Video: Operant Conditioning: B.F. Skinner (Notes)

Introduction to Pigeon Behavior Studies

  • Pigeons can be trained to distinguish between words and respond accordingly.

  • Their behavior is shaped by rewards, specifically food.

Behavior Isolation and Conditioning

  • 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.

Schedules of Reinforcement

  • 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.

Variable Ratio Schedule

  • 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.

Implications for Free Will

  • 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.

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