Chapter 3 - Behaviorism

Basic assumptions that underlie behaviourism (principles of learning…)

-principles of learning should apply equally to different behaviours

-and a variety of animal species = equipotentiality

Basic assumptions that underlie behaviourism (learning processes…)

-learning processes can be studied objectively when the focus is on stimuli (S) and responses (R)

-behaviourism = S-R (response is a result of a stimulus)

Basic assumptions that underlie behaviourism (internal processes…)

-internal processes tend to be excluded or minimised in theoretical explanations

-learning involves a behaviour change

Basic assumptions that underlie behaviourism (organisms are born..)

-organisms are born as blank slates

-born without built-in mental content or pre-existing knowledge

-learning is the result of environmental events = conditioned

Basic principles that underlie behaviourism: The Parsimony Principle

-everyone equal

-the most concise explanation of a given phenomenon wins

Basic principles that underlie behaviourism: Law of Contiguity

-any events and behaviour connected in time and space will tend to be associated

-e.g. everyday your friend wears red but when they don’t you’re surprised

Basic principles that underlie behaviourism: Law of effect

-any behaviour which is followed by a favourable event is likely to be repeated, vice versa

-e.g. student gets good grade after trying a new study method so uses it again

Classical conditioning and Pavlov’s three step model —> from an NS to a CS

1. Before conditioning: UCS (food) causes UCR (saliva).

2. During conditioning (Acquisition): NS (bell) + UCS (food) causes UCR (saliva).

3. After conditioning: CS (bell) causes CR (salivation).

Common phenomena associated with classical conditioning: Associative Bias

-some stimuli are more likely to form associations with each other

-food—>nausea : loudness—>fear

Common phenomena associated with classical conditioning: Importance of Contingency

-contiguity is not enough

-the potential CS must come before the UCS

-must be a signal

Common phenomena associated with classical conditioning: Generalisation (transfer)

-other stimuli that are similar to a conditioned stimulus may begin to obtain the response

-e.g. anxiety for a test = anxiety for every other test.

Common phenomena associated with classical conditioning: Stimulus Discrimination (shaping)

-when ones stimulus (CS+) is presented with an UCS

-while another (CS-) is not

Common phenomena associated with classical conditioning: Extinction

-repeated presentation of the CS without the UCS

-can lead to a weaker and weaker (CR)

Common phenomena associated with classical conditioning: Spontaneous Recovery

-recurrence of a CR after a period of extinction

Common phenomena associated with classical conditioning: Higher-Order Conditioning

-occurs when a CS is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second conditioned stimulus.

-e.g. a bell (CS) + food (UCS) to obtain salivation (CR)

-light + bell = light alone eventually obtains salivation.

Skinner’s three term contingency model —> ABC

-Antecedents (discriminative stimulus)

-Behaviour (response)

-Consequences (stimulus)

How classical and operant conditioning differ: Classical Conditioning

-S-R: Stimulus-Response

-associating two stimuli together

-in Pavlov’s dogs, the neutral stimulus (bell) is associated with a stimulus (food), leading to the same response (salivation)

-behaviour is triggered by an external stimulus

How classical and operant conditioning differ: Operant Conditioning

-R-S: Response-Stimulus

-associating a behaviour and its consequence

-when a child touches a hot stove (response) and gets burned (stimulus), they learn to associate touching a stove with pain

-behaviour is more likely to change depending on the consequence that follows it

Forms of reinforcement (operant conditioning): Primary Reinforcers

-naturally satisfying or desirable

-food, shelter, water

-e.g. rat pressing a lever to receive food (a primary reinforcer)

Forms of reinforcement (operant conditioning): Secondary Reinforcers

-stimuli which are related with primary reinforcer

-don’t satisfy physical needs but still desirable

-money, status, grades

Forms of reinforcement (operant conditioning): Positive Reinforcement

-adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behaviour

-e.g. good grade= teacher compliments= study harder

Forms of reinforcement (operant conditioning): Negative Reinforcement

-involves removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behaviour

-e.g. studying to avoid stress/poor performance

-removal of stress= reinforcement of studying behaviour

Forms of reinforcement (operant conditioning): Intrinsic Reinforcers

-internally rewarding yourself

-e.g. personal satisfaction from completing a task

Extrinsic Reinforcers: material/tangible

-actual objects like food or toys

Extrinsic Reinforcers: social

-positive recognition from others, teachers, and peer approval

Extrinsic Reinforcers: activity

-opportunities to engage in preferred activities

Extrinsic Reinforcers: token

-items like stickers collected to gain a reward -a token economy

Extrinsic Reinforcers: positive feedback

-lets the person know they’re doing well or making progress

-encouraging the continuation of the behaviour

Common phenomena associated with operant conditioning: Superstitious behaviour

-randomly administer reinforcement can reinforce whatever response it precedes

-e.g. the learner mistakenly believes the response and reinforcement are associated

Common phenomena associated with operant conditioning: Shaping

-method of teaching complex behaviour by reinforcing response that comes close and closer to desired behaviour

-successive approximations

Common phenomena associated with operant conditioning: Chaining

-reinforcing one response then reinforcing two responses in a two then a sequence of three, etc.

Common phenomena associated with operant conditioning: Extinction

-when a response decreases in frequency because it no longer results in reinforcement

Potentially effective and ineffective forms of punishment: Positive Punishment

-involves adding an undesirable consequence in response to a behaviour

-e.g. more homework for talking in class

Potentially effective and ineffective forms of punishment: Negative Punishment

-omission training

-involves taking away a desirable stimulus to reduce the likelihood of a behaviour

-e.g. taking away video games

Potentially effective and ineffective forms of punishment: Delayed Punishment

-can lead to the individual failing to make the connection between their behaviour and the consequence

-must be immediate to be effective

Potentially effective and ineffective forms of punishment: Lack of contingency

-if punishment doesn’t clearly relate to the behaviour = infeffective

Potentially effective and ineffective forms of punishment: Inconsistent Punishment

-if punishment is not consistently applied

-unlikely to discourage the behaviour