personality psychology exam 3

operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment

What is LAW OF EFFECT and who

E.L. Thorndike

- behavior is determined by its consequences

in operant conditioning, the law of effect becomes MORE probable when it is followed by

positive reinforcer

- LESS probable when followed by a punisher

what is skinner famous for

using a "Skinner box"

what is the skinner box

a box designed to have rats press a level for food.

According to Skinner, what analyses the events of the environment

a behaviorist - past or current, that helps produce the behavior

skinner believes to understand behavior one must perform a...

functional analysis

functional analysis of behavior

identifying the environmental conditions that determines if behavior occur or does not occur

the functional analysis of behavior states: that behavior is caused by

the operation of environmental factors

skinner believed we are ultimately

conditioned by external events

- everything we do is caused by the environment

what are the criticisms regarding skinners theory (4)

1. performed research on lower animals

2. human environment not easily manipulated compared to animals

3. sought to manipulate ppl without them being aware of it

4. set himself up as an arbiter of good and evil

what does the study of personality involve

the discovery of the unique set of relationships between the behavior of an organism and its reinforcing or punishing consequences

what con Ivan Pavlov develop

classical conditioning

What concept did B.F. Skinner develop?

Operant conditioning

What does classical conditioning involve?

learning by association

what does operant conditioning involve?

learning by reinforcement (rewards) and punishment

operant conditioning, skinner establishes an association between

behavior and its consequences

the occurrence of behavior is made MORE probable by

reinforcement which makes it more likely behavior to occur again

the occurrence of behavior is made LESS probable by

punishments which makes it less likely that behavior will occur again

what does the three-term contingency refer to

three important components in an operant-conditioning contingency

what is contingency?

a rule stating that some event will occur if and only if another event occurs

what does the three-term contingency involve?

1. Environment (situational) event in which a response (behavior occurs).

- the event that precedes behavior

2. behavior itself

3. environment stimuli (consequences) that follow the behavior

what is discrimination?

responding differently in presence of certain stimuli (in some situations) and not in others

-EX. when some behavior is rewarded or punished in one situation yet not in another

stimulus control

(process in which) person's response is determined by particular stimuli

stimulus control example

child gets candy when requested in front of mom friend

- will respond only when reinforcement will take place

- we react to various cues in our environment

what are prompts

antecedent events that help initiate responses

what are the 3 or 4 prompts

1. instructions

2. directions

3. examples and models

what are discriminative stimulus?

stimulus whose presence signals an individual to respond b/c they previously learned that its presence leads to reinforcing consequences

stimulus generalization

behavior that is reinforced in one situation is repeated in other similar situations even if not reinforced

stimulus generalization is the opposite of

discrimination

reinforcement is the principle in which

behavior increase in frequency when followed by a positive or negative reinforcer

positive reinforcement

process of increasing frequency of a behavior by the presentation of a pleasant stimuli or positive reinforcers following that behavior

Positive reinforcers

stimuli that, when they follow behavior, increase the frequency of the behavior

2 types of positive reinforcers

1. primary (unconditioned)

2. secondary (conditioned)

primary (unconditioned) reinforcers

automatically or naturally reinforcing (food, water, sex)

secondary (conditioned) reinforcers

reinforcing through their association with primary reinforcers or other conditioned reinforcers (praise, attention, money, good grades)

Negative reinforcements

increasing the frequency of behavior (response) by the removal of an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus following that behavior

negative reinforcer

removal of an aversive stimulus

aversive means

unpleasant stimulus

punishment

decrease in the frequency of a response when that response is followed immediately by certain consequences (punishers)

punishers

stimuli that are inherently aversive or unpleasant

positive punishment

presentation of an aversive stimulus (punisher) following a behavior

2 types of punishers

1. primary (unconditioned)

2. Secondary (conditioned)

primary (unconditioned) punishers

stimuli that are inherently aversive or unpleasant (spanking, falling down)

Secondary (conditioned) punishers

acquire their aversive properties by being paired with primary punishers or other conditioned punishers (poor grades, criticism, ignored)

negative punishment

the removal of a desirable or pleasant stimulus following a behavior

types of negative punishment

1. response cost

2. time-out punishment

response cost

involves a penalty of some kind

(child curses, loses a toy, speed/ticket, late fees)

time-out punishment

removal of all pleasant stimuli for a period of time (No tv, computer)

two downsides of punishment according to skinner

1. May give rise to emotional responses that are incompatible with appropriate behavior

2. Can create strong conflict in people when responses have inconsistent results

shaping

teaching a new behavior by reinforcing responses that approximate it and are then reinforced until eventually the goal is achieved

successive approximations

behaviors are increasingly similar to the final goal

schedules of reinforcement

1. continuous reinforcement

2. intermittent reinforcement

continuous reinforcement

response is followed by a reinforcer consistently

intermittent reinforcement

response is followed by a reinforcer occasionally or intermittently

self control process

how the individual acts to alter the conditions that influence their behavior

examples of self control

1. physical restraints

2. physical aids

3. changing the stimulus conditions

4. manipulating emotional conditions

5. preforming alternative responses

6. positive self-reinforcements

7. self-punishment

personality development according to skinner

believed personality changed over time DUE to unique environmental schedules of reinforcement rather than the emergence of maturation stages

skinner said there is no qualitative difference between

so-called normal and abnormal individuals

skinner believed the same set of principles can be accounted for

all behavior

skinner believed the focus should be more on the

environmental determinants of behavior rather than inner ones

assessment techniques (skinner)

focused on specific behaviors and those environmental events considered to be controlling influences

- ultimately sought to discover a cause-and-effect relationship between events

implications of therapy

behavior modifications

behavior modifications

attempt to change behavior by the application of learning principles derived (primarily) from reinforcement principles and (less often) by punishment principle

John B. Watson

major proponent of the behavioral school

according to Watson, what did behaviorists study

observable animals and human behaviors, INSTEAD of states of consciousness

what was one of Watson's best-known experiments

with his graduate assistant, RAYNER, and an 11-month old child named Albert B (little Albert)

What did Watson and Raynor study Little Albert?

they conditioned the little Albert to rats and other furry animals

what list did Little Albert experiment make it on?

psychology's most unethical experiments

Despite Watson's contributions, what name is primarily associated with behaviorism?

B.F. skinner

how did Skinner make his reputation?

by testing Watson's theories in the laboratory

Skinner's studied led him to reject Watson's

almost exclusive emphasis on reflexes and conditioning

How is Skinner similar to watson

skinner denied that the mind or feelings play any part in determining human behavior

- instead, our experience of reinforcements determine out behavior

Skinner maintained that operant conditioning could explain

even the most complex of human behaviors

skinners theory become known as

radical behaviorism

why is skinners theory known as radical behaviorism?

b/c he focused on the functional analysis of behavior -- relationship btw environmental events and a particular response

radical behaviorism makes no allowance for

cognitive processes

what are both Skinner and E.L Thorndike associated with?

Operant conditioning

what time did skinner and Thorndike begin their studies?

around the time that Pavolv completed his

Although Thorndike's studies on learning were quite important..

it is skinners name that is most often associated with operant conditioning

contributions of behaviorism

1. most evidence-based therapies to exist

2. led to the development of a strong self-mangement focus on therapy

3. used to treat a wide range of psychological conditions

- phobias, eating disorders, addictions of all types, OCS, PTSD, and behavior disorders

criticisms of behaviorism

involves control and manipulation by the therapist

- treats symptoms rather than causes

- ignores relational factors in therapy

- does nor produce client insight

what did Bandura believe that behavior occurs as

result of a complex interplay between inner processes and environmental influences

Bandura places special emphasis on the role of the

cognitive determinants of behavior as the result of the actual cause of behavior

what is bandura known for

social learning theory

social learning theory

AKA bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories due to Bandura's explanation of various stages of social learning

Triadic reciprocal determinism

theory that cognition, behavior, and environmental influences all operate interactively as determinants of one another

over time we use both verbal and imaginal representation to guide

our behavior and solve problems symbolically

eventually can see probable consequences of our behavior and modify our actions accordingly

use both insightful and foresightful behavior

Bandura believed behavior is regulated by anticipated outcomes

expectation that certain behaviors will have desired effects, others will have unwanted outcomes, and others are insignificant

Bandura disagreed with skinner that

-Reinforcement/ punish automatically strengthens/weakens behavior

-Behavior results from our direct experiences of rewards and punishments

-Reinforcement/ punish do not fully account for the way behavior is acquired, maintained or altered

Bandura believed that direct reinforcement could not account for

all types of learning

his theory added a social element, arguing

people can learn new information and behaviors by watching other people

observational learning

new responses are made as a result of watching the performance of others (imitative learning)

Bandura refers to the process of observational learning as

modeling - individuals learn new behavior while observing others

modeling

form of learning where actual behavior does not need to occur. considered necessary to avoid trial and error

factors that play a role in modeling

1. Personality characteristics

2. Prior experiences

3. Characteristics of the model

4. Rewards and punishments associated with the model

vicarious reinforcement

willingness to imitate the behavior of a model after observing that the model was reinforced for the behavior

social learning theory consists of four steps

attention, retention, reproduction, motivation

ultimately, people learn from one another, via

Observation, imitation, and modeling