Psych Finals - Operant & Classical Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

(also called instrumental conditioning) an animal or human performs some behavior, and the following consequence increases or decreases the chance that they will preform the same behaviour

law of effect

behaviors followed by positive consequences are strengthened, while behaviors followed by negative consequences are weakened

operant response

a response that can be modified by its consequences and is a meaningful unit of ongoing behavior that can be easily measured

shaping

an experimenter successively reinforces behaviors that lead up to or approximate the desired behavior

superstitious behaviour

a behavior that increases in frequency because its occurrence is accidentally paired with the delivery of a reinforcer

2 kinds of consequences

Reinforcement - increases the chance that the behavior will occur again
Punishment - decreases the chance that the behavior will occur again

Positive reinforcement

a stimulus increases the probability that a behavior will occur again

Negative reinforcement

an unpleasant stimulus whose removal increases the likelihood that the preceding response will occur again

Positive Punishment

an unpleasant stimulus decreases the chances that the response will recur (ex: electric shocks)

Negative Punishment

removal of stimulus decreases the chances that the response will recur (removing one’s allowance)

Reinforcements & Punishments Concept chart

Schedule of reinforcement

a program or rule that determines how and when the occurrence of a response will be followed by a reinforcer

Continuous reinforcement

means that every occurrence of the operant response results in delivery of the reinforce

Partial Reinforcement

refers to a situation in which responding is reinforced only some of the time

Fixed Ratio Schedule

a reinforcer occurs only after a fixed number of responses are made by the subject

ex: If factory workers are paid after packing six boxes, quota and going home, SM advantage card points

Fixed Interval Schedule

a reinforcer occurs following the first response that occurs after a fixed interval of time

ex: payday is on Saunday so faculty gets more excited the closer to the weekend.

Variable Ratio Schedule

a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses

ex: In slot machines, there’s always a possibility the next coin will be the winning one. In Call centers, more calls for a high chance of a bonus

Variable Interval Schedule

response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed

ex: Checking cell phone for text messages when phone is on silent.

Your teacher gives pop quizzes

Classical Conditioning

a neutral stimulus acquires the ability to produce a response that was originally produced by a different stimulus

Cognitive learning

a kind of learning that involves mental processes, such as attention and memory; may be learned through observation or imitation

Neutral Stimulus

some stimulus that causes a sensory response, such as being seen, heard, or smelled, but does not produce the reflex being tested

Unconditioned Stimulus - UCS

some stimulus that triggers or elicits a physiological reflex, such as salivation or eye blink

Unconditioned Response - UCR

an unlearned, innate, involuntary physiological reflex that is elicited by the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus - CS

a formerly neutral stimulus that has acquired the ability to elicit a response that was previously elicited by the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Response - CR

elicited by the conditioned stimulus, is similar to, but not identical in size or amount to, the unconditioned response

Generalization

the tendency for a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response

Discrimination

occurs during classical conditioning when an organism learns to make a particular response to some stimuli but not to others

Extinction

a procedure in which a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus and, as a result, the conditioned stimulus tends to no longer elicit the conditioned response (CS no longer followed by an UCS - no longer elicits CR)

Spontaneous Recovery

the tendency for the conditioned response to reappear after being extinguished even though there have been no further conditioning trials

Adaptive Value

the usefulness of certain abilities or traits that have evolved in animals and humans and tend to increase their chances of survival, such as finding food, acquiring mates, and avoiding pain and injury

Taste Aversion Learning

associating a particular sensory cue (smell, taste, sound, or sight) with getting sick and thereafter avoiding that particular sensory cue in the future

ex: rat poison, food, alcohol, etc

Conditioned emotional Response

feeling some positive or negative emotion, such as happiness, fear, or anxiety, when experiencing a stimulus that initially accompanied a pleasant or painful event

ex: injections, needles, and fear

Stimulus Substitution

a neural bond or association forms in the brain between the neutral stimulus (tone) and unconditioned stimulus (food). After repeated trials, (tone) and acts like a substitute for the UCS the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus ned stimulus (food)

Contiguity Stimulus

classical conditioning occurs because two stimuli (neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus) are paired close together in time (are contiguous)

ex: seeing a pizza is paired closely in time with eating it, the sight alone begins to elicit salivation

Systematic Desensitization

a person imagines or visualizes fearful or anxiety-evoking stimuli and then immediately uses deep relaxation to overcome the anxiety / a form of counterconditioning because it replaces, or counters, fear and anxiety with relaxation