Respondent and Operant Conditioning Together

1. Respondent and Operant Conditioning Together Chapter 15

2. Review • Respondent Conditioning • If the stimulus is followed closely in time by an unconditioned stimulus (US), which elicits and unconditioned response (UR), then the previously neutral stimulus will also elicit UR in the future • Operant Conditioning • Behavior can be modified by its consequences

3. Respondent and Operant Conditioning • Experiences often include both respondent and operant conditioning occurring concurrently • Complete behavioral explanations sometimes necessitate consideration of both

4. Respondent and Operant Conditioning

5. Respondent and Operant Conditioning

6. Respondent and Operant Component of Emotions • Four important areas: • Reaction one feels during the experience of emotion • The way the emotion is outwardly expressed or disguised • Becoming aware of emotions and describing emotions • Causes of emotions

7. The Respondent Component of Emotions • Reflexive reaction of body • Digestive system • Circulatory system • Respiratory system • Controlled by Autonomic Nervous System • Fight or flight • Relaxation • Nearly every organ or gland controlled by the autonomic nervous system is susceptible to respondent conditioning

8. Conditioned emotional responses Conducted experiment with 11-month-old infant, Albert Used respondent procedures to condition fear response Presented Albert with object (white rat, etc.) Albert plays with it, unafraid Demonstrated that striking steel box with hammer, produced fear response Struck steel box with hammer while Albert played with a rat Albert became conditioned to fear the rat Albert also showed generalization to other objects, not used in conditioning Watson did not extinguish the fear response in Albert (Albert left the hospital) Mary Carver Jones (1924) showed that fear responses can be eliminated through extinction The Case of Little Albert - Watson

9. Operant Components: Actions, Descriptions, and Awareness • Displays of emotion depend on learning history – operant conditioning at play • Labeling of emotions may be inaccurate if we don’t know: • Emotion causing events • Inner feelings • Relevant operant behaviors

10. Some Causes of Emotions • Happiness • Presentation of reinforcers • Anger • Withholding of reinforcers • Anxiety • Presentation of aversive stimuli • Relief • Withdrawal of aversive stimuli

11. Respondent and Operant Components of Thinking • Imagery – Respondent • Thinking can produce brain reactions of sensations • Body reactions • Self-Talk – Operant • Much of thinking is verbal • At 5-6 years, begin subvocal speech (talk silently to self) • Learn what is appropriate to say and what isn’t

12. Private Thoughts and Feelings • Principles and procedures of operant and respondent conditioning apply to private behavior