Download LCog read ch 5

LCog read ch 5
1. Key concepts:
 Alternative responses: refers to the availability of other responses available to the organism rather
than the punished response so that the organism can obtain its reinforcer through some other means
besides the punished behavior. Punishment that includes alternative responses is much more
effective.
 Avoidance: A type of negative reinforcement conditioning where an organism learns to anticipate an
unpleasant stimulus and therefore responds before experiencing that stimulus in order to avoid it
(e.g., driving slowly to avoid a traffic ticket).
 Consistency of punishment: the degree to which the punishment is administered for every target
behavior. The more consistent the punishment, the more effective.
 Contingency theory: an alternative explanation for avoidance learning (other than two-factor theory),
developed b/c of the difficulty to demonstrate fear. Contingency theory posits that an organism in
avoidance learning learns 2 contingencies: 1 is classical, the other is operant. The organism learns
that a CS (e.g., buzzer) predicts the UCS (shock) and also learns that jumping escapes the shock
(jump = CR). Then the jumping becomes in response to the buzzer instead of the shock in order to
avoid the shock.
 Delay of punishment: When punishment is delayed, it is far less effective--it is more difficult for the
organism to learn the contingency of the target behavior and the punishment (especially if other
behaviors have occurred b/w the target bx and the punishment).
 Escape: refers to one of two types of negative reinforcement conditioning--where an organism learns
it can escape an unpleasant stimulus by operating during that stimulus's presence (e.g., pressing a
bar during a shock terminates the shock).
 Intensity of Punisher: affects the salience of the punisher. The more intense the punisher, the more
effective it is. However, an intense punisher also generates negative emotional by-products such as
fear, anger, etc. Also, a longer lasting punisher is more effective (e.g., grounding for 2 weeks is more
effective than grounding for 1 day).
 Learned helplessness: refers to the phenomenon observed by teaching an organism that it cannot
escape an aversive stimulus, then presenting the same aversive stimulus while allowing escape. The
organism, despite having an avenue of escape will not attempt to escape due to learning that it can
do nother to avoid or escape the aversive stimulus.
 Negative reinforcement: the conditioning process where, as a result of a behavior, something is taken
away from the environment in order to increase that behavior.
 Objections to punishment: Skinner, although studying punishment as a means to control behavior
has objections to its use. He listed several, some of moral and others of empirical question; overall,
he saw reinforcement as a much more effective and ethical means of controlling behavior.
 Omission Training: aka punishment type II, consists of removing a pleasant stimulus from the
environment in order to decrease a behavior (e.g., "time-out", or losing license).
 Punishment Type I: the punishment procedure where something is added to the environment as a
consequence of a behavior in order to decrease the frequency of that behavior.
 Punishment Type II: see also omission training; removing a pleasant or desirable stimulus from the
environment as a consequence for a behavior in order to decrease the frequency of that behavior.
 Shuttle Box: refers to the conditioning device used to demonstrate avoidance and escape learning.
Consists of two compartments, seperated by a divider that requires a moderate effort to be
surmounted.
 Species-specific defensive reaction: Bolles (1970) argued that the two-factor theory and the
contingency theory of avoidance learning does not apply to escaping or avoiding harmful situations in
the natural environment, because in nature, the organism would have to learn how to escape,
according to those theories. He therefore posited that different species must have a set of innate
responses triggered by the certain stimului the first time they are encountered. He identified three:
fighting,fleeing, or freezing.
 Time-out: A type of negative punishment (or punishment type II) where the organism is removed
from the situation in which the target behavior occurred and place in a less pleasant or reinforcing
environment in order to decrease the frequency of the target behavior.
 Two-factor theory: Suggested by Mowrer (1939) to explain avoidance learning. He says that the
learning becomes classicaly conditioned to fear the signals present before the shock (or UCS) occurs.
This occurs during the first trials when the learner doesn't know how to avoid, but is merely learning
to escape. Therefore the fear becomes the aversive stimulus itself; the organism responds in order to
reduce its fear, thus avoiding the painful stimulus.
2. Analyze examples:
-- a) response = wearing cap, reinforcer/type of reinforcement = laughing/positive punisher, SD =
school.
-- b) response = illegal parking, reinforcer/type of reinforcement = ticket/negative punishment, SD =
thursdays.
-- c) response = giving candy, reinforcer/type of reinforcement = absence of crying/negative
reinforcement, SD = grocery store
3. Implications of example c: Reinforcement relationships are often reciprocal. The "contingency
manager" is not the only who can control behavior through the use of operant conditioning (even if it
occurs unwittingly).
5. What are the differences among punishment, extinction, and negative reinforcement?
Although punishment and extinction both are means to decrease behavior, their respective methods are
different. Punishment is a process to supress a learned behavior by following it with some sort of aversive
stimulus--whether adding something to the environment or taking something away. Extinction is a
process by which behavior is decreased by simply not providing its once present reinforcement. Negative
reinforcement is different from both prior concepts in that it is not a method for decreasing behavior, it is
a method for increasing behavior by removing a stimulus from the environment.
6. What is the difference between escape and avoidance? Why is this difference so
important? Escape and avoidance are both negative reinforcement types of learning; however, they
refer to two different types of behaviors. In escape learning, an organism learns how to escape an
aversive situation by operating on the environment (e.g., possibly pressing a bar to stop a shock, a dog
learning to jump to the other side of the shuttle box to escape a shock). Avoidance learning is when an
organism learns not only to escape an aversive stimulus, but also learns how to avoid it before it occurs.
This usually happens after escape learning occurs--the organism now behaves in a way to avoid the
shock before getting shocked. Avoidance learning is very difficult to extinguish, because once the
organism learns how to avoid a negative stimulus, it never experiences that stimulus or the absence of
the stimulus. Therefore the behavior continues even if the aversive stimulus is no longer present.
7. Label as punishment I, II, neg refinforce, or extinction.
- a) E
- b) PI
- c) PI
- d) NR
- e) PII