operant conditioning

operant conditioning→Learning behaviors due to experiences with their consequences

thorndikes law of effect→The tendency of an organism to produce a behavior depends of the effect the behavior has on the environment

skinner box—>A controlled environment used to study animal behavior through operant conditioning. Hungry animal placed in box ‒ Presses bar ‒> receives food pellet (reinforcer) increases bar pressing

reinforcements and punishments→Reinforcements increase the likelihood of a behavior, while punishments decrease it.

shaping→Reinforcing closer and closer approximations of the desires response

succesive approximation→A method of shaping behavior by reinforcing closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

positive reinforcment and negative reinforcement→Positive reinforcement adds a stimulus to increase a behavior, while negative reinforcement removes a stimulus to increase a behavior.

positive punishment and negative punishment→Positive punishment adds an aversive stimulus to decrease a behavior, while negative punishment removes a desirable stimulus to decrease a behavior.

generalization→The tendency for a learned response to occur in the presence of stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimulus.

discrimination→The ability to distinguish between stimuli that signal reinforcement and those that do not.

extinction→The gradual weakening and disappearance of a learned response when reinforcement is no longer provided.

spontaneous recovery→ After extinction, the behavior reappears

continuous reinforcement→Consequences are the same each time the behavior occurs (for short-term, quicker learning of behavior)

intermittent reinforcement→Consequences are given only some of the times the behaviors occurs (for long-term learning of behavior, more resistant to extinction)

continuous and intermittent reinforcement - which is better for learning?→Intermittent reinforcement is better for learning because it leads to longer-lasting behavior.

what are the fixed schedules of reinforcement→Fixed schedules of reinforcement are schedules that deliver reinforcement after a set number of responses or a set amount of time.

fixed-ratio→A reinforcement schedule where a reward is given after a fixed number of responses.

variable-ratio→A reinforcement schedule where reinforcement is given after an unpredictable number of responses.

fixed-interval→A schedule of reinforcement where a reward is given after a fixed amount of time has passed.

variable-interval→A schedule of reinforcement where reinforcement is given after an unpredictable amount of time.