CogPsy quiz 2

Operant Conditioning

- Learning of voluntary behavior through effect of pleasant or unpleasant consequences
- General principles that can predict voluntary behavior an organism will perform and under what condition

BF Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

Project pigeon and baby tender

- Pigeons never used but gave us idea of operant conditioning
- Baby tender: built in aircon where parent can manipulate to help baby

Skinner box

Attempt for environment to control him and influence his activity

Edward Lee Thorndike

- Psychology must study behavior
- Inspired by william james
- Studied with consequences
- Experimented on chicks
- APA president in 1912

Puzzle box

-Gradual improvement in animal's time to escape was attributed to strengthening of S-R connection
- First trial "correct behavior" occurred in accident
- As learning took place, time period decreased with subsequent trials
- Stamping in and stamping out of a response

Stamping in

any behavior followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated or reinforced

Stamping out

any behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to be discontinued

Stop-action principle

- Occurrence of the reinforcer stops ongoing behaviors and strengthens the precise behaviors that were occurring at the moment of reinforcement
- parallel between action of camera and reinforcer in experiments of gutrie and horton

Guthrie and Horton

Creative own version of puzzle box (cats): pole in the center of the box

Superstitions

- accidental reinforcement
- whatever behavior happened to be occurring when reinforcer delivered is strengthened
-individual superstitions behavior occur when individual has no control over an event

Operant conditioning

- responsible for learning of most human behavior
- immediate reinforcement of response increases likelihood of behavior occurring again
- Voluntary behavior with consequence or reinforcement
- Individual operates on environment to produce an effect

Reinforcers

any event or stimulus that increases probability that response occurs again

Types of reinforcers

primary, conditioned, generalized

Primary reinforcer

naturally strengthen any response it follows

Examples of primary

Food, water, comfort

Conditioned reinforcer

previously neutral stimulus acquired the capacity to strengthen responses because it's been paired with a primary reinforcer

Examples of conditioned

Stars, praise

Generalized reinforcer

conditioned reinforcer associated with a large number of different primary reinforcers

examples of generalized

money, friends, graduate school

Shaping

rewarding successive approximations of behavior until organism performs the desired behavior

Three term contingency

Discriminative stimulus, operant response, reinforcer/punisher

Discriminative stimulus

Context or situation in which response occurs

Operant response

Behavior that follows discriminative stimulus

Reinforcer/punisher

stimulus that follows operant response

Response chain

Sequence of behavior that must occur in a specific order with the main reinforcement being delivered only after final response of the sequence

Each stimulus in the middle of the response chain serves

conditioned reinforcer for prev response
discriminative stimulus for next response

Teaching response chains

1. Backward chaining
2. Forward chaining
3. Total task method

Backward chaining

start with last response and work backward

Example of backward chaining

Job searching

Forward chaining

start by reinforcing the first response and gradually add on the second, third, etc

example of forward chaining

homework

Total task method

- requires practicing all steps of the task as a whole
- prompt: add extra discriminative stimulus that makes correct response likely to occur (e.g., verbal instruction)

example of total task method

cooking

instinctive drift

tendency of animal to revert to unconscious and auto behavior that interferes with learned behavior from operant conditioning

Types of contingencies

Reinforcement and Punishment

reinforcement

increases occurrence of the behavior

positive reinforcement

add desirable

example of positive reinforcement

receiving money

negative reinforcement

removing undesirable

example of negative reinforcement

turning off your alarm

punishment

does not strengthen behavior

positive punishment

add undesirable

example of positive punishment

scolding

negative punishment

remove desirable

example of negative punishment

confiscating phone

Reinforcement Schedules

Fixed ratio
Variable ration
Fixed interval
Variable interval

Ratio

concerned with the number of responses

Interval

concerned with amount of time

Fixed ratio

- stop and go pattern
- post reinforcement pause after each reinforcer
- once responding resumes, subject respond at constant and rapid rate until next reinforcement

Examples of fixed ratio

games, starbucks sticker

Variable ratio

- number of responses are not constant from reinforcer to reinforcer
- response pattern is rapid and steady
- postreinforcement pauses are brief

examples of variable ratio

lotto, slot machines

Fixed interval

- Ideal would be to wait out the exact amount of time before responding
- fixed interval scallop
- Subjects doesnt have perfect sense of time
- work more rapidly before reinforcement

examples of fixed interval

political campaign, cramming/ procrastinating

Variable interval

- Amount of time that passes varies predictably by reinforcement
- steady and moderate response
- not advantageous (post reinforcement)

examples of variable interval

drug test, pop quiz

Humphrey's paradox

extinction rapid after continuous reinforcement (CRP) then after intermittent reinforcement

unlearning because you expect

fixed ratio: discrimination hypothesis
generalization decrement hypothesis

Factors affecting performance

1. amount of reinforcement
2. rate of reinforcement
3. delay
4. response effort
5. reinforcement history

Behavioral momentum

resistance to change
higher rates of reinforcer higher to disrupt

example of behavioral momentum

focusing on test

Reinforcement

add desirable factors and removal of undesirable situation

Punishment

Suppress behavior and increase avoidance
- opposite of reinforcement since you temporarily suppress behavior

effects of punishment

Avoidance of punisher, Learned helplessness

Avoidance of punisher

Avoidance = escape
Keep doing this since it is reinforced

Two factor theory

fear motivates avoidance response

Examples under avoidance of punisher

procrastination and fear of public speaking

Learned helplessness

- Seligman and maier
- Expectation that behavior has little effect on environment
- Learned and not innate
- Learn with environment as we gain experience

amygdala

area of brain that deals with fear and anxiety to prioritize survival

what happens during high stress

- activate amygdala
- Logical thinking automatically shut down

factors influencing effects of punishment

Manner of introduction
immediacy of punishment
schedule of punishment
motivation to respond

Manner of introduction

- punisher maximum intensity at first time presented
- Gradual introduction leads to tolerance

example of manner of introduction

imprisonment for criminal acts

Immediacy of punishment

Effectively decreased frequency of undesirable behavior

example of immediacy of punishment

immediately reprimand rowdy behavior

Schedule of punishment

Punishment every response> intermittent schedule (uncertain)

example of schedule of punishment

safely compliance in manufacturing plant

Motivation to respond

Highly motivated behavior endures punishment

example of motivation to respond

- steal food: survival
- Punishment as discriminate: self injurious behavior

disadvantages of punishment

1. Fear and anxiety
2. Suppression of all behavior
3. Demands continual monitoring of behavior
4. Aggression against punisher

Alternatives for punisher

Overreaction, response blocking, Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA)

Overreaction

Repeated practice on desirable behavior
- Restitution- making up for wrongdoing
- Positive practice- practice better behavior

example of overreaction

E.g. anger outburst
Restitution: exploration
Overcorrection: mindfulness
Positive prac: role-play

Response blocking

Physically restraining individual to prevent inappropriate behavior

example of response blocking

straitjacket

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA)

Extinction of inappropriate behavior via removal of behavior

example of DRA

E.g. comm needs

Albert bandura

theory of imitation

Theory of Imitation

Imitation is instinctive

True imitation

advanced type of social learning where animal imitates a behavior it has never performed before
a. Highly accurate
b. Understands purpose
c. Adapt behavior to different context
d. Delayed imitation

Imitation as operant response

- Miller and dollard: observational learning is operant conditioning
Imitation= reinforced
Non imitation= non reinforced

Discriminative stimulus (Imitation as operant response)

behavior of person

Operant response (Imitation as operant response)

behavior of observer

Media related suicide contagion

Increased suicide rates after watching someone commit suicide in media
Reinforced to do it

Generalized imitation

reinforcement history led to imitation in new situations

Bandura's theory

- Consequences to model made a difference
- All children imitated models and produced more aggressive behavior after being reinforced

Observational learning

away from skinner because we have capacity to reflect and evaluate, showing how the environment does not control us

Attentional processes

focus on person when important

Retentional processes

retain behavior or mannerisms they do