Pigeons can be trained to distinguish between words and respond accordingly.
Their behavior is shaped by rewards, specifically food.
The process begins by isolating specific behaviors for analysis.
Pigeons used in experiments were kept at about 75% of their normal weight to ensure hunger as a motivator.
Food serves as a consistent reward in a controlled environment, enhancing behavior conditioning.
Pecking Behavior:
The initial measured behavior was pecking a colored disc.
This pecking produced a food reward, which was tracked over time using a graph.
Behavior can be studied in relation to the frequency of rewards.
Reinforcement Definition:
Reinforcement = reward given after a behavior (in this context, food for pecking).
Not all behaviors are reinforced immediately:
Variable schedules are implemented (e.g., rewarding every 10th peck or at irregular intervals).
Each schedule has distinct effects on behavior development.
The variable ratio schedule is notably effective:
Commonly seen in gambling devices and elicits strong behavioral responses.
Can lead to pathological gambling in animals similar to humans.
Findings with pigeons help elucidate human behavior:
Human gambling behavior is driven by the schedules of reinforcement, not emotional or psychological impulses.
Discussion of free will arises from these observations:
The concept of free will can be seen as a fiction, often assumed due to a lack of understanding of behavior causes.
External factors drive behavior rather than internal motivations.
Reference to Jonathan Edwards, an 18th-century American divine:
He argued that our belief in free will stems from understanding behavior without grasping its causes.
The goal of behavioral science is to uncover these causes, challenging the idea of internal agency.
As we identify underlying causes, the need to attribute actions to an internal will diminishes.