Download File - General Psychology 20

Learning > Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
• Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Thorndike's Law of Effect
• Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Skinner
• Shaping
• Reinforcement and Punishment
• Schedules of Reinforcement
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Learning > Operant Conditioning
Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Thorndike's Law of
Effect
• The law of effect states that responses that produce a satisfying effect in a
particular situation become more likely to occur again, while responses that
produce a discomforting effect are less likely to be repeated.
• Edward L. Thorndike first studied the law of effect by placing hungry cats inside
puzzle boxes and observing their actions. He quickly realized that cats could learn
the efficacy of certain behaviors and would repeat those behaviors that allowed
them to escape faster.
• The law of effect is at work in every human behavior as well. From a young age,
we learn which actions are beneficial and which are detrimental through a similar
trial and error process.
Thorndike's puzzle box
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• While the law of effect explains behavior from an external, observable point of
view, it does not account for internal, unobservable processes that also affect the
behavior patterns of human beings.
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Learning > Operant Conditioning
Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Skinner
• B. F. Skinner, a behavioral psychologist and a student of E. L. Thorndike,
contributed to our view of learning by expanding our understanding of conditioning
to include operant conditioning.
• Skinner theorized that if a behavior is followed by reinforcement, that behavior is
more likely to be repeated, but if it is followed by punishment, it is less likely to be
repeated.
• Skinner conducted his research on rats and pigeons by presenting them with
positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or punishment in various
schedules that were designed to produce or inhibit specific target behaviors.
• Skinner did not include room in his research for ideas such as free will or
individual choice; instead, he posited that all behavior could be explained
using learned, physical aspects of the world, including life history and evolution.
B. F. Skinner
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Learning > Operant Conditioning
Shaping
• B. F. Skinner used shaping—a method of training by which successive
approximations toward a target behavior are reinforced—to test his theories of
behavioral psychology.
• Shaping involves a calculated reinforcement of a "target behavior": it uses operant
conditioning principles to train a subject by rewarding proper behavior and
discouraging improper behavior.
• The method requires that the subject perform behaviors that at first merely
resemble the target behavior; through reinforcement, these behaviors are
gradually changed or "shaped" to encourage the target behavior itself.
• Skinner's early experiments in operant conditioning involved the shaping of rats'
behavior so they learned to press a lever and receive a food reward.
• Shaping is commonly used to train animals, such as dogs, to perform difficult
tasks; it is also a useful learning tool for modifying human behavior.
Dog show
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Learning > Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement and Punishment
• "Reinforcement" refers to any consequence that increases the likelihood of a
particular behavioral response; "punishment" refers to a consequence that
decreases the likelihood of this response.
• Both reinforcement and punishment can be positive or negative. In operant
conditioning, positive means you are adding something and negative means you
are taking something away.
• Reinforcers can be either primary (linked unconditionally to a behavior) or
secondary (requiring deliberate or conditioned linkage to a specific behavior).
• Primary—or unconditioned—reinforcers, such as water, food, sleep, shelter, sex,
touch, and pleasure, have innate reinforcing qualities.
• Secondary—or conditioned—reinforcers (such as money) have no inherent value
until they are linked or paired with a primary reinforcer.
Operant conditioning
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The Reinforcement – Punishment Grid
Learning > Operant Conditioning
Schedules of Reinforcement
• A reinforcement schedule is a tool in operant conditioning that allows the trainer to
control the timing and frequency of reinforcement in order to elicit a target
behavior.
• Continuous schedules reward a behavior after every performance of the desired
behavior; intermittent (or partial) schedules only reward the behavior after certain
ratios or intervals of responses.
• Intermittent schedules can be either fixed (where reinforcement occurs after a set
amount of time or responses) or variable (where reinforcement occurs after a
varied and unpredictable amount of time or responses).
• Intermittent schedules are also described as either interval (based on the time
between reinforcements) or ratio (based on the number of responses).
• Different schedules (fixed-interval, variable-interval, fixed-ratio, and variable-ratio)
have different advantages and respond differently to extinction.
Simple reinforcement-schedule responses
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Appendix
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Learning
Key terms
• aversive Tending to repel, causing avoidance (of a situation, a behavior, an item, etc.).
• behavior modification The act of altering actions and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement or
punishment.
• extinction When a behavior ceases because it is no longer reinforced.
• interval A period of time.
• latency The delay between a stimulus and the response it triggers in an organism.
• Law of Effect A law developed by Edward L. Thorndike that states, "responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular
situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less
likely to occur again in that situation."
• paradigm An example serving as a model or pattern; a template, as for an experiment.
• punishment The act or process of imposing and/or applying a sanction for an undesired behavior when conditioning toward a
desired behavior.
• ratio A number representing a comparison between two things.
• shaping A method of positive reinforcement of behavior patterns in operant conditioning.
• successive approximation An increasingly accurate estimate of a response desired by a trainer.
• trial and error The process of finding a solution to a problem by trying many possible solutions and learning from mistakes until
a way is found.
Learning
Thorndike's puzzle box
This image shows an example of Thorndike's puzzle box alongside a graph demonstrating the learning of a cat within the box.
Learning
B. F. Skinner
Skinner was responsible for defining the segment of behaviorism known as operant conditioning—a process by which an organism learns from its
physical environment.
Learning
Simple reinforcement-schedule responses
The four reinforcement schedules yield different response patterns. The variable-ratio schedule is unpredictable and yields high and steady response
rates, with little if any pause after reinforcement (e.g., gambling). A fixed-ratio schedule is predictable and produces a high response rate, with a short
pause after reinforcement (e.g., eyeglass sales). The variable-interval schedule is unpredictable and produces a moderate, steady response rate (e.g.,
fishing). The fixed-interval schedule yields a scallop-shaped response pattern, reflecting a significant pause after reinforcement (e.g., hourly
employment).
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Learning
Operant conditioning
In the context of operant conditioning, whether you are reinforcing or punishing a behavior, "positive" always means you are adding a stimulus (not
necessarily a good one), and "negative" always means you are removing a stimulus (not necessarily a bad one. See the blue text and yellow text above,
which represent positive and negative, respectively. Similarly, reinforcement always means you are increasing (or maintaining) the level of a behavior,
and punishment always means you are decreasing the level of a behavior. See the green and red backgrounds above, which represent reinforcement
and punishment, respectively.
Learning
A Diagram of Operant Conditioning
This diagram explains the types of reinforcement and punishment methods (positive and negative) with examples of each.
Learning
Dog show
Dog training often uses the shaping method of operant conditioning.
Learning
Law of effect
Initially, cats displayed a variety of behaviors inside the box. Over successive trials, actions that were helpful in escaping the box and receiving the food
reward were replicated and repeated at a higher rate.
Learning
The idea that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend
to be repeated is one of the main tenets of what theory?
A) Operant conditioning.
B) Behaviorism.
C) Classical conditioning.
D) The law of effect.
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Learning
The idea that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend
to be repeated is one of the main tenets of what theory?
A) Operant conditioning.
B) Behaviorism.
C) Classical conditioning.
D) The law of effect.
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Learning
Dr. McCoy wants to measure how quickly rats undergo operant
conditioning in his experiment. Why should he use a Skinner box
for this task?
A) It includes a maze for the rat to solve.
B) It records the number of lever presses the rat makes.
C) Being in the box is rewarding for the rat.
D) Being in the box is punishment for the rat.
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Learning
Dr. McCoy wants to measure how quickly rats undergo operant
conditioning in his experiment. Why should he use a Skinner box
for this task?
A) It includes a maze for the rat to solve.
B) It records the number of lever presses the rat makes.
C) Being in the box is rewarding for the rat.
D) Being in the box is punishment for the rat.
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Learning
Which of the following is an accurate definition of successive
approximation?
A) Only the desired behavior is rewarded.
B) No reward is given for behavior.
C) Responses that approach desired behaviors are rewarded.
D) Reward is given for any behavior.
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Learning
Which of the following is an accurate definition of successive
approximation?
A) Only the desired behavior is rewarded.
B) No reward is given for behavior.
C) Responses that approach desired behaviors are rewarded.
D) Reward is given for any behavior.
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Learning
Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?
A) Tommy learns that if he takes a bath he will get dessert.
B) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he won't get his dessert.
C) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he will have to go straight to
bed.
D) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he won't have to take a
bath.
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Learning
Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?
A) Tommy learns that if he takes a bath he will get dessert.
B) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he won't get his dessert.
C) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he will have to go straight to
bed.
D) Tommy learns that if he cries at bath time, he won't have to take a
bath.
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Learning
Dog A is rewarded with a biscuit as soon as she follows the "Sit"
command. Dog B does not get her biscuit for 10 minutes following
her "Sit" command. What will most likely be Dog B's reaction to
the next command?
A) She will sit, because she has linked behavior and reward.
B) She won't sit until she is given the biscuit.
C) She will sit, because she doesn't need a reward.
D) She won't sit, because she hasn't linked behavior and reward.
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Learning
Dog A is rewarded with a biscuit as soon as she follows the "Sit"
command. Dog B does not get her biscuit for 10 minutes following
her "Sit" command. What will most likely be Dog B's reaction to
the next command?
A) She will sit, because she has linked behavior and reward.
B) She won't sit until she is given the biscuit.
C) She will sit, because she doesn't need a reward.
D) She won't sit, because she hasn't linked behavior and reward.
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