Untitled Flashcards Set

Operant conditioning shapes behavior through consequences. It uses reinforcement to increase desired actions and punishment to decrease unwanted ones. This powerful learning method applies to humans and animals alike, influencing everything from pet training to workplace productivity.

Different types of reinforcement and punishment exist, along with various schedules for delivering them. Understanding these principles helps explain why people and animals behave as they do and how to effectively modify behavior in real-world situations.

Operant conditioning in behavior

Consequences and law of effect

• Associates consequences (reinforcement and punishment) with specific behaviors to shape future actions 🐶

• Behaviors followed by reinforcing consequences are more likely to be repeated in the future

  • Getting a treat for sitting on command reinforces the behavior, making the dog more likely to sit again

• Behaviors followed by punishing consequences are less likely to be repeated

  • Receiving a speeding ticket punishes the behavior, discouraging future speeding

Types of reinforcement and punishment

• Positive reinforcement involves adding a pleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior

  • Praising a child for cleaning their room (desired behavior) 👏

• Negative reinforcement removes an unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior

  • Taking painkillers to alleviate a headache, reinforcing the behavior of taking medication

• Positive punishment introduces an unpleasant stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behavior

  • Scolding a puppy for chewing on furniture

• Negative punishment removes a pleasant stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behavior

  • Taking away a teenager's phone privileges for breaking curfew

• Reinforcers can be primary (innately rewarding, like food) or secondary (learned rewards, like money)

• Reinforcement discrimination occurs when an organism learns to respond only to specific stimuli

  • A dog learns to sit only when the owner gives the command, not when anyone else does

• Reinforcement generalization happens when an organism responds to stimuli similar to the original reinforced stimulus

  • A child praised for tidying their room may start cleaning other areas of the house as well

Shaping behavior through reinforcement

• Shaping gradually molds behavior by rewarding successive approximations of the desired outcome

  • Training a dog to roll over by first rewarding lying down, then rolling onto their side, and finally the complete roll

• Instinctive drift demonstrates that only behaviors within an animal's natural repertoire can be shaped through reinforcement

  • Attempting to train a pig to fetch like a dog would be met with instinctive drift back to pig-like behaviors

Superstitious behavior vs learned helplessness

• Superstitious behavior develops when unrelated behaviors are accidentally reinforced

  • A basketball player who wears the same "lucky" socks for each game, believing they influence the outcome

• Learned helplessness arises when an organism learns it has no control over aversive consequences in a situation

  • A student who repeatedly fails math tests despite studying may develop learned helplessness and stop trying altogether 😞

Reinforcement schedules and patterns

• Continuous reinforcement schedules provide reinforcement for every correct behavior

  • Rewarding a child with a sticker every time they complete a chore

• Partial reinforcement schedules deliver reinforcement intermittently based on time or number of behaviors

  • Fixed-interval schedule: reinforcement given at fixed time intervals (weekly paycheck)

  • Variable-interval schedule: reinforcement given at varying time intervals (surprise pop quizzes)

  • Fixed-ratio schedule: reinforcement given after a fixed number of behaviors (buy 9 coffees, get the 10th free)

  • Variable-ratio schedule: reinforcement given after a varying number of behaviors (slot machines)

• Each reinforcement schedule produces a distinctive pattern when graphed

  • Fixed-interval schedules create a scalloped pattern with bursts of activity before each reinforcement

  • Variable-ratio schedules generate high, consistent rates of behavior