Operant Conditioning
Pigeon Passage
- Acquisition and Maintenance of a simple phobia - Acquisition = how the fear was acquired through classical conditioning - Maintenance = how the avoidance response is maintained through operant conditioning
The Schedule of Reinforcement: Fixed-Ratio Schedules
- Reinforce behavior after a set number of responses (every so many) - Rewards are given after a fixed number of responses - Buy 10 coffee drinks, get the 11th free - Produces high rates of responding
Money is a
Conditioned reinforcer
T/F Animals learn only when rewards are given
False
T/F: Negative reinforcement is another term for punishment
False
partial (intermittent) reinforcement
responses are sometimes reinforced, sometimes not
T/F Animals can learn to make virtually any response if consistently rewarded for it.
false
T/F Psychologists agree that punishment, regardless of its form, has little effect on behavior
false
T/F: Humans are the only animals that can learn behaviors merely by observing others perform them.
false
The Schedule of Reinforcement: Variable-Ratio Schedules
- Reinforce behavior after an unpredictable number of responses (after an unpredictable number) - Rewards are given after a varying number of responses - Slot machine gambling - Produces high rates of responding
The Schedule of Reinforcement: Fixed-Interval Schedules
- Reinforce first response after a fixed time period (every so often) - Rewards are given after a fixed period of time - Checking for snail mail, cramming for a test - Produces a choppy stop-start pattern of responding
The Schedule of Reinforcement: Variable-Interval Schedules
- Reinforce the first response after varying time intervals (unpredictably often) - Rewards are given after varying periods of time - Checking for email - Produces slow, steady responding
positive reinforcement
-A pleasurable stimulus follows a response and increases the chance that the response will occur again "sit" -> dog sits -> dog receives tasty treat Sr+ -> response -> positive reinforcer
negative reinforcement
-A response terminates (stops_ an unpleasant state or stimulus thereby, increasing the probability that the response occurs again in the presence of this unpleasant stimulus (i.e: the response is strengthened)
Shaping behavior
-Successive approximations -Reward behavior that approaches the desired behavior -Allows animal trainers to get animals to perform complex behaviors -Helps us understand what nonverbal organisms perceive
Reinforcer
-any stimulus (or event) that follows a response and increases the chances that the response occurs again -Positive and Negative reinforcement both lead to an increase or a strengthening of the behavior they follow
Punishment
Although there may be some justification for occasional punishment (Larzelaere & Baumrind, 2002), it usually leads to negative effects. 1. Results in unwanted fears 2. Conveys no information to the organism 3. Justifies pain to others 4. Cause unwanted behaviors to reappear in its absence 5. Causes aggression toward the agent 6. Causes one unwanted behavior to appear in place of another
Your spouse nags you all the time to take out the trash and this annoys you. You take out...
Negative reinforcement
Correlational evidence suggests that there is a link between viewing television violence and exhibiting violent behavior. However, it is possible that the television viewing is not causing the violence. Which of the following alternative hypotheses might explain the correlations?
Neglectful parenting could be the cause of increased aggression and increased television watching.
_____ include voluntary behaviors that produce rewarding or punishing consequences.
Operant behaviors
__________________ behavior operates on the environment, whereas ________________ behavior occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.
Operant; voluntary
Punishment decreases the frequency of a behavior
POSITIVE PUNISHMENT - Administering an aversive stimulus - Receiving a parking ticket - Spanking NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT - Withdrawing a desirable stimulus - Revoked driver's license - Time outs
negative reinforcement
Removing an unpleasant stimulus after a response (-)
The law of effect laid the foundation for:
Skinner's experiments on reinforcement
Irene is having trouble convincing her husband that spanking isn't necessarily the best way to control their child's behavior. Which of the following arguments should she not use to support her position?
Spanking is a form of discipline that has been used for generations.
continuous reinforcement
The desired response is reinforced every time it occurs.
Extinction and Operant Conditioning
When the response occurs in the absence of reinforcement the rate of responding goes down
Reinforcer
an event that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated
Classical conditioning involves _____ while operant conditioning involves _____.
associating two stimuli; associating a response and a consequence
continuous reinforcement compared to intermittent reinforcement produces _______ learning and __________ extinction
both fast
During _____ an organism learns associations between events it does not control
classical conditioning
A word of praise is to a delicious meal as ______________ is to ______________.
conditioned reinforcer; primary reinforcer
Continuously checking to see if the cookies are ready is an example of the _____________ schedule of reinforcement.
fixed-interval
During a typical morning, Daniel will check the clock more frequently as the time for his regularly scheduled lunch break approaches. In this case, Daniel's clock-checking behavior is reinforced on a ________ schedule.
fixed-interval
Example of shaping: animal trainers use the method of Successive Approximations
i.e., reward behaviors that increasing resemble desired behavior
One main difference between punishment and reinforcement is that the goal of reinforcement is to ____________ a behavior, while the goal of punishment is to ____________ a behavior.
increase; decrease
Johnny is "hammering" the nail in with his toy hammer as his father is hammering the deck boards. Johnny's behavior is a clear example of:
modeling
When Nanette's daughter refused to brush her teeth and threw her toys across the room, Nanette gave her a 20-minute time-out. This is an example of:
negative punishment
Debra regularly buckles her seatbelt simply because it turns off the car's irritating warning buzzer. This best illustrates the value of:
negative reinforcement
Michael is busy with project work that he brought home. His son, Stephen, wants him to put a movie in the DVD player. Michael tells him to wait for 10 minutes, but his son whines and complains so much that Michael decides to put the movie in right now. Michael's son's whining best illustrates:
negative reinforcement
Tina is a 7-year-old girl who frequently witnesses her father's anger and physically abusive acts on her mother. Later, when she's in her room playing with her toys, she begins to yell at them and hit them for "being so stupid and not having dinner ready." Her behavior is a clear example of:
observational learning
There is a vending machine at work that gives extra candy bars when you select either the "A" or "B" choices. You continue to frequent this machine regularly. Your action best illustrates:
operant conditioning
____________reinforcement involves any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.
positive
T/F Research indicates that televised violence leads to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch the programs
true
Pop quizzes and random checks of quality help to produce slow, steady responding and are examples of the ____________ schedule of reinforcement in their respective areas.
variable-interval
Carl is a professional baseball player. Swinging at a pitched ball is reinforced with a home run on a _____________ schedule.
variable-ratio
