Chapter 9: Operant Conditioning

Question 1

Behavior-outcome contigency

Answer 1

Involves a programmed relationship between some behavior and an outcome for performing that behavior in a certain situation and at a certain time

Question 2

Schedule of reinforcement

Answer 2

Specifies the conditions the individual has to satisfy in order to obtain an outcome

Question 3

Continuous Reinforcement Schedule

Answer 3

• Simplest schedule of reinforcement
• Provides the outcome for each occurence of the target behavior
• affected by number of responses

Question 4

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

Answer 4

• Specifies which instances of the target behavior are followed by the outcome
• Require that the individual perform the target behavior a certain number of times, perform after a certain time interval as elapsed, or combo of both
• delays extinction
• behavior is adjusted to schedule

Question 5

Three classes of schedules

Answer 5

• Ratio schedules: number of individual behaviors required to obtain a reinforcer
• Interval schedules: behaving after a certain time interval has elapsed in order to obtain a reinforcer
• Interresponse Time (IRT): spacing individual behaviors a certain time apart in order to be reinforced

Question 6

Ratio schedule of reinforcement

Answer 6

• Requires an individual to perform the target behavior a certain number of times in order to obtain the outcome
• Encourage very high rates of behavior
• Schedule is a direct variable
• Unstated requirements = indirect variable
• Tie the rate of reinforcement directly to the rate of behavior
• Reinforce short IRTs rather than long IRTs
  
  • short IRTs = rapid behavior

Question 7

Molar feedback functions

Answer 7

• Relationship between the rate of performance of the target behavior and the rate at which the outcome is earned
• Called molar b/c they relate the overall rate of reinforcement to the overall rate of behavior
• Encourage high rates of behavior

Question 8

Molecular feedback function

Answer 8

• Involves the moment-to-moment relationship between behaviors and outcomes
• Reinforcement of short IRTs

Question 9

Fixed-Ratio Schedules (FR n)

Answer 9

• The number of times the target behavior must occur is the same accross successive reinforcers
  
  • require individuals to perform target behavior the same number of times to obtain the outcome
• FR n
  
  • FR = fixed-ratio schedules
  • n = required number of times the target behavior must occur in order to obtain an outcome
• Characterized by a pause and then an abrupt trancition to a high rate behavior
• Requires a shaping process

Question 10

Performance on FR n

Answer 10

• Pattern: “break and run”
  
  • “break” = pause for a period of time after the presentation of each outcome
    
    • Length of pause = post-reinforcement pause (PRP)
      
      • increasing function
      • longer required ratio = longer pause
  • “run” = high steady rate of behavior that ends with the delivery of the outcome
• ratio strain
  
  • a prolonged PRP, a prolonged pause in the middle of a ratio run, or both
  • occurs if steps are too large, or outcome is too meager
  • indicate that from the individual’s point of view, outcome is not adequate to maintain the amount of behavior required to earn it

Question 11

Post-rreinforcement pause on FR n

Answer 11

• Direct variable = formally imposed requiremen on an FR schedule
• Indirect variable = interreinforcer interval = time between receipt of successive reinforcers
  
  • occurs as a byproduct of direct variable
• Interreinforcer Interval
  
  • depends on how long the individual takes to complete the ratio that in turn depends on how long it takes to complete each behavior and the number of behaviors required by the schedule
  • affects length of PRP
    
    • longer interreinforcer = longer PRP

Question 12

Variable-Ratio Schedules (VR n)

Answer 12

• Individual is required to perform the target behavior a certain number of times to obtain the outcome, but that number varies around a certain avergae (n)
• Resulting behavior pattern is characterized by a high rate of behavior with little or no post-reinforcement pauses
• Probability = 1/n

Question 13

Performance on VR Schedules

Answer 13

• High rates of behavior
• Show little systematic pausing either after reinforcers are obtained or at other times
• Affected by interreinforcement interval
• PRPs have been observed in VR schedules as a function of the length of the ratio and the magnitude of reinforcer
  
  • Large PRP = small reinforcer
  • Longer PRP = longer length

Question 14

Interval Schedules

Answer 14

• Specify an interval of time after which the next occurence of the target behavior will produce the outcome
• Individuals are required to perform target behavior after a certain time has elapsed
• Encourage lower rates of behavior
• rate of reinforcement is independent of rate of behavior
  
  • molar feedback
  • overall rate of reinforcement is constrained by the schedule
• Encourage intermediate rate of behavior
  
  • longer pauses = higher probability that the next performance of the target behavior will produce the programmed outcome
• Reinforces short and long IRTs

Question 15

Fixed-Interval Schedules (FI t)

Answer 15

• First occurence the target behavior after a specified interval time has elapsed will produce the outcome
  
  • interval is the same
• Requires individuals to perform the target behavior after a certain time has passed; time is the same for each reinforcer
• Generate PRP and high rates of behavior closer to the time of reinforcement
• FI t
  
  • FI = fixed-interval schedules
  • t = specifies the time interval in whatever units are appropriate

Question 16

Performance on FI schedule

Answer 16

• PRP followed by either an increasing rate of behavior (scallop) or an abrupt transition to the terminal rate of behavior (break and run)
• short FI = more break and run
• Number of target behaviors performed during interval has no effect on ooutcome
• Variable performance
• Regulaties
  
  • Intervals contain a large number of instances of the target behavior
  • Length of PRP oscillates between short and long pauses across successive intervals
  • wide variety of values of t = avg. of PRP = 1/2t
  • terminal rate of behavior is a decreasing function of t
    
    • t is short = high terminal rate
    • t is high = low terminal rate
  • longer interval = increase in target behavior performance

Question 17

Variable-Interval Schedules (VI t)

Answer 17

• First occurence of the target behavior after a specified interval of time has elapsed will produce outcome; interval varies around a certain average (t)
• Require individuals to perform target behavior after certain time has elapsed, time varies
• Generate Slow, steady rates of behavior with little or no PRP

Question 18

Performance on VI Schedule

Answer 18

• rate of behavior is a function of the temporal parameter of the schedule (t)
  
  • increase t = decrease overall rate of behavior
  • decrease t = increase overall rate of behavior
• limited hold = a limited time after the interval has elapsed during which the target behavior must occur
  
  • If behavior does not occur during that limited time, opportunity to obtain the outcome is canceled
  • promotes rapid behavior

Question 19

Equating Molecular and Molar Feedback

Answer 19

• Molecular Feedback
  
  • differenctial reinforcement of IRTs (molecular feedback) produces the difference in the rates of behavior maintained by VR and VI schedules
• Molar Feedback
  
  • relationship b/w the rates of behavior and the rates of reinforcement (molar feedback) produces the difference in the rates of behavior maintained by VR and VI schedules
• Necessary but not sufficient conditions for producing the differences in performance b/w ratio and interval schedules of reinforcement

Question 20

True/False

Prior experiences do not affect how an individual adjusts to a schedult of partial reinforcement

Answer 20

False

How an individual adjusts to a schedule of partial reinforecement is affected by his or her prior experiences

Question 21

Behavioral Persistence

Answer 21

• Tendency to continue to perform a behavior when that behavior no longer produces a reinforcing event
• Resistance to extinction: conventional measure of behavioral persistence
  
  • how long it takes an individual to cease performing a behavior when that behavior no longer produces the reinforcing event (procedure of extinction).
  • the longer it takes the individual to cease performing a behavior when that behavior no longer produces the reinforcing event, the greater the resistance to extinction
• Persistence is counterproductive when reinforcer is no longer available
• Persistence is productive when it leads to reinforcement
  *

Question 22

Factors of Persistence

Answer 22

• How much sucess individual has experienced obtaining the outcome by performing target behavior
  
  • the greater the amount of success, the more persistent the behavior
• How discriminable the change in procedure is to the individual
  
  • discriminability is determined by how similar the two situations are
    
    • The more similar extinction is to training, the greater the persistence
• Prior experience in which persistence has been reinforced
  
  • Experience with partial reinforcement produces resistance to extinction

Question 23

Behavioral momentum

Answer 23

• Persistence reflects behavioral momentum
• Amount of previous success in obtaining the outcome
• Refers to the tendency for a behavior to persist when the reinforcement contingency is changed.
  
  • Behaviors that are more resistant to change have more momentum
  • Amount of training = increase persistence (resistance to extinction)

Question 24

Discriminability and Persistence

Answer 24

• Persistence is a function of how discriminable the conditions of acquisition training are from conditions of extinction
• Discriminability is related to salience and is determined by the physical attributes of the stimulus and what individual brings to the situation
• Salience and discriminability affect how easily an individual detects a stimulus against the ackground in which that stimulus occurs

Question 25

Extended Training and Discriminability

Answer 25

* **Behavioral momentum** that develops during acquisition accounts for the **increase in resistance to extinction** (persistence), and **discriminability** of the change in procedure accounts for the **decrease in resistance to extinction** (persistence) after extended training

Question 26

Magnitude of Reinforcer

Answer 26

* Behaviors trained on a **continuous reinforcement** schedule when **magnitude of reinforcers are high** are **less resistant to extinction** * **Partial reinforcement** * **larger** magnitude of reinforcer = **more** resistant to extinction

Question 27

Post Experience With Extinction

Answer 27

Repeated experience with change makes individuals more sensitive to change that they more readily adapt to it

Question 28

Acquisition to Extinction Signals

Answer 28

Less resistance to extinction when the transition from acquisition to extinction was accompanied by another discriminable change in the situation

Question 29

Extinction with Avoidance Learning

Answer 29

* **flooding:** placing an individual in a situation in which an aversive event had previously occured and preventing him or her from perfoming the avoidance behavior * produces rapid extinction * implosion therapy

Question 30

Persistence and Partial Reinforcement

Answer 30

* **Partial Reinforcemtn extinction effect (PREE):** increase in resistance to extinction following experience with partial reinforcement * Partial reinforcement teaches individuals to tolerate frustration * **Two properties of frustration** * energizes ongoing behavior, and it can produce competing behavior * rate of target behavior increases becore decreasing