schedule of reinforcement
- history of reinforcement
- magnitude of reinforcement
- degree of deprivation
-previous exper w extinction
-

distinctive signal for extinction

S^delta signal extinction

spontaneous recovery

reappearance of extinguished behaviors following rest period after extinction, not permanently eliminated

differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)

extinction can be facilitated by extinguishing target behavior and reinforcing alternative behavior
- can reduce side effects of extinction
ex: kid whining for candy reinforce their communication

2 types of negative reinforcement

escape (open umbrella to escape rain)

avoidance

(know you'll get a headache take advil to avoid)

shuttle avoidance procedure

shock (S^d) : cross barrier (R) -> removal of shock (S^R)
light came before the shock so...
light (S^d) : cross barrier (R) -> avoid shock (S^r)
escape always comes before avoidance

Mowrer's two-process theory of avoidance

2 processes: CC, OC
CC ex: light (NS) : shock (US) -> fear (UR)
OC ex: light (S^d) : climb over barrier -> fear reduction (S^R)

Limitations of Mowrer's Two Process Theory of Avoidance

-avoidance responses often extremely persistent
ex: dog jumps barrier to avoid shock
- if animal repeatedly encounters CS in absence of US -> extinction
- even if no fear animals continue to do avoidance response

anxiety conservation hypothesis

-Modification of two process theory
-Avoidance responses persistent but extinction will eventually occur

one process theory of avoidance

-avoidance is NR by experience lower rate of aversive stimulus
- climbing barrier results in less shocks not less fear
- removes reference to internal state
- animal avoids the aversive US
- Humans avoid the CS

Adequate experimental model should

- establish fear response with one US-CS pairing
- avoidance of CS & US
- successful avoidance 100% of the time

Stampfl's animal model of avoidance

- humans make avoidance response early on in chain of events leading up to feared stimulus
- low amount of effort involved in avoiding
- envision the conveyor belt
-- get shocked in the dark part - then each time the conveyor gets closer to that they run back to the start to avoid the shock
---one trial learning

2 types of negative punishment

Response cost & timeout

timeout

- loss of positive reinforcers for brief period
- not effective if new setting is more reinforcing than the setting you got in trouble in
-- ex: being sent to room may be a good thing if your toys are there

response cost

- removal of reinforcer following occurence of problem behavior
--ex: receiving fine for speeding
- disadvantage: need to identify specific reinforcer
- advantage: easily adjust severity of punishment

Negative punishment vs. exticntion

NP - performing behavior results in loss of something
Extinction - stops performing behavior because not being reinforced

intrinsic punishment vs. extrinsic punishment

intrinsic: pushups
extrinsic: getting judged for smoking

primary vs. secondary punishment

unconditioned (shock

problems with use of punishment

1.Punishment of an inappropriate behavior does not directly strengthen the occurrence of appropriate behavior.

-It may even result in a general suppression of behavior.

2.The person delivering the punishment could become an SD for punishment.

-The unwanted behavior is suppressed only when that person is present.

3.Punishment might simply teach the individual to avoid the person who delivered the punishment.

4.Punishment is likely to elicit a strong emotional response.

-This might interfere with any subsequent attempts to teach appropriate behaviors.

5.Punishment can sometimes elicit an aggressive reaction.

-The aggressive may be directed at the punisher or another target.

6.The use of punishment might teach the person that punishment is an acceptable means of controlling behavior.

-Do siblings punish each other?

Cycle of abuse

7.The use of punishment is often strongly reinforced.

-The punisher may be enticed to punish more often because she likes the results.

benefits of punishment

1.Punishment can sometimes lead to an increase in social behavior.

-Example: A young child may become more affectionate.

2.Punishment sometimes results in an improvement in mood.

-Example: A young child may stop crying.

3.Punishment can increase attention to the environment.

-Example: A young child may show increased eye contact and interest in ongoing activities.

4. immediate

not delayed

5. consistently follow each occurence of unwanted behavior

6. intense enough to suppress behavior

7. NP is preferable to PP

8. punishment of innappropriate behavior should be combined with PR of appropriate behavior

-Ex: whining kid - reinforce their communication w words

Theories of Punishment

-Conditioned suppression theory

-Avoidance theory of punishment

-The Premack approach to punishment

conditioned suppression theory

-skinner

-punishment can quickly suppress behavior but quickly returns when punishment withdrawn

- emotional response which interfere w performance of behavior

avoidance theory of punishment

--anything other than punishing behavior is reinforced

ex: sniffy lever press = punished

all other behaviors = reinforced

if this is true ^^ then punishment = NR

Premack Approach to Punishment

a low probability behavior can be used to punish a high probability behavior

ex: rat both hungry & tired

will it want to eat or run on the wheel? -> eat

- assumes punishment is opposite of reinforcement

non-contingent punishment

not based on behavior

learned helplessness

decrease in learning ability that results from repeated exposure to uncontrollable aversive events

- predictable but not controllable

Masserman's Experimental Neurosis

variation of Pavlov's procedure

- infrequent

unpredictable

ex: cats unpredictably shocked while eating

---they developed neurotic symptoms

similar symptoms to PTSD

seligman & maier study

dogs in 3 categories:

- inescapable shock (develop learned helplessness

never learned to avoid shock

- escapable shock (avoidance procedure)

- no shock (control)

specific learned helplessness examples

- math anxious individual

- depression (many uncontrollable events)

--can eliminate these if force escape from aversive stimulus

choice

-investigations of choice behavior use concurrent schedules of reinforcement

- concurrent schedules = simultaneous presentation of 2+ indep. schedules which lead to reinforcer

matching law

probability of responses on a particular schedule matches proportion of reinforcers obtained on that schedule

red key: peck (VI60sec) -> food

green key: peck (VI30sec) -> food

2: 1 favor green key

formula for matching law

Ra/Ra+Rb

Undermatching

the proportion of responses on the richer schedule versus the poorer schedule is less different than would be predicted by matching

change over delay

brief delay

- slight cost imposed for switching schedules

- mice in maze may not switch if they have to travel through long maze to switch schedules

overmatching

the proportion of responses on the richer schedule versus the poorer schedule is more different than would be predicted by matching

- cost of switching schedules is high

bias from matching

one response attracts higher proportion of responses than predicted

matching theories

maximization theory - want max overall reinforcement

melioration theory - distribution of behavior shifts towards alternativve w higher value at the moment

sub-optimal behaviors

we know what to do

willpower

behaving wisely

- or behaving poorly

failing to resist tempation

Skinner & Self-Control

controlling response alters frequency of controlled response

ex: leave wallet at home to save $ at club

leaving wallet = controlling response

how much money spent at club is controlled response

controlling responses

physical restraint

Self-Control as a Temporal Issue

-outcomes are sometimes delayed vs. immediate