9.2 Flashcards

Operant conditioning

learning in which a certain action is reinforced or punished, resulting in corresponding increases or decreases in occurrence

operant chamber

a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer

Reinforcement

Stimulus or event that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated

Positive reinforcer

a stimulus that increases the likelihood that a response will occur again

Negative Reinforcer

Increasing the strength of a given response by removing or preventing a painful stimulus when response occurs

Primary reinforcer

stimulus that is naturally rewarding, such as food or water

Secondary reinforcer

Stimulus such as money that rewarding through it’s link with a primary reinforcer

Continuous reinforcement

Behavior that is reinforced every time it occurs

Partial reinforcement

Positive reinforcement occurs only intermittently

Fixed-ratio schedule

a pattern of reinforcement in which a specific number of correct responses is required before reinforcement can be obtained

Variable-ratio schedule

a pattern of reinforcement in which an unpredictable number of repossess are required before reinforcement can be obtained

Fixed-interval schedule

a pattern of reinforcement ion which a specific amount of time must elapses before a response will elicit reinforcement

Variable-interval schedule

a pattern of reinforcement in which changing time before obtaining reinforcement

Shaping

Technique in which the discrete behavior is molded by first rewarding any act similar to that behavior and then requiring ever-closer approximations to the desired behavior before giving the reward

Response Chain

Learned reactions that follow one another in sequence, each reaction producing the signal for the next

Aversive control

Process of influencing behavior by means of unpleasant stimuli

Avoidance conditioning

Training of an organism to response so as to prevent the occurrence of an unpleasant stimulus

Punishment

an unpleasant consequence occurs and decreases the frequency of the behavior that produced it

Disadvantages to Punishment

Can be suppressed, teaches discrimination, teaches fear, can increase aggressiveness