OPERANT CONDITIONING

DIFFERENT FROM CLASSICAL

   CLASSICAL: Experimenter presents UCS and CS and then observes the behavior OPERANT: Participant / Animal must behave in a certain way to get a reward or avoid a punishment Def. – Learning in which reinforcement is contingent upon the subject’s behavior.

B.F. SKINNER

 Psychologist most closely associated with operant conditioning

SKINNER BOX

Thorndike’s Puzzle Box

Figure 8.8

Cat in a puzzle box Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers

REINFORCEMENT

   REWARD / PUNISHMENT POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT:  Get a reward or receive something you like for doing the desired behavior  Social approval, money, food NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT:  Something unpleasant is taken away for doing desired behavior  Homework, chores, sales tax on tax free weekend

REINFORCEMENT cont.

  PRIMARY REINFORCEMENT:  satisfies a biological need such as hunger, thirst, or sleep, etc.

SECONDARY REINFORCEMENT:  one that has been paired with a primary re-inforcer through classical conditioning.

SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

  CONTINUOUS RATIO:    reinforcement is given after a certain NUMBER of responses.

FIXED RATIO: reinforcement is given after the same number of responses each time VARIABLE RATIO: reinforcement after varying number of responses.

SCHEDULES cont.

 INTERVAL:    reinforcement is given after a certain amount of TIME. FIXED INTERVAL: reinforcement is given after the same amount of time each time.

VARIABLE INTERVAL: amount of time changes between reinforcements

EXAMPLES

   Typist gets paid $2 per page  Fixed ratio Slot machines  Variable ratio Giving a quiz every Friday  Fixed interval

Which type of rft. is best for. . .?

 . . . introducing a new behavior?

 . . . maintaining a behavior for a long period of time?

Homework from the teacher’s perspective

      Behavior desired from the student?

 Complete homework assignments Reinforcement being offered?

 grades Positive or negative?

Primary or secondary?

Overworked / underpaid teacher doesn’t want to have to grade EVERY assignment Which schedule of reinforcement would be most beneficial for the teacher to use?

 Variable ratio

SHAPING

  Technique used to teach animals / people a more complicated task The subject is rewarded for each response that is closer to the final desired behavior  Successive approximations

CHAINING

  Learning simple skills, that when combined together enable the subject to perform more complex tasks.

Examples:  Reading, writing, math, sports, etc.

POKER CHIMPS

    Shaping was used to get chimps to perform tasks for food Classical conditioning was then used to teach the chimps to associate poker chips with food.

Soon the chimps were performing tasks to get poker chips to exchange for food in the chip-o mat Generalization and discrimination

AVERSIVE CONTROL

  Using an unpleasant stimulus to influence behavior.

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT:

 when an unpleasant stimulus is removed after a certain behavior.

  ESCAPE CONDITIONING: A person’s behavior causes an unpleasant event to stop AVOIDANCE CONDITIONING: Training of an organism to withdraw from an unpleasant stimulus before it starts.

PUNISHMENT

 An unpleasant consequence occurs and decreases frequency of the behavior that produced it the

AVERSIVE CONTROL

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT: Behavior is

REPEATED/INCREASE S

PUNISHMENT: Behavior DECREASES

DISADVANTAGES OF PUNISHMENT

    Unwanted side effects: rage, fear, aggression (spanked children may become more aggressive) Subjects learn to avoid the punisher Punishment may suppress rather than eliminate such behaviors Alone it does not teach what is acceptable behavior



EXAMPLES

Which schedule of reinforcement is being used?

   Factory workers?

 Fixed interval Getting paid by the bail for hauling hay?

 Fixed ratio Pop quizzes?

 Variable interval