Download 9.2 Operant Conditioning

9.2 Operant Conditioning
• “Everything we do and are is determined by our
history of rewards and punishments.” –BF Skinner
• Operant Conditioning: learning in which a certain
action is reinforced or punished, resulting in
corresponding increases or decreases in occurrence.
• Reinforcement: stimulus or event that follows
a response and increases the likelihood that
the response will be repeated.
• Positive Reinforcement: Something the
animal wants is added after an action
• Ex: a treat for the dog
• Negative Reinforcement: Occurs when
something unpleasant is take away
• Ex: the disappearance of headache pain after
you take an aspirin is a negative reinforcer
that makes you more likely to take that pain
reliever in the future.
• Primary Reinforcer:
stimulus that is
naturally rewarding,
such as food or water.
• Secondary Reinforcer:
Stimulus such as money
that becomes rewarding
through its link with a
primary reinforcer.
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Fixed Ratio: A fixed ratio schedule refers to
applying the reinforcement after a specific
number of behaviors.
• EX: Being Paid for every 10 pizzas made.
• Being ejected after a basketball game after five fouls
• Fixed Interval: Applying the reinforcer after a
specific amount of time is referred to as a fixed
interval schedule.
• EX: Checking a Thanksgiving Turkey in the oven. The
frequency of checking increases as the time for the turkey
draws near.
• Cramming for an exam
• Variable Ratio: a pattern of reinforcement in
which an unpredictable number of
responses are required before
reinforcement can be obtained.
• Ex: Playing a slot machine.
• Generally, animals on variable ratio schedules of
reinforcement tend to work or respond at a steady,
high rate.
• Variable interval schedule: a pattern of
reinforcement in which changing amounts of
time must elapse before a response will
obtain reinforcement.
• Ex: surprise pop quizzes in class.
• Response rate is usually slow but steady.
• Shaping: a technique in which the desired
behavior is modeled by first rewarding any act
similar to that behavior and then requiring
ever-closer approximations to the desired
behavior before giving the reward.
• * In negative reinforcement , escape or
avoidance behavior is repeated and increses in
frequency. In punishment behavior that is
punished decreases or is not repeated.
Disadvantages of Punishment
• 1.) Can produce unwanted side effects such as
rage, aggression and fear.
• 2.) People learn to avoid the person delivering
the aversive consequences.
• Punishment does not teach appropriate and
acceptable behavior. Without positive
coaching and modeling, the child may never
learn the correct behavior.