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.