operant conditioning Flashcards
(32 cards)
What is reinforcement in operant conditioning?
A behavior is reinforced (strengthened) whenever a desirable outcome is the consequence.
What is a reinforcer?
Any consequence of a behaviour that makes that behaviour more likely to recur in future.
What is positive reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement is the act of rewarding a positive behavior in order to encourage it to happen again in the future
What is a positive reinforcer?
Something pleasant that is added to increase behavior.
What is negative reinforcement?
Negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior by removing an undesirable stimulus when the behavior occurs.
What is a negative reinforcer?
Something unpleasant that is removed to increase behaviour.
What is punishment in operant conditioning?
In operant conditioning, punishment is a consequence that follows a behavior, reducing the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future.
What is a punisher?
Any consequence of a behavior that makes that behaviour less likely to recur in future.
What is positive punishment?
Positive punishment, in behavioral psychology, involves adding an aversive stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.
What is a positive punisher?
An unpleasant stimulus that weakens behaviour when added as consequence of the behaviour.
What is negative punishment?
the removal of a pleasant stimulus following a behavior, which results in a decrease in the likelihood of that behavior occurring in the future
What is a negative punisher?
A negative punisher is a stimulus that, when removed from a situation, decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated in the future.
What is continuous reinforcement?
Reinforcement occurs every time a behavior is performed; rare in natural environments.
What is partial reinforcement?
Behaviour is reinforced only on some occasions; leads to more persistent learning.
Why is partial reinforcement more effective than continuous reinforcement?
It makes the learner accustomed to intermittent rewards, making the behavior more resistant to extinction.
What happens when reinforcement is withheld?
Extinction of the operantly conditioned behaviour occurs.
What is an extinction burst?
A brief increase in responding before the trained behaviour decreases.
Which type of reinforcement schedule leads to slower extinction?
Partial reinforcement.
What is shaping in operant conditioning?
a method of reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior until the target behavior is achieved
How does shaping work?
Reinforce a frequent component of the desired response, then withhold reinforcement to increase variability, and reintroduce it when closer responses occur.
What is the benefit of shaping?
It molds behaviors not normally in the animal’s repertoire.
What are the three C’s of effective punishment?
Contingency, Contiguity, Consistency.
What is contingency in punishment?
The relationship between the behavior and the punisher must be clear.
What is contiguity in punishment?
The punisher must follow the behavior swiftly.
