Download Cognition and Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teLoNYvOf90
Operant Conditioning
Response: Pushing
vending machine
button
Consequence:
Receiving a candy bar

We learn to
associate a
response and
its
consequence

https://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=-A7H4aOhq0
Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning


type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if
followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed
by punishment
Law of Effect

Edward Thorndike’s principle, behaviors followed
by favorable consequences are more likely to be
repeated and behaviors followed by unfavorable
consequences are less likely to be repeated
Operant Conditioning

Operant Behavior
 complex or voluntary behaviors

push button, perform complex task
operates (acts) on environment
 produces consequences
 Respondent Behavior
 occurs as an automatic response to
stimulus
 behavior learned through classical
conditioning

Operant Conditioning
 B.F.



Skinner (1904-1990)
elaborated on Thorndike’s Law of
Effect
father of radical behaviorism - all
behaviors are ultimately learned and
controlled by the relationships
between the situation that
immediately precedes the behavior
and the consequences that directly
follow it.
developed behavioral technology
Operant Chamber

Skinner Box
soundproof
chamber with a
bar or key that
an animal
presses or pecks
to release a food
or water reward
 contains a
device to record
responses

Operant Conditioning

Reinforcer


Shaping


any event that strengthens the behavior it follows
conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide
behavior toward closer and closer approximations
of a desired goal (think about how you would potty
train a toddler or house train a puppy)
Successive Approximations

rewards for behaviors that increasingly resemble
desired behavior
Principles of Reinforcement

Primary Reinforcer
innate, unlearned stimulus
 satisfies a biological need (i.e.: water,
food)


Secondary Reinforcer
conditioned reinforcer
 get power thru learned association
with primary reinforcer (i.e.: token
economy tickets, money, good
grades)

Schedules of Reinforcement

Continuous Reinforcement
reinforcing the desired response each and
every time it occurs
 learning occurs rapidly
 extinction also occurs rapidly, when
reinforcement stops, so does behavior


Partial or Intermittent Reinforcement
reinforcing a response only part of the time
 results in slower acquisition
 greater resistance to extinction

Fixed = Set
 Variable = Changes
 Ratio = Number
 Interval = Time

So…. FI = Set Time; FR = Set Number
 VI = Change Time; VR = Change
Number

Skinner’s Schedules of
Reinforcement
 Fixed Ratio (FR)
 reinforcing a response only after a specified
number of responses
 The faster you respond, the more rewards
you get
 results in a very high rate of responding
 Ex: free Starbucks after the purchase of 15
drinks; Frequent Flyer members get free
flight on Delta after each 25K miles flown
Skinner’s Schedules of
Reinforcement
 Variable
Ratio (VR)
 reinforcing
a response after an
unpredictable number of responses
 based on average ratios
 Ex: gambling (slot machines), fishing
 very hard to extinguish because of
unpredictability
Skinner’s Schedules of
Reinforcement
 Fixed
Interval (FI)
 reinforces
the first response only after a
specified time has elapsed
 response occurs more frequently as the
anticipated time for reward draws near
 Ex: checking the mailbox more
frequently as the delivery time gets
closer; senior citizen discounts at Publix
every Wednesday
Skinner’s Schedules of
Reinforcement
 Variable
Interval (VI)
 reinforcing
the first response after an
unpredictable, random time interval
 produces slow steady responding
because you never know when the wait
will be over
 Ex: pop reading quiz or checking your
phone because you never know when
you are going to get e-mails or texts
Table 27.2 Schedules of Reinforcement
David G. Myers: Myers’ Psychology for AP®, Second Edition
Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers
Schedules of Reinforcement
Number of
responses
1000
Fixed Ratio
Variable Ratio
Fixed Interval
750
Rapid responding
near time for
reinforcement
500
Variable Interval
250
Steady responding
0
10
20
30
40
50
Time (minutes)
60
70
80
Reinforcement

Reinforcement – any event that
increases or strengthens a preceding
response
food, money, praise, attention
Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement- strengthens
response by presenting a typically
pleasurable stimuli after it; good grades,
praise, hug, candy bar, privileges
 Negative Reinforcement- strengthens a
response by reducing something
undesirable or unpleasant; taking aspirin to
get rid of a headache, pushing snooze
button to turn off annoying alarm clock;
fasten seatbelt to stop car from beeping

Table 27.1 Ways to Increase Behavior
David G. Myers: Myers’ Psychology for AP®, Second Edition
Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers
Punishment

Punishment
 Any consequence that decreases the
frequency of a preceding behavior
 powerful controller to discourage
unwanted behavior
Punishment
Positive Punishment – adding an
aversive (bad) stimulus because you
want the certain behavior to decrease,
nagging spanking, speeding ticket, squirt
of water in the face
 Negative Punishment – taking away a
desired (good) stimulus because you
want the behavior to decrease – banish
cell phone, car keys, computer or tv time

Table 27.3 Ways to Decrease Behavior
David G. Myers: Myers’ Psychology for AP®, Second Edition
Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers
Problems with Punishment

Punished behavior is not forgotten, it's
suppressed- behavior returns when
punishment is no longer eminent
 Causes increased aggression- shows that
aggression is a way to cope with problemsExplains why aggressive delinquents and
abusive parents come from abusive homes
Problems with Punishment

Creates fear that can generalize to desirable
behaviors, e.g. fear of school, learned
helplessness, depression
 Does not necessarily guide toward desired
behavior- reinforcement tells you what to do-punishment tells you what not to doCombination of punishment and reward can be
more effective than punishment alone
 Punishment teaches how to avoid it
Cognition and Operant
Conditioning

Cognitive Map



mental representations of physical locations; humans
and animals use them to find their way and to help
recall important features of the environment
Ex: when a friend asks you for directions to your house,
you are able to create an image in your mind of the
roads, places to turn, landmarks
Latent Learning


learning that occurs, but is not apparent until there is an
incentive to demonstrate it
Ex: a dog is taught to sit but does not do so until offered
a treat as a reward
Cognition and Operant
Conditioning
 Overjustification

Effect
Occurs when an external incentive (such as
money or prizes) decreases a person's intrinsic
motivation to perform a task. People pay more
attention to the incentive, and less attention to the
enjoyment and satisfaction that they receive from
performing the activity. The overall effect is a shift
in motivation to extrinsic factors and the
undermining of pre-existing intrinsic motivation.
Operant vs. Classical Conditioning
Classical
Conditioning
Operant
Conditioning
The Response
Involuntary, automatic
“Voluntary,” operates on
environment
Acquisition
Associating events;
CS announces UCS.
Associating response with a
Consequence (reinforcer or
punisher).
Extinction
CR decreases when CS is
repeatedly presented alone.
Responding decreases when
reinforcement stops.
Cognitive
processes
Subjects develop expectation
that CS signals the arrival of
UCS.
Subjects develop expectation that
a response will be reinforced or
Punished; they also exhibit latent
learning, without reinforcement
Biological
predispositions
Natural predispositions
contain what stimuli and
responses can easily be
associated.
Organisms best learn behaviors
similar to their natural behaviors;
unnatural behaviors instinctively
drift back toward natural ones.
Operant or Classical?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8RIq
JLUYSE

You decide….
And we’re done…