Operant Conditioning Flashcards
What are voluntary behaviours
When everyday behaviours are not elicited by a specific stimulus- the creature can choose whether or not to engage in behaviours
What is research on operant conditioning
An effort to discover general principles that can predict what nonreflexive behaviours a creature will produce and under what conditions
What is escape latency
The measurement of time it took the animal to escape on each trial.
What did Thorndike attribute the improvement to escape to?
The progressive strengthening of a s-r (stimulus response) connection
What is the law of effect
When an animal creates a situation eventually ending in satisfaction, the animal will be more firmly connected with the situation so it reoccurs.
The greater the satisfaction or discomfort, the greater the strengthening or weakening of the bond.
How do we know what is satisfying or discomforting according to thorndike?
When an animal does things to attain and preserve a situation, it is satisfying. When it is discomforting or annoying, the animal avoids.
What occurred in the experiment completed by Guthrie and Horton; Evidence for a mechanical strengthening process.
Cats in a puzzle box: a pole in the centre of the chamber had only to be tipped in any direction to open the door. A camera photographed the cat at the same instant that the door opened. At first each cats behaviour at the movement of reinforcement varied greatly from trial to trial. But after a few tials each settled on a particular method of manipulating the pole.
What is the stop action principle
The occurrence of the reinforcer serves to stop the animals ongoing behavour and strengthen the association between the situation (puzzle box) and those behaviours that were occurring at the moment of reinforcement. The specific bodily position and muscle movements at the moment of reinforcement will have a higher probability of occuring on the next trial. It will produce a second reinforcer when subjects repeat this on the next trial.
Why is Gurthrie and Horton’s view of the specific set of muscle movements and bodily positions strictly incorrect?
Because a certain amount of variability in bodily position from trial to trial is evident. It provides a means by which new behaviour can gradually be developed.
What is the procedure that makes use of behavioural variability?
Shaping or the method of successive approximations.
What is a conditioned reinforcer?
A previously neutral stimulus that has acquired capacity to strengthen responses because it can be paired with food or another primary reinforcer.
What was the experiment completed by Isaacs for reinforcement?
40 year old patients who was schizophrenic had not spoken since becoming institutionalised. Gum became reinforcer.
What is instrumental conditioning?
In instrumental conditioning procedures whether or not
a significant stimulus or event occurs depends of the behaviour of the organism.
In Thorndike’s experiment, what did the subject do in the chamber?
Subject would take a long time to escape, exploring the chamber in a haphazard way.
It would eventually perform the response that opened the door which was a pure accident.
In psychology, what has a satisfying state of affairs been replaced by?
A reinforcer
Whats another phrase for the law of effect?
Principle of positive reinforcement
What was the conclusion reached by Thorndike?
That during the course of instrumental conditioning an association comes to be established between the response and the environmental stimuli…the reinforcer serves to strengthen or stamp in this association but is not part of that association.
In gutherie’s cat process, what happens to the specific bodily position and muscle movements at the moment of reinforcement?
They will have a higher probability of occurring on the next trial.
In gutherie’s cat experient, what happens when the subject repeats the specific bodily and muscle movements at the time of reinforcement?
It will produce a second reinforcer, further strengthening the Stimulus Response association.
What should eventually result in Gutherie’s cat experiment?
Should eventually produce one S-R connection that is much stronger than any other that its particular pattern of response will occur with high probability.
In lever pressing shaping, what is a common solution to providing a reinforcer straight after the correct response is made?
To turn the sound of a pellet dispenser into a conditioned reinforcer… this is a previously neutral stimulus that has acquired capacity to strengthen responses because it can be paired with food or another primary reinforcer.
How do you reinforce variability inherent in behaviour in regards to a rat pressing a lever that is far off the floor?
Wait until the rat is just below the lever then reinforce any detectable upward head movement…then go on to demand greater upward movements until the animal is bringing its head close to the lever.
The next step might be to require some contact with the lever, then contact with one forepaw, then some downward movement of the lever and so on, until the rat has learned to make a full lever press.
Who is the father of operant conditioning?
BF Skinner
What is operant conditioning a variation of?
Thorndike’s instrumental conditioning
