Operant Conditioning

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Operant Conditioning

• Module 16

• Demo Activity
• HO 16.1 Pkt. p. 7
• See outline in pkt. p. 6 ½
• DVD Discovering Psychology
• Disc 2 Learning

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Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)

• Introduced the Law of Effect
• Behaviors with favorable consequences will occur
  more frequently.
• Behaviors with unfavorable consequences will
  occur less frequently.
• Developed into Operant Conditioning

• Created puzzle boxes for research on cats

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Thorndikes Puzzle Box
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Operant Conditioning

• A type of learning in which the frequency of a
  behavior depends on the consequence that follows
  that behavior
• The frequency will if the consequence is
  reinforcing to the subject.
• The frequency will if the consequence
  is not reinforcing to the subject.

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B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

• Developed the fundamental principles and
  techniques of operant conditioning.
• Devised ways to apply these principles in the
  real world.
• Designed the Skinner
• Box.

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Reinforcement v Punishment

• Reinforcement - Any
• consequence that increases
• the likelihood of the
• behavior to be repeated.

• Punishment - Any consequence
• that decreases the likelihood
• of the behavior to be repeated.

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ReinforcementA. Types of Reinforcement
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1. Positive Reinforcement

• Anything that increases the likelihood of a
  behavior by following it with a desirable event
  or state

• The subject receives something they want

• Will strengthen the behavior

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Positive Reinforcement
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Operant Conditioning ActivityPositive
Reinforcement
Get in groups of three. Choose who will be the
recorder, the experimenter, and the subject.
Subjects please leave the room for a moment.
Directions
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2. Negative Reinforcement

• Anything that increases the likelihood of a
  behavior by following it with the removal of an
  undesirable event or state

• Something the subject doesnt like is removed

X
X
OR

• Will strengthen
• the behavior (Definition of Reinforcement)

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Negative Reinforcement
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Positive/Negative Reinforcement
Pkt.p. 10 HO 16-4 Negative Reinforcement
Quiz Review Homework Worksheet 2 from
Mrs. Schneider Negative Reinforcement
Examples
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Operant Conditioning Computer Lab Activities

• Pkt. P. 12 HO- 16-6 You The
• Impact of Future Consequences Survey

• PsychSim Operant Conditioning Maze Lab
• Clicker Training Pkt. p. 11

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Ways of Reinforcement A. Primary v
Secondary
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A. 1. Primary Reinforcement

• Something that is naturally reinforcing
• Examples food, warmth, water, etc.
• The item is reinforcing in and of itself

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A. 2. Secondary Reinforcement

• Something that a person has learned to value or
  finds rewarding because it is paired with a
  primary reinforcer
• Money is a good example
• Cooking utensil

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Shaping Preview
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II. Ways of ReinforcementB. Shaping

• Step by step reinforcement of behaviors that
  are more and more similar to the one you want to
  occur.
• (Progress Reports, etc)
• Technique used to
• establish a new
• behavior

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II. Ways of Reinforcement C. Immediate
v Delayed
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C. Immediate/Delayed Reinforcement

• Immediate reinforcement is more effective than
  delayed reinforcement

• Ability to delay gratification predicts higher
  achievement

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Ways of ReinforcementD. Schedules of
Reinforcement 1. Continuous
Reinforcement
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D. 1. Continuous reinforcement

• A schedule of reinforcement in which a reward
  follows every correct response
• Most useful way to establish a behavior
• The behavior will extinguish quickly once the
  reinforcement stops.

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D. Schedules of .2. Reinforcement Partial
Reinforcement
See Pkt. p. 13
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D. 2. Partial Reinforcement

• A schedule of reinforcement in which a reward
  follows only some correct responses
• Includes the following types
• Fixed-interval and variable interval
• Fixed-ratio and variable-ratio

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(a) Fixed- Interval Schedule

• A partial reinforcement schedule that rewards
  only the first correct response after some
  defined period of time
• i.e. weekly quiz in a class

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(a) Variable-Interval Schedule

• A partial reinforcement that rewards the first
  correct response after an unpredictable amount of
  time
• i.e. pop quiz in a class

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(b) Fixed-Ratio Schedule

• A partial reinforcement schedule that rewards a
  response only after some defined number of
  correct responses
• The faster the subject responds, the more
  reinforcements they will receive.

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(b) Variable-Ratio Schedule

• A partial reinforcement schedule that rewards an
  unpredictable number of correct responses
• This schedule is very resistant
• to extinction.
• Sometimes called the gamblers schedule
  similar to a slot machine

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Schedules of Reinforcement
Pkt. p. 14 for practicethen Homework
Worksheet 3 from Mrs. Schneider Schedules of
Reinforcement
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III. PunishmentThe Process of Punishment

• Decrease a behavior from happening again by
  following it with a negative consequence

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II. A. Types of Punishment

• (1) An undesirable event following a behavior

(2) A desirable state or event ends following a
behavior
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III. Punishment B. Problems With
Punishment

• Module 16 Operant Conditioning

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II. B. Negative Effects of Punishment

• Doesnt prevent the undesirable behavior when
  away from the punisher
• Can lead to fear, anxiety, and lower self-esteem
• Children who are punished physically may learn to
  use aggression as a means to solve problems.

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II. C. Positive Effects of Punishment

• Punishment can effectively control certain
  behaviors.
• Especially useful if teaching a child not to do a
  dangerous behavior
• Most still suggest reinforcing an incompatible
  behavior rather than using punishment

Homework Worksheet 4 from Mrs. Schneider
Reinforcement v Punishment
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IV. The Role of Cognition New Understandings
of Operant Conditioning

• Module 16 Operant Conditioning

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III. A. Latent Learning

• Learning that takes place in absence of an
  apparent reward

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III. B. Cognitive Map

• A mental representation of a place
• Experiments showed rats could learn a maze
  without any reinforcements

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III. C. Overjustification Effect

• The effect of promising a reward for doing what
  someone already likes to do
• The reward may lessen and replace the persons
  original, natural motivation, so that the
  behavior stops if the reward is eliminated

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The End