Operant Conditioning Notes

the difference between classical and operant conditioning

CC: subject forms an association between stimuli; responses are innate (naturally occurring, involuntary)

OC: subject forms association between behaviors and resulting events; responses are voluntary

EL Thorndike: Law of Effect

• when a behavior if followed by a desirable consequence, it becomes associated with that situation so that the behavior becomes more likely to be performed when the same situation is encountered again (and vice versa)

EL Thorndike experiment

• cats in a puzzle box —— worked diligently to solve the puzzle by trial-and-error to obtain the food reward outside the box

• gradually, on succeeding trials, erroneous responses were eliminated + effective responses were “stamped in”

BF Skinner

created the “skinner box” — and highly controlled environment used to study OC processes with laboratory animals

Skinner Box

• used ELT’s LoE as his starting point in his research

• operant chambers = skinner box

• The operant chamber comes with a bar or key that an animal manipulates to obtain a food or water reinforcer. it is connected to devices that record the animals’ responses and allows the researcher to have complete control over the animals’ environment

True

T/F: to teach animals, skinner used process of shaping, or guiding an animal using reinforcement toward a desired behavior

Shaping

OC proceeded in which reinforces guided behavior closer towards target behavior through successive approximations

• EX) training dog to receive newspaper in tiny steps

primary reinforcer

innately reinforcing stimulus that usually satisfy some biological need like food or drink

secondary (conditioned) reinforcers

a learned reinforcer. it gets its reinforcing power through its association with primary reinforcers (money, grades, applause)

1. a craving

immediate reinforcer

occurs closely to a behavior in time

• EX) a rat gets a food pellet for a bar press

delayed reinforcer

delayed in time for a certain behavior

• EX) a paycheck that coms at the end of the week

Positive and negative does not mean what when it comes to OC?

• positive does not mean good

• negative does not mean bad

positive reinforcement

increase in response by adding/giving a positive stimulus

what would need to be added in order to increase behavior?

positive reinforcement examples

• getting $5 for each A on your report card

• giving candy for every right answer in class

negative reinforcement

increase in response by removing an aversive (negative) stimulus

what would need to be taken away in order to increase behavior?

negative reinforcement examples

• taking aspirin for headache relief

• faking an illness to avoid school

• using umbrella to stay dry from rain

reinforcers

our tendency to engage in behavior that’s followed by immediate reinforcer rather than one that’s delayed is our need for instant gratification

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response each time it occurs needs to be used when initial learning is taking place

• use when first teaching/learning a new behavior or skill

partial or intermittent reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time, through its slower acquisition in the beginning shows greater resistance to extinction later on

ratio

number of times desired behavior is performed

interval

amount of time desired behavior is performed

fixed ratio

reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

fixed ratio example

reward cards (buy 10, get 1 free)

variable ratio

reinforces a response after an unpredicted number of responses. produces more responding than any other method and is hard to extinguish bc of unpredictability

variable ratio example

gambling (slot machines)

fixed interval

reinforces a response after only a specified time has elapsed

fixed interval example

getting paid every 2 weeks

variable interval

reinforces a response that unpredictable time intervals produces slow, steady, responding

variable interval example

fishing, stargazing

schedules of reinforcement

the 4 reinforcement schedules yield different response patterns

• VR: schedule is unpredictable and yields high and steady response rates, w/ little if any pause after reinforcement

• FR: schedule is predictable and produces a high response rate, w/ a short pause after reinforcement

• VI: schedule is unpredictable and produces a moderate, steady response rate

• FI: schedule yields a scallop-shaped response pattern, reflecting a significant pause after reinforcement

punishment

an aversive event that decreases the behavior that it follows

positive punishment

decrease in response by adding/giving an aversive (negative) stimulus

what would need to be added in order to decrease the behavior?

positive punishment examples

• spanking

• parking ticket

negative punishment

decrease in response by removing positive stimulus

what would need to be taken away in order to decrease the behavior?

is punishment good or bad?

• punishment is often the quickest route to changing a behavior that might be dangerous

• yet…research has shown that

  • punishment is often ineffective

  • physical punishment can convey that physical aggression is okay or cause unintended emotional reactions to the punisher

  • punishment does not offer viable alternate options for more appropriate behavior

True

• punishments can often result in unwanted fears

• conveys no info. to the organism

• justifies the pain to others

• aggression towards the agent or aggression seen as “OK” or “right”

• one unwanted behavior may appear in place of another