PSYCH 282: Foundations, Reinforcement, Punishment, and Stimulus Control

A comprehensive collection of 151 practice flashcards covering all four major modules of PSYCH 282: Foundations and Measurement, Reinforcement and Schedules, Punishment, and Stimulus Control and Generalization.

What is behaviour analysis?

A natural-science approach to studying behaviour through systematic observation and experimentation. It seeks functional relationships between behaviour and environmental conditions, considering the organism's biology and learning history.

Which early researchers are named in the notes and what are their key contributions?

Pavlov: respondent conditioning; Thorndike: consequences and the law of effect; Watson: behaviourism; Skinner: operant conditioning and experimental analysis of behaviour.

What does explaining behaviour mean in this course?

Predicting and influencing behaviour by identifying the conditions under which it changes. A useful explanation identifies independently testable variables rather than merely renaming the behaviour.

What assumptions guide the natural-science approach in the notes?

Behaviour has causes; causes precede effects; explanations use natural phenomena; and the simplest adequate explanation is preferred (parsimony or Occam's razor).

What is circular reasoning, according to the cake example?

Saying someone resisted cake because of willpower, then using their resistance as the only evidence of willpower. The label merely restates the observation instead of identifying an independently testable cause.

What is an independent variable (IV)?

The condition the experimenter manipulates to test its effects, such as caffeine dose or whether reinforcement is available.

What is a dependent variable (DV)?

The measured outcome expected to change when the IV changes, such as lever-press rate, response latency, or the highest ratio completed.

What is the basic logic of an experiment?

Systematically change the IV, measure the DV, and control plausible alternative explanations. Repeated, orderly changes in the DV with the manipulation support a causal interpretation; correlation alone does not.

What did the caffeine-and-rats example illustrate?

Rats received $0$, $16$, or $32\,\text{mg/kg}$ caffeine while working for food on escalating response requirements. The moderate dose increased work, but the larger dose did not improve on control, illustrating that effects need not increase linearly with dose.

Why should researchers be cautious when generalizing the rat caffeine findings?

A result in rats under a particular task and dose does not establish the same effect in humans, under long-term exposure, or at other doses. One must evaluate species, procedure, dose, and exposure history.

What is a functional relationship?

An experimentally demonstrated relation in which changes in an independent variable produce orderly changes in a dependent variable, strengthened by replication and control of alternative causes.

What does $\text{Behaviour} = f(\text{organism}, \text{environment})$ mean?

Behaviour depends on both the organism (including physiology, genetics, and prior learning history) and the environment (including the current stimuli and conditions encountered).

Does behaviour analysis assume organisms are blank slates?

No. Genetic differences, evolutionary history, physiology, and learning history all affect behaviour. The notes explicitly reject the blank-slate interpretation.

Why is John B. Watson's 'dozen infants' statement qualified?

Watson claimed training could produce many different occupations, but acknowledged going beyond his evidence. It represents a historical claim about environmental influence, not proof that biology is irrelevant.

How do consequences select behaviour?

Behaviour varies in form, force, and technique. Variants that produce effective consequences become more likely, whereas other variants become less likely. Selection occurs across experience rather than requiring a rigid stimulus-response reflex model.

What is an operational definition?

A precise description of how a variable is established or measured. It informs observers exactly what counts and how to quantify it.

What makes a strong behavioural definition?

It is observable, unambiguous, quantitative where required, practical, and relevant. It specifies boundaries and exclusions so observers score events consistently without guessing intentions or feelings.

What is interobserver reliability?

Agreement between independent observers applying the same definition to the same behaviour. High agreement suggests clear definitions and procedures, but agreement alone does not guarantee accuracy.

What is the difference between a label and a behavioural definition?

A label merely names a category (e.g., studying). A definition specifies the actions and measurement rules (e.g., minutes spent reading assigned material, excluding phone use and breaks).

How can food deprivation be operationalized?

By a specified time elapsed since food was last available or consumed, specifying the exact procedure rather than defining it as 'feeling hungry.'

How can salivation be operationalized?

As the mass of saliva absorbed by standardized cotton balls placed at specified mouth locations for a fixed observation period.

What is a category mistake in the notes?

Treating a category label as an additional instance or separate hidden cause (e.g., listing apple, banana, and fruit together, or treating 'fear' as an extra entity inferred solely from the behaviours it labels).

What is behavioural assessment?

The measurement of a target behaviour to describe its current pattern and evaluate change, requiring clear definitions and recording methods prior to data collection.

What is a baseline phase, and why is it collected?

A phase conducted without the planned intervention. It establishes the initial level, trend, and variability of behaviour, evaluates if an intervention is needed, and provides a comparison standard for treatment.

What is an A-B-A-B reversal design?

An experimental design where A = baseline, B = intervention, A = withdrawal/return to baseline, and B = reintroduction. Repeated changes with the intervention demonstrate a functional relationship.

When is a reversal design unsuitable?

When withdrawing an effective treatment would be unsafe or unethical, when effects cannot be reversed, or when learning persists after treatment withdrawal.

How long should baseline or treatment phases last?

There is no universal number; enough repeated observations must be gathered to evaluate level, trend, and variability while accommodating safety and practical constraints.

What is direct assessment?

Recording behaviour as it occurs using an observer or automated device, which avoids relying on retrospective recall.

What is self-monitoring?

Observing and recording one's own behaviour. It is useful for private or infrequent events; prompt recording improves accuracy, though monitoring itself can alter the target behaviour.

What is indirect assessment?

Using interviews, questionnaires, rating scales, or retrospective reports. It guides initial inquiry but is prone to recall errors, bias, and incomplete reporting.

What is a single-case design?

Repeated experimental measurement within an individual who serves as their own comparison across conditions, relying on systematic manipulation and replication rather than anecdotal description.

Why can group averages conceal important behavioural patterns?

Individuals may differ in baseline, response pattern, or treatment responsiveness even when their pooled average appears smooth and orderly.

What is frequency, and how does it differ from rate?

Frequency is the total count of responses. Rate is the number of responses divided by observation time (e.g., $10$ responses in $5\,\text{minutes} = 2\,\text{responses per minute}$).

What is duration?

The elapsed time from a defined behavioural onset to its offset, measured using explicit rules for pauses and distractions.

What is latency?

The time elapsed between a specified antecedent event or instruction and the onset of the response.

What is intensity?

The measurable magnitude, force, or volume of a response (such as decibels or lever pressure), distinct from how frequently the response occurs.

How do topography and accuracy differ?

Topography refers to the physical form or movement pattern of a response. Accuracy measures correctness, such as the percentage of correct trials.

What is choice or allocation of behaviour?

The distribution of responding or time among two or more concurrently available alternative activities.

How do natural and analogue settings differ?

Natural settings reflect everyday behaviour with less experimental control; analogue settings arrange conditions to test hypotheses with high control, though generalizability must be verified.

Why are nonhuman animals studied in behaviour analysis?

Shared evolutionary history can reveal general learning processes, while allowing greater control over genetics and learning history, subject to ethical oversight.

What is the relevance of Nuremberg Code principle 3 to behaviour research?

It requires that human experiments be grounded in prior knowledge (including animal experiments where appropriate) so anticipated results justify the study; it is not a blanket mandate for all psychology studies.

What is an operant?

A class of responses that produces a common environmental consequence, even if the physical movements (topographies) differ.

What is operant learning?

A change in a response class as a function of its consequences, representing a relatively enduring change in behaviour due to experience.

What is reinforcement?

A consequence procedure that increases or maintains the future probability of the behaviour it follows, defined solely by its demonstrated functional effect.

What is a reinforcer?

A stimulus or event following a response that increases or maintains that response's future probability under relevant environmental conditions.

How does positive reinforcement work?

A stimulus is presented following a response, resulting in an increase or maintenance of the future probability of that response (positive indicates addition).

How does negative reinforcement work?

An aversive stimulus is removed, reduced, or prevented following a response, resulting in an increase in the future probability of that response (it is not punishment).

Why is a reward not necessarily a reinforcer?

A reward is an intended or assumed pleasant consequence, whereas a reinforcer is defined strictly by the demonstrated empirical increase or maintenance of the target behaviour.

Which behavioural dimensions can reinforcement modify?

Frequency, duration, intensity, latency, and response variability, depending on the specific contingency arranged.

Why is reinforcement described as a functional description rather than an explanation on its own?

It names an observed consequence-behaviour relation. Saying behaviour increased 'because it was reinforced' is circular unless the environmental controlling variables are independently identified.

What is an unconditioned (primary) reinforcer?

A stimulus that functions as a reinforcer without prior individual learning due to evolutionary history (e.g., food, water, relief from painful stimuli).

What is a conditioned (secondary) reinforcer?

A stimulus that acquires reinforcing value through pairing with other reinforcers across an organism's lifetime (e.g., money, tokens, conditioned clicker signals).

What did Liberman et al. (1973) investigate?

They used a multiple-baseline design across four hospitalized patients to evaluate social contingencies favouring rational talk. Latency to delusional speech increased when social consequences were made contingent.

Why is Liberman et al. (1973) not merely an incompatible-behaviour training study?

The dependent variable was latency to delusional speech, and the procedure combined social reinforcement with explicit consequences for delusional talk, including a timeout component.

What did Sullivan and Leon (1987) demonstrate in rat pups?

Pups given a single pairing of peppermint odour with tactile stimulation resembling maternal care acquired a preference for the odour and showed enhanced neural metabolic activity in the olfactory bulb.

Does an acquired preference for an odour establish operant conditioned reinforcement?

No. Preference demonstrates associative learning; conditioned reinforcement requires showing that presenting the odour contingent on a separate operant response increases that response.

What is delay-reduction theory?

The proposition that a conditioned reinforcer's effectiveness depends on the degree to which it signals a reduction in time to terminal primary reinforcement.

What is the 20%-versus-50% pigeon choice finding?

Pigeons preferred a lower-payoff ($20\%$) option over a higher-payoff ($50\%$) option because the $20\%$ option occasionally produced a stimulus that was a $100\%$ reliable predictor of food.

Why does the 20%-versus-50% pigeon result emphasize differential signalling?

Both options delivered stimuli, but only the $20\%$ branch provided a distinct cue that unambiguously resolved uncertainty by reliably predicting food delivery.

What does a dolphin trainer's bridging signal illustrate?

A conditioned stimulus (e.g., whistle) marks the correct response immediately, bridging the temporal gap before terminal fish delivery; this does not imply secondary reinforcers are inherently stronger than primary reinforcers.

What is contingency in operant conditioning?

The probabilistic dependence of a consequence on the occurrence of a response (the probability of the consequence given the response versus in its absence).

What is contiguity?

Closeness of events in time (temporal contiguity) or space (spatial contiguity), which can occur independently of a contingent relationship.

How does delay affect reinforcement efficacy?

Longer delays between response and reinforcer decrease effectiveness, often because competing responses occur during the delay and are inadvertently strengthened.

What is the hyperbolic delay discounting model?

$V = \frac{A}{1 + kD}$, where $V$ is the discounted subjective value, $A$ is the undiscounted reinforcer amount, $D$ is delay, and $k$ is the discounting rate parameter.

How does reinforcer magnitude influence responding?

Larger reinforcers generally support higher response rates or break points, but the function is non-linear and constrained by satiation and consumption time.

Why do reinforcer identity and organism characteristics matter?

Effectiveness depends on species characteristics, biological predispositions, individual history, and current states; not all stimuli function equally as reinforcers for all behaviours.

What is a motivating operation (MO)?

An environmental event or condition that temporarily alters the reinforcing effectiveness of a consequence and alters the momentary frequency of behaviour that has produced it.

What is an establishing operation (EO)?

A motivating operation that increases the effectiveness of a reinforcer and evokes behaviour that has previously obtained that reinforcer (e.g., food deprivation).

What is an abolishing operation (AO)?

A motivating operation that decreases the effectiveness of a reinforcer and abates behaviour that has previously produced that reinforcer (e.g., satiation).

What are competing reinforcement contingencies?

Concurrent schedules in the environment that offer alternative reinforcers, causing behaviour to be allocated based on the relative payoffs of competing activities.

What is the Premack principle for reinforcement?

Access to a high-probability behaviour can serve as a reinforcer for performing a lower-probability behaviour when access is made contingent on that lower-probability response.

What did the candy-and-pinball demonstration show regarding reinforcement?

Reinforcing value is relative rather than absolute: pinball reinforced eating candy for children who preferred pinball, whereas candy reinforced pinball play for children who preferred candy.

Must a lower-probability behaviour surpass the higher-probability behaviour under the Premack principle?

No. The lower-probability response must increase relative to its own baseline rate; it does not need to exceed the absolute rate of the preferred activity.

What is the response-deprivation hypothesis?

Restricting access to an activity below its baseline level makes access to that activity reinforcing, even if it was initially a lower-probability response.

What is a reinforcement schedule?

A rule specifying which occurrences of a response will be followed by reinforcement, producing characteristic rates and temporal patterns of responding.

What is continuous reinforcement (CRF)?

A schedule where every qualifying response produces a reinforcer, equivalent to a fixed-ratio 1 ($\text{FR } 1$) schedule, ideal for establishing new behaviours.

What is intermittent reinforcement?

A schedule in which only some occurrences of a response produce reinforcement, categorized broadly into fixed/variable ratio and interval schedules.

What is a cumulative record?

A continuous graph plotting total accumulated responses over time. The line rises with each response, remains horizontal during pauses, and never decreases (except for pen resets).

What does slope represent on a cumulative record?

Slope indicates response rate: steeper slopes represent faster rates of responding, while horizontal flat lines indicate zero responding.

How do ordinary frequency and cumulative frequency graphs differ?

Ordinary frequency graphs display response counts per session and can move up or down; cumulative frequency graphs continuously accumulate counts over time, showing overall pace via slope.

What does the bed-making cumulative record example illustrate?

Daily fluctuations in bed-making counts are smoothed into an overall trend, where a steeper slope during the intervention phase confirms an increased rate relative to baseline.

What does $R^2$ measure, and what does it not measure?

$R^2$ measures the proportion of outcome variance explained by a regression model relative to a mean model; it does not indicate response rate or demonstrate causal relationships.

What is a fixed-ratio (FR) schedule and its typical response pattern?

A schedule where reinforcement occurs after a set number of responses (e.g., $\text{FR } 120$). It characteristically produces a post-reinforcement pause followed by a rapid, steady run (pause-and-run pattern).

What is a post-reinforcement pause (PRP)?

A period of zero responding immediately following reinforcement delivery, commonly observed on fixed-ratio and fixed-interval schedules, lengthening with higher ratio requirements.

What is a variable-ratio (VR) schedule and its typical pattern?

A schedule delivering reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses that varies around a specified mean (e.g., $\text{VR } 20$). It generates high, steady response rates with little to no pausing.

How do FR and VR response patterns differ?

$\text{FR}$ generates a distinct pause-and-run pattern, whereas $\text{VR}$ produces steady, uninterrupted responding with brief or absent pauses.

What is a random-ratio schedule?

A schedule where each individual response has a fixed probability of reinforcement arranged by a random process, resembling the mechanics of many gambling games.

What is a progressive-ratio schedule and what is a breakpoint?

A schedule where response requirements systematically increase after each reinforcer; the breakpoint is the final completed ratio requirement before responding ceases for a criteria duration.

What is a fixed-interval (FI) schedule and its characteristic pattern?

Reinforcement is delivered for the first qualifying response following a fixed duration (e.g., $\text{FI } 4\,\text{min}$). It produces an $\text{FI}$ scallop: a post-reinforcement pause followed by an accelerating response rate.

What is a variable-interval (VI) schedule?

Reinforcement is delivered for the first response following elapsed intervals that vary around an average time (e.g., $\text{VI } 3\,\text{min}$), producing steady, moderate rates with negligible pauses.

Why do ratio schedules generally produce higher response rates than interval schedules?

On ratio schedules, faster responding directly increases reinforcer frequency; on interval schedules, extra responding during the interval does not deliver reinforcers any sooner.

How do duration schedules differ from interval schedules?

Duration schedules require continuous behavioural engagement throughout the entire time period, whereas interval schedules only require one response after the interval has elapsed.

What is operant extinction?

The discontinuation of reinforcement for a previously reinforced behaviour, leading to a decline in its future rate. Ignoring constitutes extinction only if attention was the maintaining reinforcer.

What is an extinction burst?

A temporary increase in the frequency, duration, or intensity of a target response immediately following the withdrawal of reinforcement.

What side effects can accompany extinction besides response bursts?

Increased behavioural variability, novel topographies, and emotional responses such as aggression or agitation.

What is spontaneous recovery in operant conditioning?

The temporary reappearance of an extinguished response following a rest period without any additional reinforcement sessions.

What is reinstatement?

The recovery of an extinguished response triggered solely by noncontingent exposure to the previously maintaining reinforcer.

What is the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE)?

The finding that behaviour maintained on intermittent reinforcement schedules is significantly more resistant to extinction than behaviour maintained on continuous reinforcement ($\text{CRF}$).

How does an $\text{FR } 100$ training history explain resistance to extinction?

During $\text{FR } 100$, long runs of nonreinforced responses are standard; under extinction, nonreinforced responses do not immediately signal a change in environmental contingencies.

Why is extinction considered new inhibitory learning rather than simple forgetting?

Phenomena such as spontaneous recovery, renewal, and reinstatement demonstrate that original response-consequence associations remain intact and are modulated by new inhibitory learning.