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Operant Conditioning Applications
Same ‘Ol Extensions
• All of the classical conditioning extensions apply to operant conditioning as
well
• ACQUISITION
– When the organism connects the
behavior with the stimulus
• EXTINCTION
– When you stop pairing the stimulus
with the behavior
• SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY
– After a rest period, you pair the stimulus
with the behavior again
• GENERALIZATION
– Behavior is affected by a stimulus
similar to the original
• DISCRIMINATION
– Behavior is not affected by a stimulus
similar to the original
How would each of these extensions apply to training a dog to
sit through use of treat rewards?
Skinner Box
• A device where an animal can press a lever
to receive a food or water reinforcer
• Devices are attached to record the animal’s
rate of bar pressing
Shaping
• A procedure that teaches a complex behavior by
reinforcing small steps/approximations toward
completion of the behavior
– Positively Reinforce each small step along the way
– How could you shape a child to walk?
“Good job” when
they sit upright
Give them a candy when
they start crawling toward
you
Hug and a kiss when
they stand up
Types of Reinforcers
• Primary reinforcers are biologically reinforcing stimuli that all
people naturally desire
– Food and water are perfectly examples since we need these to survive
• Conditioned (secondary) reinforcers are those that can be
exchanged for a primary reinforcer in some manner
– Money, grades, power, prestige, etc.
Primary Reinforcer
Other Examples???
Conditioned
(Secondary) Reinforcer
Other Examples???
Latent Learning
• Learning that is occurring but will not be
demonstrated by an organism until it is given a reason
to do so
– Rats may learn a maze, but won’t
actually go through it fast unless
there’s an incentive
– This indicates they’ve developed a
cognitive map (a mental
representation of the layout of
one’s environment)
– You may be learning right now,
but I have no idea until I give you
an incentive to demonstrate it
(test day!)
Overjustification Effect
• Giving a reward for already desired behavior will
reduce one’s aspiration to engage in that behavior
– If you already enjoy a behavior, ENJOYMENT is the reward for it
– If you start getting PAID to do something you already enjoy, you are overrewarding (overjustifying) why you do the behavior… your brain doesn’t
naturally like this
– So the enjoyment of the behavior is replaced by the payment
– So… should you really get a job “doing what you love”???
Have you ever noticed college athletes seem to be more passionate about their sport than professional
athletes?
Token Economy
• An individual is given a token as a reward for
performing a desired behavior; tokens can be
exchanged for sought-after prizes
– Basic example of Positive Reinforcement
– Used in schools, mental institutions, prisons, households, etc.
– Can you think of any examples of this at the high school?
Premack Principle
• Using a desired behavior
to reinforce a nondesired behavior
– Sometimes a behavior can
serve as a reward for
another behavior!
– For example, telling yourself
you can watch the entire
season of Game of Thrones
if you finish your essay first.
– Different people find
different things motivating
though, so the same
motivators won’t work for
everyone
Cognitive Processes and Biological
Predispostions of Operant Conditioning
• Cognitive processes are also at
work in operant learning
– Animals on a time-based reinforcement
schedule respond more frequently as
the time gets closer to the reinforcer
• For example, students study the most
the night before a test
– This proves that their expectations
play a role in learning
• Regarding biology, it is easier to reinforce
animal behaviors normally associated with
their natural actions
– You can use food reinforcement to teach your dog to sit,
but you probably won’t be able to teach it to dance