Download Operant Conditioning: Notes

Operant Conditioning
Rewards and punishment
Classical vs. Operant Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Behavior is determined
by what PRECEDES it.
Operant Conditioning
Behavior is determined
by anticipation of what
FOLLOWS it.
Involuntary
Voluntary
Dog salivates after a
tone.
Dog sits in anticipation
of getting a treat.
Classical or Operant?
A very bright (mildly
painful) light is turned on
a rat. The rat has
learned that he can turn
off the light by pressing a
lever on the other side of
his cage. As soon as the
light comes on, the rat
runs across the room
and presses the lever.
Classical or Operant?
When a mother strokes her
infant’s skin, the stroking
creates pleasure
responses in the baby.
After this goes on for
many days, the baby
begins to show pleasure
responses simply at the
sight of her mother (even
before being touched).
Classical or Operant?
Imagine you have a friend who
keeps the temperature in her
home so high that each
occasion on which you visit
her you find yourself
perspiring. The last time you
visited her, you noticed that
you began to perspire and
became uncomfortable as
soon as you saw her house
(even before you got inside).
Classical or Operant?
A patient in a mental hospital is very
disruptive at mealtimes. She grabs
food from the plates of those sitting
near her and tries to cram the food
in her mouth. Because this
behavior of stealing food is very
undesirable, a plan is developed
whereby every time the patient
steals food from other plates, she is
immediately taken to a room without
food.
Classical or Operant?
Alice leaves her clothes and toys all over her room. It
seems that the only time she cleans up her room
is when her mother yells at her. When she yells
at her, Alice picks up her clothes and put away
her toys.
Types of Reinforcment

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positive (adding) or negative (taking
away)
primary (innately satisfying) or
secondary (conditioned) (learned to be
satisfying)
immediate or delayed
Reinforcement Schedules
continuous – rewarded every time
partial – not every time

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“fixed” – set, constant
“variable” – unpredictable
“interval” – time
“ratio” – number
Reinforcement Schedules
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fixed ratio – set number (every three times
you raise your hand I call on you)
variable ratio – unpredictable number of
responses (slot machine)
fixed interval – set amount of time (pay you
every hour)
variable interval – unpredictable amount of
time (fishing)
Reinforcement Schedules

Summary
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Ratio schedules cause a greater response rate
than interval schedules
Variable schedules are more resistant to
extinction
Continuous reinforcement causes the fastest
learning.
Immediate reinforcement is more effective than
delayed.

Teaching delayed gratification
Superstition

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
BF Skinner – “radical behavioralist”
Wanted to demonstrate that uniquely human
behaviors were the product of conditioning.
Starved 8 pigeons. Then rewarded them with
food every 15 s, no matter what they did.

Results:

6 of 8 bird developed superstitions

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Turning counter-clockwise in a circle
Thrusting head toward a specific corner of cage
“tossing” an imaginary ball with its head
Head bobbing with accompanying steps (2 birds)
“fake” pecking
Superstition (cont)

Follow up studies:

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Gradually increased time
between rewards to 1 min – bird
behaviors became more
pronounced (head
bobbing/stepping looked like a
dance)
Removed reward altogether to
create extinction – pigeons
showed resistance to extinction
(one pigeon repeated behavior
over 10,000 times before
quitting).
What are your superstitions?
How are they rewarded?
Reinforcement v. Punishment
1. If you were doing a crossword puzzle on the subject behavior
modification and were asked for a synonym for negative
reinforcement, what word would you select?__________________
2. When you supply negative reinforcement, it usually results in:
______ a. Weakening a behavior that you want weakened.
______ b. Strengthening a behavior that you want strengthened.
3. Do people usually look forward to receiving negative reinforcement?
______ a. Yes ______ b. No
4. Do you anticipate regularly (consciously) supplying positive
reinforcement to those you might manage in the future?
______ a. Yes ______ b. No
5. Do you anticipate regularly (consciously) supplying negative
reinforcement to those you might manage in the future?
______ a. Yes ______ b. No

How could a high school student use
principles of operant conditioning to
train his or her parents to set a later
curfew? Consider the effectiveness of
positive reinforcement, shaping and
the use of schedules of reinforcement
in your response.
Criticisms of Behavioralism


Deemphasizes the
role of internal
thoughts and
feelings in
behavior;
Presents humans
as lacking free will
Ignores biological
predispositions
Support for Criticisms
Experiments with humans
and animals both indicate
that biological
predispositions influence
conditioning.
a. Animal training
b. Human societies built
on behavioralist
principles.
Support for Criticisms
2. Expectations alter the
effectiveness of
conditioning (i.e.,
alcoholics and nauseaproducing drug;
overjustification effect).
3. Learning occurs in the
absence of rewards or
punishments (this is called
latent learning)
- mice and cognitive maps
Problems with Punishment

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it models aggression as
a way to solve
problems
breeds anger in the
recipient
doesn’t provide an
alternative behavior.
Therefore, the behavior
only goes away when
the punisher is around.
Overjustification Effect
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Experiment
Story of boys playing
soccer
Overjustification effect:
when we are rewarded
for behaviors that we
naturally enjoy, we
sometimes lose our
intrinsic motivation.
Learning and grades?
Professional athletes?
Observational Learning

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Also known as
modeling.
Albert Bandura –
Bobo doll
experiment
Modeling
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Prosocial Behavior – constructive behavior
Antisocial Behavior – unproductive or
destruction behavior
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