Modules 6, 8, and 10: Operant Conditioning, Observational Learning, and Sensation & Perception

Comprehensive vocabulary review flashcards covering behavioral contingencies, operant reinforcement schedules, observational learning, neural structures, and sensory-perceptual processes.

Law of Effect - Edward Thorndike

Behaviors that produce a positive (satisfying) outcome are repeated; behaviors leading to a negative outcome are not repeated. Favorable behaviors are "stamped in," unfavorable ones "stamped out." (Developed through puzzle box experiments.)

Trial-and-Error Learning (Edward Thorndike)

Cats in Thorndike's puzzle box learned to escape by trying behaviors; with each escape they got faster until they knew exactly what to do.

Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

Organisms learn to associate behavior with its consequences: pleasant consequence → behavior increases; unpleasant consequence → behavior stops. (e.g., show up to work, get paid.)

Stimulus (Antecedent)

Whatever comes before the behavior; usually an environmental cue (e.g., the Skinner box).

Response (Behavior)

The voluntary behavior (e.g., lever press)

Consequence

The outcome of the behavior (e.g., food administered)

Positive Reinforcement (PR)

Something good is given/added → behavior increases (e.g., praise/reward).

Negative Reinforcement (NR)

Something bad is taken away → behavior increases (e.g., take Tylenol, headache goes away)

Positive Punishment (PP)

Something bad is given/added → behavior decreases (e.g., spanking)

Negative Punishment (NP)

Something good is taken away → behavior decreases (e.g., taking away a phone).

Primary Reinforcers (Unconditioned)

Innate reinforcing/punishing qualities; value does not have to be learned. Reinforcers: food, water, temperature, sex. Punishers: extreme cold/hot, pain, a punch.

Secondary Reinforcers

No inherent value; value must be learned. Reinforcers: praise, money, grades, stickers, points. Punishers: speeding tickets, loss of privileges, ridicule, late fees.

Discriminative Stimulus

A stimulus that signals when reinforcement will or won't occur (e.g., a rat gets food for lever presses only when the orange light is on; the light is the SD)

Generalization

Responding in the same way to stimuli that are similar to the original SD/training stimulus (e.g., a child taught to say "dog" to the family pet says it to all dogs)

Stimulus Control

Behavior reliably occurs in the presence of the discriminative stimulus (SD) because it has been reinforced there, and not in its absence (e.g., stopping at a red light).

Discrimination

the SD signals when reinforcement is (or isn't) available, so behavior occurs when the SD is present (e.g., orange light).

Continuous Reinforcement

The organism receives a reinforcer every time it displays the behavior. Quickest way to teach a behavior (e.g., dog gets a treat every time it sits), but the behavior stops if reinforcement suddenly stops

Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule

Reinforcement after a predictable number of responses (e.g., factory workers paid per x items). High response rate with a short pause after reinforcement

Variable Ratio (VR) Schedule

Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses (e.g., gambling). High, steady response rate with little if any pause.

Fixed Interval (FI) Schedule

Reinforcement at predictable time intervals (e.g., pain medication at set times). Scallop-shaped response pattern with a significant pause after reinforcement

Variable Interval (VI) Schedule

Reinforcement at unpredictable time intervals (e.g., checking Facebook). Moderate, steady response rate.

Shaping

Molding a new behavior by reinforcing successive approximations to the target behavior; reinforce movements closer to the goal

Prompting

Helps us learn the behavior: verbalizing (telling the person what to do), gesturing (body gestures indicating the correct action), and modeling (demonstrating what to do); physical prompts are also used

Fading

Gradually removing prompts.

Extinction

Withholding reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior so the behavior decreases and eventually stops; it may briefly get worse first (extinction burst)

Spontaneous Recovery

The sudden reappearance of an extinguished behavior after a rest period, even though it is not reinforced again.

Time-out

Removing the person from the opportunity to earn reinforcement for a short period after a misbehavior (a form of negative punishment).

Response Cost

Taking away a reinforcer (points, money, privileges) after a misbehavior (a form of negative punishment, e.g., a fine or late fee).

Problems with punishment

Often administered inappropriately; creates anxiety, fear, rage; effectiveness often temporary; hard to deliver immediately; conveys little information; may actually reinforce behavior.

Observational Learning

Learning by watching others; no firsthand experience required. You observe someone else's behavior and its consequences, then decide whether to imitate it. (e.g., watching your father bag groceries, seeing a coworker praised, observing a sibling get in trouble)

Enactive Learning

Learning by doing: direct, firsthand experience with the behavior and its consequences (e.g., touching a hot stove and getting burned).

Steps of the Social learning theory

1) Observe behavior (watch someone perform an action) → 2) Note consequences (see what happens to them) → 3) Visualize outcomes (remember and imagine results) → 4) Decide to act (choose whether to imitate).

Imitation

Mimicking or copying another person's behavior.

Generalized Imitation

Imitating not just reinforced behaviors but any behavior the model displays (Baer & Sherman, 1964: children reinforced for imitating some behaviors also imitated unreinforced ones).

Deferred Imitation

Observing a model but not showing the learning until later (e.g., child watches mom set the table, days later sets it correctly by herself)

Vicarious Reinforcement

Learning by observing someone else receive positive consequences (e.g., seeing a coworker promoted motivates you to work harder).

Vicarious Punishment

Learning by observing someone else receive negative consequences (e.g., seeing someone ticketed for an illegal U-turn teaches you not to do it).

What happened in Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment

Bandura (1965): 66 children (33 boys, 33 girls) watched a film of a model behaving aggressively toward a Bobo doll in one of three conditions: model rewarded (praised as a "strong champion," given treats), model punished (scolded as a bully and spanked), or no consequences. Children were then given free play with the doll.

Key Findings of Bobo Doll Experiment

Children who saw aggression tended to be aggressive themselves; punishment of the model reduced imitation; reinforcement of the model increased imitation; when offered incentives to show what they remembered, children showed they had learned the behaviors even if they hadn't performed them spontaneously.

Attention (How It Influences Imitation)

We're more likely to model behaviors by someone who commands our attention.

Memory (How It Influences Imitation)

We must remember what a model does in order to imitate it later.

Physical Ability (How It Influences imitation)

We must be able to convert what we see into action.

Motivation (How It Influences Imitation)

We need a reason to perform the observed behavior.

Skilled Models

Let us see what positive results look like when learning a new skill (to become an expert, watch an expert).

Unskilled Models

Make mistakes as often as they succeed, so we learn from both successes and failures in a more relatable way (e.g., watching your father at the batting cage).

Attractive Models

More likely to capture our attention than unattractive ones (Baker & Churchill, 1977); we're drawn to people we find appealing.

Education (Applications)

Teacher demonstrates how to solve a math problem, then uses prompt delays to encourage students to try independently; verbal, gestural, modeling, or physical prompts help if they struggle.

Therapy (Applications)

Therapist uses modeling to help clients overcome fears and anxieties; watching a model interact calmly with fear-evoking stimuli reduces anxiety and teaches coping behaviors

Workplace (Applications)

New employees learn procedures by watching trainers and coworkers model them (mentoring, shadowing, safety demonstrations); seeing a coworker rewarded motivates others (vicarious reinforcement).

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The brain (primary processing center) and the spinal cord (information highway).

Basic process of Information Flow

Detection (receptor cells in the five senses detect physical energy) → Transmission (stimulus is transduced into an electrical signal) → Interpretation (brain adds meaning) → Response (motor commands tell the body how to respond).

Pathway: sensory organs → thalamus → amygdala → prefrontal cortex → motor commands sent out.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Everything outside the brain and spinal cord; handles input and output.

Somatic Nervous System

Voluntary movement and sensory information.

Autonomic Nervous System

Regulates internal organs and involuntary functions.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Activates fight-or-flight when an event is emotionally important

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Returns the body to normal, the rest-and-digest state

Dendrites

Receiving end of a neuron

Soma

Center of the cell (with the nucleus); houses all nutrients to keep the cell healthy

Axon

Sends electrical signals

Myelin Sheath

Increases processing speed

Axon Terminals

End points where electrical impulses become chemical messages.

Resting Potential

Neuron is polarized: negative inside (-70mV), positive outside; ready to fire

Threshold of Excitation

Neuron must reach -55mV from resting -70mV to fire (all-or-nothing: it fires fully or not at all)

Depolarization

Adequate stimulation lets sodium (Na+) ions enter, making the inside positive and outside negative

Repolarization

Na+ channels close and potassium (K+) channels open; K+ exits, restoring a negative charge inside (voltage dips below -70mV before returning to rest)

Absolute Refractory Period

The period following an action potential during which a neuron cannot fire again under any circumstances, regardless of stimulation intensity.

Relative Refractory Period

The period following an action potential during which a neuron can fire again, but requires a stronger-than-normal stimulus to do so.

Reuptake

The presynaptic neuron reabsorbs excess neurotransmitters for future use

Enzymatic Degradation

 Enzymes destroy excess neurotransmitters in the synaptic space

Receptor Binding

Neurotransmitters bind to specific receptor sites on the receiving neuron's dendrite (lock-and-key system)

Neurotransmitter Release

Electrical impulse reaches the axon terminal and stimulates synaptic vesicles, which release neurotransmitters into the synaptic space (gap/cleft).

Dopamine

Controls voluntary movements; the brain's reward system

Serotonin

Stable mood (low levels = depression).

Endorphins

Reduce pain; create calm and happiness

Norepinephrine

Arousal; fight or flight. (Low levels may be linked to pathological gambling.)

GABA

Inhibitory neurotransmitter; calms the brain, relieves anxiety and panic.

Glutamate

Excitatory neurotransmitter; concentration and focus; associated with learning and memory

Absolute Threshold

The least amount of energy needed to produce a sensation 50% of the time.

Difference Threshold

The smallest change in stimulation detectable 50% of the time

Rods

Photoreceptor cells numbering approximately $120\text{ million}$, located exclusively in the retina, that govern peripheral and night vision.

Cones

Photoreceptor cells numbering approximately $8\text{ million}$, situated in the fovea and retina, that govern daytime vision and color perception.

The Five Senses

Vision (eyes), hearing (ears), taste (mouth), smell (nose), and touch (skin). Receptor cells transduce physical energy into neural energy; afferent (sensory) neurons carry it up to the brain.

Hearing Process

Sound waves (vibrations) enter the outer ear and hit the eardrum → three middle-ear bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) amplify them → the cochlea's hair cells transduce vibrations into neural signals → the auditory nerve carries them → thalamus → auditory cortex in the temporal lobe

Five Tastes

Sweet, salty, bitter, sour, savory (chemical receptors). Flavor = taste + smell.

Smell Function

Chemical sense; smells can trigger behavior (e.g., food smells induce eating)

Touch Receptors

Touch, temperature, and pain (nociception); skin is our largest sense organ.

Perception

The process of adding meaning to raw sensory data (bottom-up = sensation; top-down = perception).

Perceptual Set

Our prejudices, beliefs, biases, experiences, and mood affect how we interpret sensory events, so the same stimulus can be perceived differently (e.g., feeling good in the morning vs. stressed by evening).

Figure-Ground

The figure stands out from its environment (horse = figure, field = ground).

Law of Proximity

A Gestalt grouping principle stating that Objects close together are perceived as belonging together.

Law of Similarity

A Gestalt grouping principle stating that Objects with the same size, shape, or color are perceived as part of a pattern

Law of Closure

A Gestalt grouping principle describing the visual tendency to mentally fill in gaps and perceive incomplete figures as whole objects, or Our tendency to mentally complete incomplete objects.

Law of Continuity

A Gestalt principle stating that Items that appear to continue a pattern are seen as part of that pattern (good continuation)

Law of Prägnanz

A Gestalt principle stating that we perceive objects in the simplest form possible (simplicity)

Medulla

Regulates breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Pons

Connects the cerebellum and medulla; transfers messages between brain parts and the spinal cord.

Reticular Formation

Controls alertness and attention.

Cerebellum

Balance and muscle coordination; learning simple responses and acquired reflexes (classical conditioning).

Thalamus

Major sensory relay center for all senses except smell

Hypothalamus

Survival drives; temperature regulation; autonomic nervous system control.