learning and motivation 3/23

• rule governed behavior: verbal description of a contingency behavior generated through exposure to rules
    * ex: doing homework listed on the course syllabus
    * human characteristic
• some disadvantages of rule governed behavior
    * less efficient than behavior that has been directly shaped by natural contingencies
      * ex: rule governed is don’t be late for school / the bus. missing the bus is more powerful than just agreeing to the rule.
      * rule governed is insensitive to actual contingencies of reinforcement in a particular setting
• personal rules in self-regulation
    * personal rules / self-instructions: verbal descriptions of contingencies that we present to ourselves to influence our behavior
      * do to others what you would have them do to you
    * say-do correspondence: match what we say we are gonna do with what we actually do at a later time
      * clear, specific rules are important
      * “i’m a man of my word”
    * bright boundaries: clear and distinctive boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior

 \n

• contagious behavior - instinctive / reflexive
• stimulus enhancement: when attention is drawn to a stimulus
• observational learning in classical (vicarious emotional responses) operant (acquisition and performance)
• imitation: copy model behavior
• social learning and aggression: watching violence has big impacts