Operant Conditioning

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Operant Conditioning
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Operant Conditioning

• A type of learning in which behavior is
  strengthened if followed by reinforcement or
  diminished if followed by punishment.

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Edward Thorndike

• Law of Effect rewarded behavior is likely to
  recur.

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B.F. Skinner
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Shaping

• A procedure in Operant Conditioning in which
  reinforcers guide behavior closer and closer
  towards a goal.

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Successive approximations
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Operant Conditioning Chamber
Conditioning
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Reinforcer

• Any event that STRENGTHENS the behavior it
  follows.

Two Types of Reinforcement
Positive and Negative
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Positive Reinforcement

• Strengthens a response by adding () a rewarding
  stimulus after a response.

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Negative Reinforcementis NOT the same as
PUNISHMENT!)?

• Strengthens a response by reducing or removing (
  - )an aversive stimulus.

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Types of Reinforcers
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Primary Reinforcer

• An innately reinforcing stimulus

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Conditioned (Secondary) Reinforcer

• A stimulus that gains it reinforcing power
  through its association with a primary reinforcer.

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Immediate v. DelayedReinforcers
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Reinforcement Schedules
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Continuous Reinforcement

• Reinforcing the desired response every time it
  occurs overjustification effect

Quick Acquisition Quick Extinction
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Partial Reinforcement

• Reinforcing a response only part of the time.
• The acquisition process is slower.
• Greater resistance to extinction.

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Fixed-ratio Schedules

• A schedule that reinforces a response only after
  a specified number of responses.

Example I give cookie monster a cookie every
FIVE times he sings C is for cookie.
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Variable-ratio Schedule

• A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a
  response after an unpredictable number of
  responses.

Example I give Homer a doughnut at random times
when he says DOH!!!
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Fixed-interval Schedule

• A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a
  response only after a specified time has elapsed.

Example I give Bart a Butterfinger every ten
minutes after he moons someone.
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Variable-interval Schedule

• A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a
  response at unpredictable time intervals.

Pop Quizzes
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(No Transcript)
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Punishment

• An event that DECREASES the behavior that it
  follows.

Does punishment work?
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Classical v. Operant

• They both use acquisition, discrimination, SR,
  generalization and extinction.

• Classical Conditioning is automatic (respondent
  behavior). Dogs automatically salivate over
  meat, then bell- no thinking involved.

• Operant Conditioning involves behavior where one
  can influence their environment with behaviors
  which have consequences (operant behavior).

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Is the organism learning associations between
events that it doesnt control?
Classical Conditioning

• Is the organism learning associations between its
  behavior and resulting events?

Operant Conditioning
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Cognition and Operant Conditioning

• Cognitive Map (Tolman)?
• mental representation of the layout of ones
  environment
• Example after exploring a maze, rats act as if
  they have learned a cognitive map of it
• Latent Learning
• learning that occurs, but is not apparent until
  there is an incentive to demonstrate it

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In 1990's the average child watched --27
hours of TV per week -1,000 murders,rapes or
assaults on TV ---the same child sees 20k
commercials per year featuring toys that
encourage aggression
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Observational Learning

• Observational Learning
• learning by observing others
• Modeling
• process of observing and imitating a specific
  behavior
• Prosocial Behavior
• positive, constructive, helpful behavior
• opposite of antisocial behavior

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Observational Learning

• Mirror Neurons
• frontal lobe neurons that fire when observing
  another doing so
• may enable imitation, language learning, and
  empathy
• Overjustification effect

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Learned Helplessness(Seligman)?

• The hopelessness and passive resignation an
  animal or human learns when unable to avoid
  repeated aversive events.