Violent Offenders Chapter 7

What factors cause the absence of a classically conditioned conscience in some people?

(1) Antisocial behavior must be repeatedly paired with punishment for classical conditioning to occur. When punishment is inconsistent/absent, it produces a weak/non-existent classical conditioning response. Society's growing permissiveness & failure to consistently punish misbehavior has severely limited opportunities for conditioning to take place. The consequence is a more weakly developed conscience & greater crime. (2) Conditionability; How easily/strongly people form associations between a conditioned stimulus & a conditioned response. Some people are inherently more conditionable than others due to biological differences in our nervous systems. Some people exhibit poor classical conditioning responses & are more likely to behave badly even if they receive good parenting because they fail to associate offending with its aversive consequences; result = the conscience necessary for prosocial behavior never develops.

Examples of how classical conditioning can facilitate deviant/criminal acts:

(1) Drug addicts often feel a renewed desire to relapse in settings associated with their past drug use. (2) Deviant sexual preferences for animals/inanimate objects can develop in some cases due to early experiences of sexual arousal that occurred in the presence of these items.

What are some ways to avoid lacking a classically conditioned conscience?

(1) Good adult supervision & disciplinary practices during a child's formative years. (2) Highly conditionable individuals who experience appropriate & consistent discipline growing up are expected to be relatively law-abiding because of the strong association they make between offending & unpleasant consequences.

2 Types of Punishment:

(1) Positive (2) Negative

Example of negative reinforcement

(1) Removing a child's privilege to watch T.V. or play games.

Examples of positive punishment:

(1) Requiring a student to write an essay about the impact of their disruptive behavior on their classmates. (2) Giving a child extra chores for misbehaving.

3 Basic elements of Operant Conditioning

(1) a discriminative stimulus (2) a response (3) the consequence of that response

2 types of reinforcement schedules:

(1) continuous reinforcement (2) intermittent reinforcement

3 Factors shown by animal research that make punishment effective:

(1) intensity (2) timing (3) consistency

Types of reinforcement in operant conditioning:

(1) positive reinforcement (2) negative reinforcement

What distinguishes operant conditioning from classical conditioning?

(1)The timing of the associations & the degree to which the behavior involved is voluntary. -Operant conditioning involves an association between a behavior & what happens after that. -Classical conditioning involves an association between a response (a behavior) & what happened before it. (2) The action performed in operant conditioning is usually viewed as voluntary -People initiate the behavior because they learned that it produces a desired result.

Examples of negative reinforcement:

-Allowing a child out of his/her room once it is clean. -Turning off a morning alarm to stop its annoying sound.

B.F. Skinner

-Coined the term operant conditioning. -Did pioneering work in area of operant conditioning. -Believed that operant conditioning learning involves the organism operating on the environment. -Did not research operant conditioning to explain crime, but his principles have been applied to it.

Examples of positive reinforcement:

-Getting a scholarship for maintaining good grades. -Getting a job promotion for doing good work.

What is the relationship between intensity & punishment?

-Higher-intensity punishments are more effective than lower-intensity punishments. -Mild punishments can reduce problem behaviors as well, but if the punished behavior occasionally pays off or leads to reinforcement, any reduction tends to be short-lived & the behavior soon rebounds to its original level.

What is the relationship between timing & punishment?

-Punishment should follow the unwanted behavior as closely as possible. -The longer punishment is delayed, the lower its suppressive effect & the more likely the behavior will reappear.

Hans Eysenck

-Used classical conditioning processes to explain why people obey the law rather than why they violate it. -Claimed that our conscience is a classically conditioned emotional reflex that normally develops through socialization through childhood. -When this conditioned response is weakly developed or fails to develop, people behave as they please without regard for the law.

What are the 2 types of conditioning?

1) classical conditioning 2) operant conditioning

Types of Learning:

1) observational learning 2) through association

Richard Ramirez (Night Stalker)

A case study in classical conditioning. He became sexually aroused at this cousin's stories/graphic photos of young women he had raped/killed. Caused Ramirez's later crimes to be fueled by association between sex & violence. He raped & murdered people in the spring & summer of 1985.

classical conditioning

A learning process whereby 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired & result in a neutral (conditioned) stimulus being able to evoke the response originally evoked by the other unconditioned stimulus. It involves associations between 2 events that precede a certain behavior.

observational learning

A learning process whereby a person acquires a new behavior after seeing it performed by someone else.

operant conditioning

A learning process whereby anticipated consequences influence voluntary behavioral choices. It involves associations between a behavior & its consequence. People learn to associate behavior with its consequences. People tend to repeat behaviors that bring about desirable outcomes & avoid behaviors that have undesirable results.

learning

A process in which experience causes a change in a person's behavioral repertoire.

unconditioned response

A response in classical conditioning that is evoked by a stimulus naturally & without learning.

conditioned response

A response in classical conditioning that was evoked by the unconditioned stimulus, but, as a result of repeated pairings between the unconditioned & the conditioned stimuli, is evoked by the conditioned stimulus.

unconditioned stimulus

A stimulus in classical conditioning that evokes a response naturally & without learning.

conditioned stimulus

A stimulus in classical conditioning that was originally neutral but, as a a result of repeated pairings with an unconditioned stimulus, triggers the response evoked by the unconditioned stimulus.

token economy

A structured behavior modification system used in operant conditioning that awards tokens or another symbolic reward whenever certain desirable behaviors are exhibited; the accumulated tokens can be exchanged for privileges & prizes. Points are deducted whenever he/she violates institutional rules/expectations.

social learning

A theory that behavior is acquired through interaction with other people & the environment. Encompasses a wide array of learning theories & processes.

differential association

A theory, proposed by Edwin Sutherland, that the behavior people learn & exhibit varies as a function of their social interactions & relationships.

positive punishment

A type of punishment that decreases the liklihood of a certain response by administering something unpleasant or aversive when that response occurs.

negative punishment

A type of punishment that reduces the liklihood of certain responses by removing something pleasant or rewarding when that response occurs.

negative reinforcement

A type of reinforcement that increases (strengthens) the liklihood of a certain response (behavioral response) by removing something unpleasant or aversive (painful) when that response occurs.

positive reinforcement

A type of reinforcement that increases the liklihood of a certain response by administering something pleasant or rewarding when that response occurs.

Ivan Pavlov

Accidentally discovered classical conditioning at the turn of the 20th century while he was studying the digestive system; He trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell.

Why is it we do not have to create a conditioned fear response in people for every illegal/antisocial behavior?

According to Eysenck, it is because of the concept of stimulus generalization. Once the conditioned reflex is established in relation to some prohibited activities, it would extend to others through stimulus generalization, presumably to all antisocial behaviors in the same way. In terms of classical conditioning, the conditioned stimulus will elicit the same conditioned response.

nonsocial reinforcement

Any event that does not depend on social interaction but follows a response & increases the liklihood of it reoccurring. The event may include attaining certain material items or internal physiological & emotional states.

What is resistance to extinction a problem?

Because it governs how desirable behavioral responses will be if reinforcement stops & how easy it will be to extinguish undesirable behaviors by eliminating all reinforcement.

Why does the tone become a conditioned response in Pavlov's experiment?

Because its ability to stimulate salivation depends on the dog learning to associate the tone & food.

Why is reinforcement most effective when it immediately follows the target behavior?

Because operant conditioning depends on the animal or person connecting the applicable behavior to the reinforcer. Lengthy delays increase the likelihood of intervening events taking place, which makes it more difficult for the necessary connection to form. When the delay becomes too long, no connection is established & the association will not be learned.

Why is salivation the unconditioned response at first in Pavlov's experiment?

Because salivation is the unlearned response elicited by the presence of the food.

Why is salivation both an unconditioned and conditioned response in Pavlov's experiment?

Because the label switches depending on whether it is elicited by the unconditioned response or conditioned stimulus.

Why is the later salivation of Pavlov's dogs to the tone considered a conditioned response?

Because the salivation is produced as a learned response to the tone.

Why is food an unconditioned stimulus at first in Pavlov's experiment?

Because the salivation it stimulates is automatic and unlearned.

Why are discriminative stimuli important?

Because they exert a strong influence over how people choose to behave at any given time. They give us important clues about the anticipated consequences of a behavior.

Why is extinction impacted by the type of reinforcement schedule used?

Because, with continuous reinforcement schedules, it is immediately obvious when reinforcement is no longer delivered & further responding has become futile. The unpredictability of intermittent reinforcement creates a lingering hope that the next behavior is the one that will be reinforced; means that responding continues much longer in the absence of reinforcement. (This is what casino operators count on & what causes gambling addiction).

How do learning theories differ from biological theories?

Biological theories say that biological differences predispose some individuals to behave criminally, whereas learning theories say that differences in learning experiences lead some to develop criminal behaviors.

What's another name for learning through association?

Conditioning.

What was Eysenck's belief regarding parents'/authority figures' tendencies to label a diverse range of conduct as of "bad" or "naughty" ?

Eysenck believed this labeling of a diverse range of conduct enhanced the process of stimulus generalization by lumping all these behaviors into a single group deserving of punishment.

In what way can classical conditioning facilitate deviant acts?

If past deviant behavior repeatedly occurred in the presence of particular stimuli/environmental cues, the future presence of these prompts could evoke the same feelings & motivate new offenses.

neutralizing definitions

In Aker's differential association reinforcement theory, the values, attitudes, beliefs, & norms that recognize law-breaking behavior as normally unacceptable but rationalize/excuse it as justified in the particular circumstances.

positive definitions

In Aker's differential association reinforcement theory, the values, attitudes, norms, & beliefs that approve of law-breaking behavior.

negative definitions

In Aker's differential association reinforcement theory, the values, attitudes, norms, & beliefs that disprove of law-breaking behavior.

definitions

In Edwin Sutherland's differential association theory, the values, attitudes, norms, & beliefs held by people.

duration

In Sutherland's differential association theory, a modality of association that reflects both the length & proportion of time that person has had a social relationship with a specific individual. --Connections that have endured across many years &/or account for a large proportion of that person's time are more important than those of a more fleeting nature.

frequency

In Sutherland's differential association theory, a modality of association that reflects how often a person is in contact with a specific individual. --Associations with a high rate of contact are more important than ones characterized by only rare contact.

intensity

In Sutherland's differential association theory, a modality of association that reflects how personally meaningful & respected an individual is to a specific person.

priority

In Sutherland's differential association theory, a modality of association that reflects the timing of a person's social relationship with a specific individual. --Interactions formed later in life not as important as those formed earlier in life.

Example of a discriminative stimulus in operant conditioning:

In a football game, tackling the person carrying the ball stops the opposition's advance down the field. The context (football game) tells players that a specific behavior (tackling the ball carrier) will yield a desired consequence (stopping the play).

stimulus generalization

In classical conditioning, the capacity of stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus to evoke the same conditioned response.

modalities of association

In differential association theory, qualities that impact the degree of social influence a person has over another.

model

In observational learning, the person performing a behavior observed & learned by someone else. They are everywhere & anywhere, & provide us with a constant supply of behavioral examples that we learn from & sometimes replicate.

extinction

In operant conditioning, a process that occurs when reinforcement is discontinued & responding subsequently diminishes until it stops. Reinforcement stops, responding tapers off until it disappears.

discriminative stimulus

In operant conditioning, a stimulus that signals whether a certain response is likely to be reinforced or punished.

reinforcement

In operant conditioning, an event following a response (consequences) that increases the likelihood of the response being made again.

punishment

In operant conditioning, an event following a response that decreases the liklihood of the response being made again.

How did Pavlov's experiment display stimulus generalization?

In presenting different tones to his dogs, Pavlov noticed that the different tones yielded the same salivary response as the original tone.

In classical conditioning, how is the learned association formed?

It is formed between events that occur prior to the response (ex: the sound of the tone & presentation of food).

What is our principal means of acquiring behavior?

Learning.

Learning through association

Occurs when we realize that 2 events are reliably connected.

Devalon Armstrong case

Older brother watched wrestling on T.V., performed the same moves on his younger sister, & it killed her. This case brought attention to the possible connection between watching violence & committing violence.

Eysenck's explanation of classical conditioning of children for prosocial behavior:

One child hits another one (conditioned stimulus). If the child is caught & punished, the child will experience unpleasant feelings. If hitting other children (conditioned stimulus) is consistently & repeatedly punished (unconditioned stimulus), the child will learn to associate these 2 events so that the act of hitting alone (in the absence of any punishment) will cause him/her to experience the same feelings of discomfort. Once this conditioned anxiety/fear response is established, the mere thought of misbehaving will sufficiently evoke the associated unpleasant consequences to deter most people from offending. Anyone who does offend experiences the feelings of distress that are now associated with doing something wrong (aka. guilt).

direct reinforcement

Reinforcement that is personally experienced.

vicarious reinforcement

Reinforcement that other people are observed experiencing or are known to have experienced.

continuous reinforcement

Rules specifying that reinforcement should be delivered after every appropriate response. These reinforcement schedules generally yield higher rates of responding & faster learning than intermittent ones, but they rarely exist outside of a laboratory.

intermittent reinforcement

Rules specifying that reinforcement should be delivered after some but not every appropriate response. Learning occurs more slowly in these reinforcement schedules versus continuous reinforcement schedules, but a learned behavior is more enduring & disappears more gradually when reinforcement stops.

What does resistance to extinction mean?

Some responses are highly resistant to extinction & continue long after reinforcement has ended; others are less resistant & disappear very quickly.

Pavlov's experiment

Step 1: Unconditioned stimulus (food) leads to Unconditioned response (salivation). -Pavlov repeatedly rang a bell (neutral stimulus) before placing meat in the dogs' mouth. Step 2: Neutral Stimulus (bell) paired with Unconditioned Stimulus (food) leads to Unconditioned Response (salivation). - initially, the dogs didn't react much when they only heard the bell w/o receiving meat. Result: Later... Conditioned Stimulus (bell) leads to Conditioned Response (salivation). -After repeating procedure several times, dogs began to salivate when they heard the bell (even if he did not deliver meat). -turned the bell (neutral) into a conditioned stimulus.

What is the key to all reinforcement?

That it encourages a particula response.

What is the fundamental principle of operant conditioning?

That people behave in ways intended to bring about specific outcomes.

What has research with animals showed about reinforcement?

That reinforcement is most effective when it follows immediately or shortly after the target behavior & that learning is reduced the longer it is delayed.

What is the central tenet of all learning theories?

The assumption that no one is inherently good or evil.; everyone begins life as a blank slate, free of pre-existing behavioral tendencies. Our behavior is a function of what we learn as we go through life.

conditionability

The degree to which classical conditioning responses can be easily & strongly formed in a person.

What was the unexpected behavior Pavlov observed in his research dogs?

The dogs began to salivate before receiving food. They were salivating when stimuli associated with the food (ex: sight & sound of the person responsible for feeding it) were present.

acquisition

The first step in observational learning; the process of paying attention to & memorizing an observed behavior. Can draw on this memory later on when the model is no longer available for observation.

differential reinforcement

The net effect of all reinforcement & punishment received for a certain response.

What is the mechanism of classical conditioning?

The person/organism plays a passive role. The environment acts on the person & elicits an automatic reflexive response over which he/she has little control.

According to Eysenck, how does the classically conditioned conscience develop?

The punishments children receive for misbehaving cause them to experience pain, fear, or other uncomfortable feelings. In the language of classical conditioning, the punishment is the unconditioned stimulus, & the unpleasant feeling it produces automatically & without learning is the unconditioned response.

Chief factor influencing resistance to extinction:

The reinforcement schedule that established the behavioral response.

reinforcement schedules

The rules under which appropriate responses are reinforced.

imitation

The second step in observational learning; The performance/process of replicating an observed behavior.

social reinforcement

The verbal & nonverbal behavior & gestures made by others following a response, which increase the likelihood of that response being repeated. This behavior encompasses what people say, the facial expressions/gestures they make, the amount of attention they give us, & other signs of approval.

False

True or False: A behavior will be repeated as long as it is not reinforced.

True

True or False: Behavior can bring about punishment, which has the opposite effect of reinforcement.

False

True or False: It doesn't matter how punishment is carried out. All punishment will remove problem behaviors.

False

True or False: It is possible to develop a conditioned fear response in people for every illegal/antisocial behavior.

True

True or False: While the classically conditioned conscience may be strong enough to keep most people's behavior in line, it appears to be missing in people.

Example of operant conditioning:

We press the remote's power button because we know it will turn on the T.V.

Example of classical conditioning:

When the taillights of the car ahead go on, we apply the brakes because we associate those lights with the vehicle decelerating.