skinner U.1 L.6

  • considered the father of behaviourism

  • free will is an illusion, saw human action as dependent on consequences of previous actions

  • principle of reinforcement : if the consequences to an action are bad, there are high chances the action wont be repeated; if the consequences are good the action will strongly be repeated

  • operant conditioning : a method of learning that uses reward/punishment to modify behaviour

  • appetitive stimuli : voluntarily approach

  • aversive stimuli : try to avoid

  • skinners ideas were based on thorndikes law of effect, though he was the pioneer of the theory

  • skinner identified three types of responses that followed behaviour

    1. neutral responses : produce no stimulus other than focusing attention, neither increase/decrease probability of a behaviour being repeated

    2. reinforcers : responses from the environment that increase likelihood of a behaviour being repeated, can be positive/negative

    3. punishers : negative operants that decrease likelihood of behaviour, punishment weakens behaviour

  • positive reinforcements : appetitive stimulus increases the likelihood of a behaviour occurring in the future, doesn’t just involve tangible items (compliments) & ex. bringing kid to the park if they do extra chores

  • skinner box : used a hungry rat in a skinner box to show how positive reinforcement works

    • the box contained a lever, and as the rat moved it would knock the lever

    • after it did the food pellet dropped, teaching the rat how to feed itself

    • the contrary was also happening to show negative reinforcement, the lever would electricute it

  • negative reinforcement occurs when something unpleasant/uncomfortable is removed to increase likelihood of the desired behaviour (ex. leaving house early to avoid traffic, feeding baby to stop crying)

  • negative reinforcement and punishment are NOT the same thing

  • change to the surrounding environment reduces the probability of responses/behaviour happening again

  • punishment can work by either directly applying an unpleasant stimulus like scolding/removing rewarding stimulus, (ex. deducting allowance or grounding)

  • punishment is efficient in decreasing undesirable behaviour, associated with many problems such as

    • increased aggression

    • punished behaviour is suppressed not forgotten

    • fear

    • doesn’t guide towards good behaviour

    • punishment can become abuse

  • token economy is a system where desirable behaviour is reinforced using tangible rewards such as tokens, fake money, food, stickers, etc..

  • has happened to