Topic 4: Operant conditioning: reinforcement Flashcards
Operant (instrumental) conditioning
Learning that is controlled by the consequences of the organisms behavior
Reinforcement
-Process in which a behavior is strengthened by the immediate consequence that reliably follows its occurrence
-Strengthened=more likely to occur in future
-Thorndike law of effect
-Skinner + operant boxes
Thorndike’s law of effect
-“If a response, in the presence of a stimulus, is followed by a satisfying state of affairs, the bond between stimulus and response will be strengthened”
-Satisfaction=Stamping in
-Discomfort=Stamping out
Positive reinforcement
-Adding something good/desirable that makes the behavior occur in the future
-Eg) Yelling at a kid who enjoys the attention at being yelled at will yell again in the future
-Adding in yelling (positive in this scenario) leads to more yelling in future (behavior reinforced)
Negative reinforcement
-Taking away something bad/undesirable that encourages behavior to occur more often
EG) Turning off a loud buzzing noise when child finishes cleaning room
-Negative reinforcement does NOT equal punishment
Positive punishment
-Adding something bad/undesirable to make behavior happen less often
-EG) adding more chores when child misbehaves
Negative punishment
-Taking away something good that leads to behavior occurring less in the future
-EG) kid is having fun but is too loud, they get a timeout away from having fun. When out of timeout they wont be loud again to avoid being sent away from having fun
Antecedent
-The conditions you are in that determines whether a behavior will occur or not
-Could also be called stimulus
Operant behavior
-A behavior that is strengthened through the process of reinforcement
-Acts on environment to produce a consequence
Operant learning
Change in a behavior as a function of the consequence that followed it
Reinforcement
The procedure of providing consequences for a behavior that increases or maintains the probability of that behavior occurring in the future
Reinforcer
Any event or stimulus that follows an operant response and increases or maintains its future probability
Positive reinforcement #2
Any event or stimulus that, when presented as a consequence of a behavior, increases or maintains the future probability of that behavior
Negative reinforcement #2
Any event or stimulus that, when removed as a consequence of a behavior, increases or maintains the future probability of that behavior
Escape behavior
-When operant behavior increases by removing an ongoing event/stimulus
-Eg) turning off alarm clock or pressing lever to stop electric shock
Avoidance behavior
-When operant behavior increases by preventing the onset of the event or stimulus
-Eg) pressing a lever to prevent an electric shock
Discrete trial procedure
-Instrumental response produced once per trial
-Each training trial ends with removal of animal from the apparatus
-Each trial is done as an isolated chunk
Free-Operant procedure
-Animals remain in apparatus and can make many responses
-No intervention by the experimenter
-Developed by skinner
-Continuous trials
Cumulative record
-Based on old cumulative recorder device
-Constant paper output, pen jumps with each
-Plot of cumulative responses (y-axis) over time (x-axis)
Unconditional (primary) reinforcer
-A reinforcer that acquired its properties as a function of species evolutionary theory
-Stimuli and events have biological importance
-Usually depends on some amount of deprivation
conditional reinforcer
-Otherwise neutral stimuli or events that have acquired the ability to reinforce due to a contingent
relationship with other, typically unconditional, reinforcers
Immediacy
-A stimulus is more effective as a reinforcer when it is delivered immediately after the behavior
Specific reinforcer used
-Certain reinforcers are preferred over others
-Chocolate > Sunflower seeds
Task characteristics
Reinforce a pigeon pecking for food vs. a hawk pecking for food