Psych U3 AOS2

Mnemonic

Any technique used to assist memory, its encoding, storage and retrieval.

Acronym

pronounceable words formed from the first letters of a group of words. The acronym doesn’t have to be a real word but it’s usually pronounceable. 

The letters of the acronym act as retrieval cues to prompt recall of the associated information.

Acronyms are formed using a type of ‘chunking’ or grouping procedure.

Eg: ANZAC, PIN, FOMO, WHO, BODMAS, ROY G. BIV, etc

Acronym (intialism)

 are pronounced by saying each letter of the word individually. Eg: VIP, ATM, LOL, OMG. An acronym can sometimes be used as a blanket term that includes initialisms though.

Acrostic

An acrostic uses the same concept as the acronym except that instead of forming a new word, it generates a sentence that helps you remember the information.

Acrostics involve making verbal associations for items to be remembered by constructing sentences (or phrases) using the first letters of the information to be remembered.

The first letter of each word in the sentence then acts as a retrieval cue, which assists recall of the relevant information.

Acrostics can be useful when you have to remember information in sequential order.

Eg: Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit, Never Eat Soggy Weetbix

Method of loci

Also known as the memory palace or mind palace, the method of loci is a mnemonic device for which the items to be remembered are converted into mental images and associated with specific positions or locations.

Eg: to remember a shopping list, each product could be imagined at a different location along a familiar street or to remember key talking points for a speech, each point could be associated with a different part of your house.

The method of loci is particularly useful when you want to remember a list of items in a particular order. 

Songlines

Songlines are used as mnemonics to memorise and communicate the information. They involve the pairing of place and information, like the method of loci, but are deeply tied to the landscape and much more elaborate.

A songline, sometimes called a dreaming track, is a navigational route comprising a sequence of locations. 

The locations often include significant landscape features that incorporate vital information. In addition, at each location, a story, song, dance or ceremony is performed that is associated with that particular location.

Encoding, storage and retrieval of knowledge communicated at different locations are enhanced through stories with vivid characters.

Alheimers disease

A type of neurodegenerative disease characterised by the gradual, widespread degeneration of brain neurons, causing memory loss, a decline in cognitive and social skills and personality changes.

Neurodegenerative disease

Disorder characterised by the progressive decline in the structure, activity and function of brain tissue.

Alheimers treatment

• There is no cure.

• Medications can slow the rate of development of symptoms by improving the efficiency of damaged neurons. There is greatly reduced levels of the neurotransmitter, Acetylcholine (Ach) in those with Alzheimer’s disease, it is believed that amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles may cause this. The medications increase this neurotransmitter.

• Medications can also ease the secondary symptoms such as depression.

Early symptoms

• Moderate memory loss - especially for recent events (episodic memories)

• Confusion

• Unusual irritability

• Impaired decision making

• Apathy to socialising and interests - depression

• Needing to be prompted about personal care tasks

Later stage symptoms

• Events – significant past events weddings etc.

• Words & other semantic knowledge -  meanings of words, about the world, historical facts, political information

• Directions - new or old directions written or verbal

• Narratives – inability to follow a story - newly read or old stories/movies.

• Recognition of people - Unable to recognise people of significance, their own family members or regular carers, forget their own identity.

• Severe personality changes – someone who was quiet and polite might become obnoxious swear a lot and make insulting sexual remarks. 

• Inability to perform tasks such as dressing, cooking, cleaning, using the toilet and taking medication.

Autopsy reveals

• Cortices shrivelled and shrunken 

• Enlarged ventricles

• Damage to hippocampus

• Brain legions –  the causes of those legions can be 100% determined 

high levels of abnormal structures that interfere with neural communication within the neuron and between the neurons is typical of AD:

Brain scan reveals

• Cortices shrivelled and shrunken (CT & MRI)

• Enlarged ventricles

• Brain legions (CT & MRI)

• Changes in brain activity (PET & fMRI) – showing lower levels of activity in crucial memory areas.

• Damage to hippocampus atrophy.

Amyloid plaques

fragments of the protein called beta amyloid that the body produces normally and usually breaks down, accumulate and form hard insoluble plaques outside and around the neurons inhibiting communication.

Neurofibrillary tangles

appear within the neuron as a result of the build-up of the protein tau accumulating in an insoluble form and inhibit transport of substances around the neuron.

Hippocampus

A structure in the medial temporal lobe, deep within the brain and part of the limbic system.

Role of the hippocampus in encoding and consolidation

1. Plays a crucial role in the formation, encoding and consolidation (ensuring they are neurologically stable and long-lasting) of new explicit memories (semantic and episodic) and their transfer to the cortex for long-term storage.

The hippocampus is a vital processing site for explicit long-term memories. It is believed that it does not permanently store any memories itself. Instead, it transfers them to the neocortex for long-term storage, most likely in the areas that initially processed the information; e.g., visual memories are likely stored in the occipital lobe.

The hippocampus plays a significant role in establishing links between different interrelated bits of a memory by integrating new incoming information with existing information to form networks of memories. Essentially, it is the curator of your Google Drive, or personal secretary, ensuring information is filed based on semantic links; dog breeds are stored with different dog coats, etc.

The hippocampus is connected to the amygdala, which is the emotion centre of the brain. The amygdala enhances the hippocampus’s ability to consolidate memories.

Role of the hippocampus in the formation of emotional memories

1. Through interaction with the amygdala, the hippocampus plays a role in the formation of emotional memories, particularly the explicit component of an emotional event.

Role of the hippocampus in spatial memory

The hippocampus also functions to enable encoding and consolidation (and some evidence to suggest retrieval) of spatial memories, which are explicit memories for the physical location of objects in space. This allows us to navigate from place to place and to learn and remember locations.

Amygdala

A small structure in the medial temporal lobe, deep within the brain and part of the limbic system.

Key functions of the amygdala

1. Involved in the encoding and consolidation (essentially the formation of long-term memories) of implicit emotional memories, including classically conditioned fear responses
   
   

2. Enhances the consolidation and storage (by the hippocampus) of emotionally charged long-term memories. We call these memories flashbulb memories because they are as vivid and highly detailed as a picture.

Neocortex

Is the largest and most recently evolved part of the cerebral cortex, enabling higher-order cognitive functionality, which is what distinguishes us from other animals.

Key function of neocortex

1. Storage of long-term explicit semantic and episodic memories. These are stored widely throughout the neocortex, usually in the areas where the relevant information was first processed, e.g, sounds in the temporal lobe, visual images in the occipital lobe

These separate components of a memory are linked via neural pathways.

2. Every time this happens, the neural pathways fire together, strengthening the connections and the memory through the process of LTP

Basal ganglia

brain structures lying deep within the brain with extensive connections to the neocortex and other brain areas.

Key function of basal ganglia

1. Has a role in encoding, storage and retrieval of long-term implicit memories involving voluntary motor skills.

2. The basal ganglia are also involved with the encoding, storage and retrieval of implicit memories that allow habituation to occur

Cerebellum

Located at the base of the brain is the cerebellum. Latin meaning = Little brain.

Key function

1. The cerebellum is directly involved in the encoding of temporary storage and retrieval of implicit procedural memories.

2. The cerebellum does consolidate and store implicit memories of simple reflexes acquired through classical conditioning. E.g. blinking (CR) as a result of associating a sound (C ) with a puff of air to the eye (UCS).

Memory

Memory – An active information processing system that enables us to encode, store and retrieve knowledge and skills when needed.

Encoding

The process of converting information into a usable form.

Encoding process

SM 

Convert incoming raw sensory information into electro- chemical energy.  

STM 

Maintenance rehearsal encodes information so that it is temporarily resistant to decay or forgetting. Elaborative rehearsal (and mnemonics) help to further deepen encoding so that it is more permanently stored and resistant to forgetting through a process called consolidation in LTM.

Storage

Retention of information in memory over time.

Storage process

Retain information in our storage system or CPU – the brain – in the hypothetical construct we refer to as ‘memory.’ Short term memory (temporarily), or in Long term memory (potentially permanently inside a semantic network.)

Consolidation - The lasting structural changes to neurons that occur in the brain when a new memory is made permanent.  It is a process that is exposed to factors that may strengthen or weaken the memory for at least 30mins.

Retrieval

The process of locating and recovering the stored information from memory so that we are consciously aware of it.

Retrieval process

Recover information quickly if it is in short-term memory because the storage size is small (capacity 7+-2, because you just go through it all to find what you need. 

Or, 

At a speed relative to how well the information has been stored in LTM. Retrieving your name (quick); retrieving details from a past holiday (more slowly). Using retrieval cues like questions or, beginning letters to locate information from LTM as retrieval cues or prompts is sometimes needed.

Atkinson and Shiffrin Multi-store model

• uggests that memory has structural and control features. 

• They referred to structural features as the permanent built in fixed features of memory that do not vary from one situation to another. Comprising the three different stores, their capacity (how much they store) and duration (how long they store it.) 

• They referred to the control processes as the consciously controlled processes. These are selected and used by each individual to suit the situation:

  • Attention - Whether a person selects incoming sensory information determines whether or not it passes onto STM. 

  • Rehearsal - Whether maintenance or elaborative rehearsal is used determines whether information will be held in STM or transferred to LTM.

  • Retrieval - The process of locating and recovering the stored information from memory so that we are consciously aware of it. The success of retrieval is dependent on a number of factors.

Function of sensory memory

Receive sensory information from the environment and stores it (unconsciously) in its sensory form. Encodes Sensory memories and transfers them into STM.

Function of short term memory

Receives encoded information from SM and transfers encoded information to and from LTM

Stores memories by maintaining information in conscious awareness for immediate conscious use in tasks at hand.

Function of long term memory

Receives encoded information from STM, provides potentially unlimited and permanent storage (unconscious). Transfers memories to STM through a process called retrieval to enable conscious re-access and use at a later time in STM.

Sensory memory capacity

Unlimited

Short term memory capacity

Limited to 5-9 pieces (7 +/- bits)

Long term memory capacity

Unlimited

Sensory memory duration

0.2-4 seconds

Short term memory duration

12 – 30 secs. (Average of 18 – 20 secs.)

Long term memory duration

Potentially Permanent

Types of sensory memory

Echoic memory

Iconic memory

Echoic memory

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Function	Stores an unlimited amount of auditory Information in its original sensory form.
Duration  Capacity	3 – 4 seconds unlimited
Example	Eg. Clap your hands and you should still hear a resonant echo…. Eg. The ‘What?’ Attending to TV scenario…. Then answering it before they get to repeat the question.  This exemplifies that we really are not consciously aware of information that is in sensory memory until we attend to it and transfer it to short term memory.

Iconic memory

• 
  

Function		Stores an unlimited amount of visual information in its original sensory form.
Duration  Capacity		0.2 – 0.4 with an average of 0.3 sec. unlimited
Example		Eg. Waving pen scenario and the sparkler loop scenario

Short term memory

• Rehearsal - Process of actively manipulating information so that it can be retained in memory. 

• Maintenance Rehearsal - repeating the information being remembered over and over again to retain it in STM. 

• If uninterrupted, this can keep information in there indefinitely, this does not always lead to long-term storage! Furthermore, this method restricts the already limited storage capacity of STM.

• Verbal – involves words (vocally - aloud, sub-vocal – in your head) 

• Non-verbal – visual/spatial 

• Elaborative Rehearsal (encoding) - The process of linking new information in a meaningful way with information already stored in memory or with other new information, to aid in its storage and retrieval from LTM.  

• Eg, By teasing out key information and putting it into your own words, thinking about other words with similar meanings/shared first letters that you already know and linking it, or relating information to personal experiences and your personal situation. 

(Self-reference effect - when you relate information to personal experiences or situations, you enhance encoding and are more likely to remember it.) 

• If rehearsal is not used then memories in STM are lost to:

• Decay - “not being used.” The memory will last as long as the duration of STM and will fade and be forgotten. 

• Displacement - “being pushed out” by new information. For instance, if you have reached the full capacity of STM then you shift your attention and focus on something else, what was once on your mind will be forgotten as it has been replaced. Eg. Being introduced to a new group of people.

Long term memory

• Long-term Memory – receives encoded memories from STM, stores an unlimited amount of memories possibly permanently over time for later transfer, through a process of retrieval, back to STM.

• There are two types of LTMs: implicit (non-declarative) and explicit (declarative). 

1. Implicit Memories (non-declarative) – so called as they typically require little conscious effort to retrieve and are often difficult to put into words, rather we demonstrate these memories, our knowledge of them is ‘implied’, through actions and behaviours. 

• Procedural Memories - Memory of actions and skills, and involve knowing “how to” do something. e.g., riding a bike, kicking a football, brushing your teeth, knee-boarding, skate-boarding…  

• Classically Conditioned Memories – Conditioned reflex responses to conditioned stimuli acquired through classical conditioning. (emotional and behavioural/actions)

Eg. If the memory is actioned without your conscious awareness, without you trying to retrieve it then it is a CC’d memory. 

• Little Albert’s anxiety at the sight of the white fury rat.

• Taste aversion to a food/drink that you experience when you sense the sight/smell of the food/drink.

• Blinking (CR) to a tap (NS), which has been paired with a puff of air (UCS)

• Crying in response to a song that you listened to with a person you’ve lost.   

2. Explicit (Declarative) - Memory of specific facts or events that require conscious effort to retrieve and can be easily stated or ‘declared.’ 

• Episodic - (autobiographical knowledge) holds information about specific personal events or experiences. Often characterised by qualities about the memory like the time, place and the psychological and physiological state of the person when the event occurred.  

Eg. Where you were and how you felt when you had your first kiss or experienced your first independent achievement at school. 

• Semantic - (knowledge about the world) holds facts and knowledge we have about the world. Includes specialised knowledge in areas of expertise, academic knowledge of the kind learned in school, rules, everyday general knowledge and the meaning of words.

Multimodel system of knowledge

Using a variety of different modes or ‘ways’ of learning. The 8 ways of knowing.

• Story: Yarning allows learning to be built on real-world experiences rather than TV, etc. 

• Map: Creating a map to show how the human world, physical world and sacred world are connected.

• NV: Traditional dances where movements reflect the patterns of animals. Can be used to relate to and connect with others.

• S/I: Can use symbols to represent landmarks, animals or objects. May also involve the use of metaphors.

• Land: When learning about photosynthesis, go out into nature, rather than reading a book.

• NL: Instead of just learning about one place, you could study a tool that was used in Rome, China and Australia and then compare it to something used today. 

• D/R: Read a passage in a new language and then break it down by examining the words and sentences in it.

• Community: Class may put together a book of stories, which is published and made available in the local library.

Ways of knowing

The kinship systems of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are complex and diverse across different nations. Kinship systems contribute to defining social roles in learning. Learning one Kinship system or way/system of learning doesn’t necessarily represent all the variations of kinship systems of knowing. ie. Acknowledge the different cultural groups and that one system can not necessarily be transferred to the next mob/community.

Patterned on country

Country refers to the traditional lands of a particular language or cultural group, including geographical boundaries as well as the spiritual, emotional and intellectual entities and connections within it. This includes people, relationships, animals, plants, geographical features, seasons, ancestors, artwork, tools, as well as knowledge of laws, songs, stories, etc. Ways of knowing are based on a deep respect for Country. People learn from, within, and through other entities, not just about them.

Example

• All entities on Country have their own language (the winds, tides, night sky, animals, plants, rivers, etc). These occur through different senses (scent, sound, sight, texture).

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples learn to observe relationships between entities on Country. Eg, when a particular constellation rises in the north sky, the winds are coming, or when a particular plant is flowering, the fish are plentiful in the river.

• Learning is to listen, observe, and sense the country. The country is multimodal. 

• Learning occurs through multiple modalities, e.g., story, song, dance, art, making, doing, etc.

• This is recognised in a learning framework called the eight  Aboriginal Ways of Learning.

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Social cognitive theory

Social cognitive theory (social learning theory) – proposes that the way we learn to think, feel and act is the product of:

• our environment or ‘social context’, as well as, 

• The mental or cognitive processes that enable us to remember (mentally represent) these social observations.

Observational learning

When an individual views a model’s actions and the consequences of those actions and uses those observations to guide their future actions.

Model

is the one who is being observed; there are two types:

• Live model – a real person, in person, demonstrating a behaviour such as a parent, teacher or employer.

• Symbolic model – a real or fictional character demonstrating behaviour in books, movies, TV, online or other media.

Attention

1. Attention - The learner intently watches the model and observes their behaviour.

• Influencing factors:

• Perceptual capabilities of the observer

• The motivation and interest level of the observer is influenced by whether they see the behaviour as being important to them and giving them some sort of positive satisfaction or improved security or convenience.  

• The situation in which the behaviour is being observed, does it stand out, is it novel? 

• The distractions present.

• The characteristics of the model.

Retention

1. Learner mentally represents and stores what has been observed over time as a memory.

• The more meaningful the more accurate our memory will be. 

• Linking a visual image with a verbal description is effective as is using acronyms or acrostics or other mnemonic devices.

Reproduction

1. Depending on one’s ability, the learner converts the mental representations into actions.

• We must have the required physical capacity to perform the behaviour. (Sometimes we may never be able to replicate the behaviour that a professional can do…. We simply may not have the reflexes, agility, balance, poise, perceptual judgements of trajectory, or motor coordination.)

Motivation

The learner’s desire to perform the behaviour.

Reinforcement

1. The stimulus that provides motivation and increases the frequency of the learner performing the behaviour, or that strengthens the learner’s behaviour.

• Types of reinforcement

• Extrinsic Value - External reinforcement – comparable to learning by consequences. Praise from another, money from another. 

• Intrinsic Value - Self-Reinforcement – When we are reinforced by meeting certain standards of performance we set for ourselves, a sense of pride, achievement or fulfilment.  

• Vicarious Reinforcement – increases the likelihood of the observer behaving in a similar way to a model whose behaviour is reinforced.

Factors that influence observational or social learning

An individual’s personal characteristics have the ability to influence each stage of the process.

We are more likely to imitate a model’s behaviour if we have low self-esteem (personal worth).

• Eg. I’m going to watch how they do it because I’m not as cool as them, I’m fat, and ugly and don’t have the right clothes and I’m just not liked.. no one wants to see me. But, maybe if I act like…… they will acknowledge me and respect me…

People with a low sense of self-efficacy (belief in capabilities), have low motivation for observational learning because they are more likely to think that they won’t succeed when they try to replicate the behaviour.

• Eg. I’ll never get this…even if I try really hard, I’ll be hopeless, so why bother.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience.

Conditioning

The process of learning through making associations between stimuli in the environment and a behavioural response. Two types: Classical and Operant.

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning

A three-phase learning process that results in the involuntary association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus, so the neutral stimulus comes to be a conditioned stimulus which consistently produces a conditioned response. 

Phases of classical conditioning

• Before Conditioning - The first stage of classical conditioning, during which the neutral stimulus has no associations and does not produce any significant response.

• During Conditioning - The second stage of classical conditioning, during which the neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus, producing an unconditioned response.

• After Conditioning - The third stage of classical conditioning, during which the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus, producing a conditioned response.

Elements of classical conditioning

• Unconditioned Stimulus – Any object or event that consistently elicits (produces) a particular involuntary response from an organism. 

• Unconditioned Response - The involuntary response (reflex) by an organism to an unconditioned stimulus. 

• Neutral Stimulus – The stimulus that does not naturally elicit the unconditioned response.

• Conditioned Stimulus – The stimulus that does not naturally elicit the UCR, but through repeated associations with the UCS, comes to trigger a response similar to the UCR.

• Conditioned Response – The learned response that is produced consistently upon presentation of the conditioned stimulus.

Acquisition

The overall process whereby the organism learns to associate the UCS with the NS so that the NS becomes a CS and elicits the CR.

Factors affecting acquisition

• Sequence of presentation of the NS and UCS. 

  • The NS must be presented before the UCS otherwise the organism will not learn to associate the two, as the UCS is the reinforcement or motivator to learn to anticipate and respond early. 

  • Eg. The dog is motivated to salivate early (CR) at the sound of the bell (CS) because it knows food is coming (UCS.) The baby learns to suck early (CR) at the sight of a bottle or smell of milk (CS) because it knows milk (UCS) is coming.

• Timing 

  • The closer the presentation of the NS and UCS the more optimal the learning, or the shorter the acquisition phase.

  • An interval of 0.5 sec between presentation of the NS and UCS is optimal for most species. Even presenting the NS and leaving it to occur right up to presentation of the UCS can aid in establishing pairing, thus shortening the acquisition phase.

Conditioned emotional response

• An emotional reaction that usually occurs when the autonomic nervous system produces a response to a stimulus that did not previously trigger that response. 

Operant conditioning

A type of learning whereby the consequences of a voluntary action determine the likelihood that it will be performed again in the future. (Behaviours followed by pleasant consequences will be repeated, and behaviours followed by unpleasant consequences will be avoided.)

ABCs of learning

1. Antecedent (Discriminative Stimulus) - The environmental stimulus that precedes the relevant behaviour and indicates the response that is likely to be reinforced. The petrol gauge is almost on empty

2. Behaviour (Response) - Voluntary response that has an effect on the environment. Pull in to your nearest petrol station, or keep driving

3. Consequence (Reinforcing Stimulus) – The environmental event that follows the behaviour. Avoid running out of petrol or running out of petrol.

Operant

Any response (or set of responses) that acts (operates) on the environment to produce some kind of consequence. Eg, posting, googling, watching TV, telling a joke, pulling into a petrol station, purchasing food, going to work, going to school.

Thorndike’s law of effect

Behaviour followed by a pleasant consequence is likely to be strengthened and be more frequent, and behaviour that is followed by an unpleasant consequence is likely to be weakened and become less frequent.

Elements of operant conditioning

• Reinforcement – When a pleasant stimulus is given or an unpleasant stimulus is taken away in order to strengthen or increase the frequency of a response.

• A reinforcer is any stimulus (object or event) that strengthens or increases the preceding behaviour.

Positive reinforcement

Is the addition of a pleasant stimulus that strengthens or increases the frequency of the preceding response.  

Eg. Skinner’s experiments: pressing the lever will be strengthened if the action delivers a food pellet.

Negative reinforcement

Is the removal of an unpleasant stimulus that strengthens or increases the frequency of the preceding response.

Eg. Skinner’s experiments: pressing the lever will be strengthened if the action removes the electric shock…

Punishment

When an unpleasant consequence is given or a pleasant consequence is removed in order to weaken or reduce the frequency of a response.

Punishment (positive punishment)

The addition of an unpleasant stimulus that decreases the frequency or weakens the preceding response. 

Example: 

• Pulling a child’s ear

• Giving a child a smack 

• Giving a child an extra chore to do 

• Yelling or pushing the bully in the playground

• Tightening the chain on your dog leash

Response cost (negative punishment)

The removal of a pleasant stimulus that decreases the frequency or weakens the preceding response. 

• It is referred to as response cost because there is a cost for that undesired response… this is the removal of a valued item.  

Example: 

• Taking away freedom (the get along shirt) 

• Being placed in the naughty chair (taking away the opportunity for social interaction) 

• Taking away food 

• Taking away points

• Taking away your phone

Key processes in operant conditioning

Acquisition – The overall process whereby the organism learns to associate the antecedent stimulus, behaviour and its consequences.

Continuous reinforcement – Offered every single time the operant behaviour is performed…. A good strategy when the organism is first acquiring or learning the target operant behaviour.

Partial reinforcement – Offered only on some occasions when the targeted operant behaviour is performed. A good strategy to maintain the operant behaviour after it has been acquired.

Parts of partial reinforcement

• Appropriateness of the consequence. If increasing the frequency of the response is your aim, then it must provide pleasant consequences and therefore be age-appropriate. If decreasing the frequency of the behaviour is your aim, then it must provide unpleasant consequences:

  • Punishment does not promote what the organism should do…. It only guides what not to do. Therefore, positive reinforcers are more effective at guiding behaviour.

  • In teaching, parenting and managing, catching a child/employee doing the right thing rather than focusing on punishing the wrong thing, promotes positive self-esteem and a positive working environment. 

  • Negative punishment is much better than positive punishment in maintaining the ongoing relationship because it keeps the focus on the learner’s actions as opposed to the educator’s actions.

  • Negative punishment is more effective because some children find positive punishment pleasant; it puts the spotlight on them, they get attention, so they keep being naughty! Removing the child to a ‘time-out’, however, takes the spotlight away.

  • Physical punishment should be a last resort; some people would argue that it is not an option. It creates fear of the punisher and leads to a relationship of ongoing distrust.

• The difficulty of the behaviour is also a consideration. Dropping is quite a complex behaviour for a dog, so you might change your approach and reinforce anything that successfully approximates the targeted operant response… thereby shaping the behaviour slowly over time to the desired behaviour.

Applications of operant conditioning

Shaping – a procedure in which a reinforcer is given for any response that successively approximates and ultimately leads to the final desired response or target behaviour. Also known as the method of successive approximations.

Role of the learner - Passive

• The learner does not have to do anything for the Unconditioned Stimulus (motivation) to be presented…

• Pavlov rings the bell, then gives the dog the food before the response of salivation, all the dog is doing is anticipating the presentation of the food and salivating a little bit early because it made the association that the bell rings before the food comes. 

• The learner has no control over the learning process because it involves an automatic response. 

Role of the learner - Active

• The learner has to actively operate on their environment to get the consequence (reinforcement or punishment)

• Skinner’s rat had to operate in its Skinner Box environment to figure out how to get food. 

• In each instance, the learner has complete control over the learning process because these behaviours are voluntary.

The nature of the response - Reflexive

• Involuntary response controlled by the autonomic nervous system. 

• It is often unconscious and not deliberate. 

The nature of the response - Voluntary

• An active response that involves the central nervous system (the brain)

• It is often conscious, intentional and goal-oriented.

Timing of the stimulus and response - Stimulus first

The motivating stimulus presents first, followed by the response second.

• Pavlov’s dog sees the motivating stimulus, ‘food’ and responds with salivation. 

Timing of the stimulus and response - Stimulus second

The response occurs first, the motivating stimulus presents second.

• Skinner’s rat pushes the lever to actively seek out the motivating stimulus, which is the food pellet.