Operant Conditioning

1. Operant Conditioning Chapter 9: Section 2

2. Operant Conditioning • Learning in which a certain action is reinforced or punished, resulting in corresponding increases or decreases in occurrence • “Operant” is used because the subject operates on (causes) some change in the environment. • They choose to repeat or eliminate their own behavior.

3. Trained hungry rats to respond in Skinner Box Had to learn how to get the food to appear in a cup The answer was to press a bar down. When they got closer to the bar, a piece of food dropped. B.F. Skinner

4. Reinforcement • A stimulus or event that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated • I.e. Social acceptance, money, extra privileges • Positive Reinforcement- something is added after an action • Negative Reinforcement- something unpleasant is taken away after an action

5. 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

6. Schedules Of Reinforcement 1. Fixed-Ratio Schedule- a pattern of reinforcement in which a specific number of correct responses is required before reinforcement can be obtained • A dentist making the same amount of money for every cavity filled 2. Variable-Ratio Schedule- a pattern of reinforcement in which an unpredictable number of responses are required before reinforcement can be obtained • I.e. A person working on commission

7. 3. Fixed-Interval Schedule- a pattern of reinforcement in which a specific amount of time must elapse before a response will elicit reinforcement • I.e. Cramming for an exam 4. Variable-Interval Schedule- a pattern of reinforcement in which changing amounts of time must elapse before a response will obtain reinforcement • I.e. Surprise pop quizzes in class

8. Shaping • Technique in which the desired behavior is “molded” by first rewarding any act similar to that behavior and then requiring ever-closer approximations to the desired behavior before giving the reward • Sculpting new responses out of old ones

9. Chaining • Response chain- learned reactions that follow one another in sequence, each reaction producing the signal for the next • I.e. Swimming requires learning how to breathe, move arms, and kick.

10. Aversive Control • Process of influencing behavior by means of unpleasant stimuli • Negative Reinforcement • Escape Conditioning- training to remove an unpleasant stimulus • Avoidance Conditioning- training to respond so as to prevent the occurrence of an unpleasant stimulus

11. Punishment- stimuli the causes behavior to decrease • Disadvantages Of Punishment • Can produce unwanted side effects (rage, fear, etc.) • Avoidance of the punisher • Just eliminate behavior, not add positive behavior