Operant Conditioning 

Operant Conditioning: A method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behavior.

• @@Reinforcement in operant conditioning involves strengthening an action by associating it with a consequence.@@
  • @@If you want a child to clean their room, for instance, you may reinforce this behavior with allowance.@@

“Reinforcement” is anything that increases the likelihood of a response occurring.

Classical Conditioning: A type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; First stimulus comes to elicit behavior in anticipation of the second stimulus.

Primary and Secondary Reinforcements

• Primary Reinforcement occurs naturally.
  • Often have an evolutionary basis in that they aid in species survival.
  • Air, Food, Sex, Sleep, Water. Gucci Belt, Marlboro Reds.
• Secondary reinforcement involves stimuli that have become rewarding by being paired with another reinforcing stimuli.
  • $When training a dog, praise and treats might be used as primary reinforces. The sound of a clicker can be added with the praise and treats as a secondary reinforcer.$

Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement: The introduction of a desirable or pleasant stimulus after a behavior.

• Desirable Stimulus reinforces the behavior.

Negative Reinforcement: Something uncomfortable or otherwise unpleasant is taken away in response to a stimulus.

• Target behavior should increase with the expectation that the unpleasant stimuli will be taken away.

Punishment VS. Negative Reinforcement

• Negative Reinforcement involves the removal of a negative condition to strengthen a behavior. Punishment involves either presenting or taking away a stimulus to weaken behavior.

{{Negative Reinforcement Examples{{

• Giving a pass to the car behind to avoid its honking.
• Getting up from bed to avoid the noisy alarm.

B.F. Skinner Psychology

(1904-1990)

• Skinner thought of “Positive” and “Negative” in a mathematical sense.
  • Skinner believed that we do have such a thing as a mind, but that is simply more productive to study observable behavior rather than internal mental events.

Reinforcement/Response Strength

Accuracy: Did the reinforcement deliver the desired response?

Duration: How long did the response continue?

Frequency: How often did the response occur?

Persistence: Did the response occur each and every time?

Schedules of Reinforcement

Operant conditioning is the procedure of learning through association.

Continuous Reinforcement: Presents the reinforcer after every performance of the desired behavior.

Partial Reinforcement: Most effective once a behavior is established. The empirical finding that resistance to extinction is greater follow acquisition where some, but not all, responses are reinforced.

Schedule Table

Components of Operant Conditioning

Biological Factors and Operant Conditioning

“Biological constraints predispose organisms to learn associations that are naturally adaptive.”

Examples:

• Behaviors found to be useful for survival are more likely to be learned before others.
  • Cooking Red Meat
  • Staying out of the burning hot sun because of sunburn and dehydration.
  • Staying out of freezing cold air because of frostbite. This also prompted the adaptation of clothing. 
  • Surround yourself with people who are not dangerous, to our knowledge. Humans tend to stay away from who we believe is dangerous for our safety. Along with animals and places we don’t know much about. 

Biofeedback Therapy

]]Biofeedback is the process of gaining greater awareness of many psychological functions of one’s own body by using electronic or other instruments. With the goal of being able to manipulate the body’s systems at will.]]

Biofeedback: Technique you can use to learn to control some of your body’s functions, such as your heart rate.