Unit 5: Learning (Behaviorism)

1. WHS AP Psychology Unit 5: Learning (Behaviorism) Essential Task 5-3: Predict the effects of operant conditioning with specific attention to (primary, secondary, immediate, or delayed) positive/negative reinforcement and punishment.

2. Essential Task 5-: Outline • Predict the effects of operant conditioning with specific attention to  • Reinforcement increases behavior • Positive and Negative • Primary Reinforcers vs. Secondary Reinforcers • Immediate vs. Delayed Reinforcers • Punishment decreases behavior • Positive an Negative

3. Operant Conditioning • The type of learning in which behaviors are emitted to earn rewards or avoid punishments • In classical conditioning the response to the stimulus was automatic. In operant conditioning the participant operates on the environment to gain something desired or avoid something unpleasant.

4. Elements of Operant Conditioning • Reinforcer • A stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior more likely to occur again • Punisher • A stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior less likely to occur again

5. Edward L. Thorndike • Animals placed in puzzle boxes • String pulled, latch released, animal jumps out and receives food • Learning by random trial and error • Law of Effect – Thorndike’s principle that responses are “stamped in” by rewards and “stamped out” by punishments.

6. Skinner’s Experiments Skinner’s experiments extend Thorndike’s thinking, especially his law of effect. This law states that rewarded behavior is likely to occur again. Yale University Library

7. Operant Chamber Using Thorndike's law of effect as a starting point, Skinner developed the Operant chamber, or the Skinner box, to study operant conditioning. Walter Dawn/ Photo Researchers, Inc.

8. Operant Chamber The operant chamber, or Skinner box, comes with a bar or key that an animal manipulates to obtain a reinforcer like food or water. The bar or key is connected to devices that record the animal’s response.

9. Shaping Shaping is the operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior towards the desired target behavior through successive approximations. A rat shaped to sniff mines. A manatee shaped to discriminate objects of different shapes, colors and sizes.

10. Positive reinforcer (+) Adds something rewarding following a behavior, making that behavior more likely to occur again Giving a dog a treat for fetching a ball is an example Negative reinforcer (-) Removes something unpleasant that was already in the environment following a behavior, making that behavior more likely to occur again Taking an aspirin to relieve a headache is an example Types of Reinforcement

11. Types of Reinforcers Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. A heat lamp positively reinforces a meerkat’s behavior in the cold. Reuters/ Corbis

14. Primary & Secondary Reinforcers • Primary Reinforcer:Aninnately reinforcing stimulus like food or drink. • Conditioned Reinforcer:A learned reinforcer that gets its reinforcing power through association with the primary reinforcer.

15. Immediate & Delayed Reinforcers • Immediate Reinforcer:A reinforcer that occurs instantly after a behavior. A rat gets a food pellet for a bar press. • Delayed Reinforcer:A reinforcer that is delayed in time for a certain behavior. A paycheck that comes at the end of a week. We may be inclined to engage in small immediate reinforcers (watching TV) rather than large delayed reinforcers (getting an A in a course) which require consistent study.

16. Punishment An aversive event that decreases the behavior it follows.

17. Punishment • Goal of punishment is to decrease the occurrence of a behavior • Effective punishment • Should occur as soon as possible after the behavior • Should be sufficient, i.e., strong enough • Should be certain, occurring every time the behavior does • Should be consistent

18. Punishment • Results in unwanted fears. • Conveys no information to the organism. • Justifies pain to others. • Causes unwanted behaviors to reappear in its absence. • Causes aggression towards the agent. • Causes one unwanted behavior to appear in place of another. Although there may be some justification for occasional punishment (Larzelaere & Baumrind, 2002), it usually leads to negative effects.

20. Operant Conditioning is Selective • Operant conditioning techniques work best with behaviors that would typically occur in a specific situation • Superstitious behavior • Tendency to repeat behaviors that are followed closely by a reinforcer, even if they are not related • For example, a particular pair of socks might become “lucky” if something good happened when you wore them

21. Learned Helplessness • Failure to try to avoid an unpleasant stimulus because in the past it was unavoidable • Possible model for depression in humans

22. Behavioral Change Using Biofeedback • Biofeedback is an operant technique that teaches people to gain voluntary control over bodily processes like heart rate and blood pressure • When used to control brain activity it is called neurofeedback

24. Outline