Myers PSYCHOLOGY 8th Edition in Modules

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Myers PSYCHOLOGY (8th Edition in Modules)

• Module 22
• Operant Conditioning

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Operant Conditioning

• Organisms learn associations between particular
  behaviors (as opposed to particular stimuli in
  classical conditioning) and consequences.
  Behaviors are voluntary and elicited from the
  organism.
• Operant conditioning involves learning to choose
  to engage in certain behaviors in order to
  receive rewards or avoid consequences.
• Operant a response that has some effect on the
  world.

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Thorndikes Law of Effect

• If a response made in the presence of a
  particular stimulus is rewarded, the response is
  more likely to occur the next time the stimulus
  is encountered again.
• Instrumental Conditioning
• Skinner extended this idea by saying that an
  organism learns a response by operating on the
  environment.
• Operant Conditioning

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Operant Conditioning

• Respondent Behavior
• occurs as an automatic response to stimulus
• behavior learned through classical conditioning
• Operant Behavior
• operates (acts) on environment
• produces consequences

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Operant Conditioning

• B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
• elaborated Thorndikes Law of Effect
• developed behavioral technology

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Operant Chamber

• Skinner Box
• chamber with a bar or key that an animal
  manipulates to obtain a food or water reinforcer
• contains devices to record responses

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Operant Conditioning

• Reinforcer
• any event that strengthens the behavior it
  follows
• Shaping
• operant conditioning procedure in which
  reinforcers guide behavior toward closer
  approximations of a desired goal

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Reinforcement

• Reinforcement Always encourages behavior or
  makes behavior more likely.
• Positive reinforcement Giving something good to
  encourage behavior
• Negative reinforcement Taking away something
  bad in order to encourage behavior
• NOTE Both positive AND negative reinforcement
  are GOOD things the learner hopes to receive.

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Punishment

• Punishment Always discourages behavior or makes
  behavior less likely.
• Positive Punishment Giving something bad to
  discourage behavior.
• Negative punishment Taking away something good
  to discourage behavior.
• NOTE Both positive AND negative punishments are
  BAD things the learner hopes to avoid.

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When Dr. Piercys daughter will not stop
tormenting her little sister, Dr. Piercy puts her
daughters doll in jail so that she cannot play
with it for a while. This is an example of

• Negative reinforcement
• Positive reinforcement
• Negative punishment
• Positive punishment

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During Biffs annual review, his boss says hes
not sure whether he should give Biff a positive
punishment, or a negative reinforcement. Which
should Biff ask for?

• The positive punishment is nicer.
• The negative reinforcement is nicer.
• Biff should beg his boss to give him both the
  positive punishment and the negative
  reinforcement.
• Biff should beg his boss not to give him the
  negative reinforcement or the positive punishment.

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Operant Conditioning
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Principles of Reinforcement

• Reinforcer
• any event that strengthens the behavior it
  follows
• Primary Reinforcer
• innately reinforcing stimulus
• i.e., satisfies a biological need
• Conditioned Reinforcer
• stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through
  its association with primary reinforcer
• secondary reinforcer

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Schedules of Reinforcement

• Continuous Reinforcement
• reinforcing the desired response each time it
  occurs
• Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement
• reinforcing a response only part of the time
• results in slower acquisition
• greater resistance to extinction

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Schedules of Reinforcement

• Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule
• reinforces a response only after a specified
  number of responses
• faster you respond the more rewards you get
• different ratios
• very high rate of responding
• like piecework pay

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Schedules of Reinforcement

• Variable Ratio (VR)
• reinforces a response after an unpredictable
  number of responses
• average ratios
• like gambling, fishing
• very hard to extinguish because of
  unpredictability

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Schedules of Reinforcement

• Fixed Interval (FI)
• reinforces a response only after a specified time
  has elapsed
• response occurs more frequently as the
  anticipated time for reward draws near

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Schedules of Reinforcement

• Variable Interval (VI)
• reinforces a response at unpredictable time
  intervals
• produces slow steady responding
• like pop quiz

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Schedules of Reinforcement
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Luke gets paid 1,000 for every four pianos he
tunes. He is on a _________ schedule of
reinforcement.

• A. fixed interval
• B. fixed ratio
• C. variable interval
• D. variable ratio

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Extinction occurs ___________ in classical
conditioning and ___________ in operant
conditioning.

• A. when the CS is presented with the US when
  reinforcement increases
• B. when the CS is presented alone repeatedly
  when reinforcement increases
• C. when the CS is presented alone repeatedly
  when reinforcement stops
• D. when the CS is presented with the US when
  reinforcement stops

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Punishment
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Operant vs Classical Conditioning
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Cognition and Operant Conditioning

• Cognitive Map
• 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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Cognition and Operant Conditioning

• Intrinsic Motivation
• desire to perform a behavior for its own sake and
  to be effective
• Extrinsic Motivation
• desire to perform a behavior due to promised
  rewards or threats of punishments