Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

The process whereby organisms learn to make or refrain from making certain responses in order to obtain or avoid certain outcomes.

Discriminative Stimulus (SD)

A particular stimulus in the presence of which a specific response may lead to a particular outcome.

Response (R)

A specific behavior or action made by an organism that is associated with a particular outcome.

Outcome (O)

The result or consequence of a response which can be reinforcing or punishing.

Reinforcer

An outcome of behavior that leads to an increased likelihood of that behavior in the future.

Punisher

An outcome of behavior that leads to a decreased likelihood of that behavior in the future.

Shaping

An operant conditioning technique that involves reinforcing successive approximations to the desired response.

Chaining

An operant conditioning technique in which organisms are gradually trained to execute complicated sequences of discrete responses.

Positive Reinforcement

An outcome that causes a desirable element to be added to the environment, resulting in an increase in behavior frequency.

Negative Reinforcement

An outcome that results in an undesirable element being subtracted from the environment, increasing the frequency of the behavior.

Primary Reinforcers

Reinforcers that are inherently valuable to an organism, such as food and water.

Secondary Reinforcers

Reinforcers that initially have no biological value but are associated with primary reinforcers.

Reinforcement Schedules

Rules that determine how and when outcomes are delivered in an operant conditioning experiment.

Continuous Reinforcement Schedule

A reinforcement schedule where every instance of the response is followed by the reinforcer.

Partial Reinforcement Schedule

A reinforcement schedule where only some instances of the response are followed by the reinforcer.

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that delivers reinforcement after a specific number of responses.

Variable-Ratio Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that delivers reinforcement after a varying number of responses, on average.

Fixed-Interval Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that delivers reinforcement following the first response made after a fixed time interval.

Variable-Interval Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that delivers reinforcement following the first response made after a variable amount of time, on average.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter released in the brain that plays a role in signaling 'wanting' and motivating behavior.

Hedonic Value

The subjective goodness of a reinforcer, or how much we like it.

Motivational Value

How much we want a reinforcer and how hard we are willing to work to obtain it.

Delay Discounting

The progressive reduction of the subjective value of a reward the longer it is delayed.

Orbitofrontal Cortex

A brain region involved in predicting outcomes of behavior based on sensory information.

Insular Cortex

A brain region that may play a role in the conscious awareness of bodily states and the aversive value of stimuli.

Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex

A brain region that may be involved in the motivational value of pain and drive changes in behavior in response to pain.