Download Guided Notes – Learning – Operant Conditioning

AP Psychology
Guided Notes #6
Fall Semester 2014
Bacile
Unit VI: Learning & Memory
Corresponding Chapter(s): Modules 26-35
Topic: Learning & Memory (7-9%)
INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY: LEARNING (OPERANT CONDITIONING)
Learning: Operant Conditioning
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Operant Conditioning
o A type of learning in which ________________________________________________________________ depends on the ________________________________
that follows the behavior; deals with ____________________________________________________
 Frequency ____________________________ if the consequence is reinforcing
 Frequency ____________________________ if the consequence is not reinforcing

The Law of Effect (Edward Thorndike)
o Behaviors with ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________; behaviors with
unfavorable consequences will occur less frequently
 Hungry cats in puzzle boxes?
 ______________________________________________________________________________________

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
o The “Behaviorist’s Behaviorist”
o Developed the fundamental principles & techniques of operant conditioning
 Voluntary behavior is what people & animals do to ___________________________ in the world
o Coined the term “operant”
Designed the ____________________________________________, or operant chamber to study operant conditioning
o Has a lever/key that an animal manipulates in order to obtain _____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
o The lever/key is connected to devices that record the animal’s response

Reinforcement

Reinforcement
o Any event or stimulus that, when following a response, ___________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
 Primary Reinforcer
 Naturally reinforces by meeting a ________________________________________________________
 Hunger, thirst, touch, etc.
 Secondary Reinforcer
 Becomes reinforcing when paired with a _______________________________________ (in the past) or when we have
learned the value of it
 _________________________________________________________________________

Positive Reinforcement
o The reinforcement of a response ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 The subject receives something they want/desire
 Called an ____________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________________________; strengthens the behavior
Negative Reinforcement
o The reinforcement of a response _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Something the subject doesn’t like is removed
 Called an ___________________________________________________________
 _________________________________________________________________________________; strengthens the behavior

Punishment

Punishment
o Any event or object that, when following a response, makes that response _____________________________________________________________
 The ____________________________________________________________________
 Decreases the likelihood of the behavior; weakens the behavior

Punishment by Application
o The punishment of a response by the _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Also known as ________________________________________________________________
 Examples
 _______________________________________________________________________
Punishment by Removal
o The punishment of a response by the _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Also known as _______________________________________________________________ or omission training
 Examples
 ______________________________________________________________________


Problems with Punishment
o Severe punishment…
 May cause the child to _______________________________________________________ instead of the behavior being punished
 _________________________________________________________________________________
 Creates fear, anxiety, low self-esteem and emotional responses that do not promote learning
 ________________________________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________________

To make punishment more effective…
o Punishment should ______________________________________________________ the behavior it is meant to punish
o Punishment should be consistent
 ___________________________________________________________________________________________
 Same intensity or slight increase, but never decrease
o Punishment of the wrong behavior should be paired, whenever possible, with the ___________________________________________ of the
correct behavior
Additional Concepts
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Shaping
o A technique used to establish a behavior that ______________________________________________________________________________________________
 Involves the reinforcement of behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired outcome
 _________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Stimulus Generalization
o “Dada” example
Stimulus Discrimination
o Involves reinforcement or the ______________________________________________________________________ in the case of generalization
Extinction
o __________________________________________________________________
Spontaneous Recovery
Schedules of Reinforcement

Schedules of Reinforcement
o The ____________________________________________________________________ can make a _______________________________________________ in the
speed at which learning occurs and the strength of the learned response…
 Skinner found that reinforcing each & every response was not necessarily the ____________________________________________ of
reinforcement for long-lasting learning

Continuous Reinforcement
o The reinforcement of __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Behavior is…
 ___________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________ once reinforcement stops
 Examples
 ______________________________________________
 ______________________________________________

Partial Reinforcement
o The reinforcement of _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Behavior is…
 __________________________________________________________
 Very resistant to extinction
 Example
 ______________________________________________
o Patterns of Partial Reinforcement
 Fixed-interval & variable-interval
 Fixed-ratio & variable-ratio
Pattern of Partial
Reinforcement
Definition
Fixed-Interval (FI)
A schedule of reinforcement in which the interval of
time that must pass before reinforcement becomes
possible is always the same
Variable-Interval (VI)
A schedule of reinforcement in which the interval of
time that must pass before reinforcement becomes
possible is different for each trial or event
Fixed-Ratio (FR)
A schedule of reinforcement in which the number of
responses required for reinforcement is always the
same
Variable-Ratio (VR)
A schedule of reinforcement in which the number of
responses required for reinforcement is different for
each trial or event
Example
Cognitive Factors

Edward Tolman (1930)
o Latent Learning
 Learning that is _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
o Tolman’s Maze Experiment
 Maze-Running Rats
 Significance?

Martin Seligman (1967)
o Learned Helplessness
 The tendency to ______________________________________________________________________ from a situation because of a history of
_____________________________________________ in the past
o Seligman’s Dog Experiment
 Depressed Dogs
 Significance?

Wolfgang Kohler (1925)
o Insight Learning
 The sudden perception of relationships among _____________________________________________________________, allowing the
solution to the problem to come quickly
o Kohler’s Chimpanzee Experiment
 Smart Chimps
 Significance?