Operant Conditioning 254-260

1. Operant Conditioning254-260

2. Operant Conditioning • A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment.

3. Classical v. Operant • They both use acquisition,discrimination, generalization and extinction. • Classical Conditioning is automatic (respondent behavior). Dogs automatically salivate over meat, then bell- no thinking involved. • Operant Conditioning involves behavior where one can influence their environment with behaviors which have consequences (operant behavior).

4. Is the organism learning associations between events that it doesn’t control? Is the organism learning associations between its behavior and resulting events? Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning

5. Edward Thorndike • Cats in “puzzle boxes” – use of trial and error to solve problems • Law of Effect: rewarded behavior is likely to recur.

6. B.F. Skinner

7. Shaping • A procedure in Operant Conditioning in which reinforcers guide behavior closer and closer towards a goal.

8. Operant Conditioning Chamber • “Skinner Box” • Rat learns that certain bars/levers will get food • Lights signal a shock will come – must press lever to stop

9. Reinforcer • Any event that STRENGTHENS the behavior it follows. Two Types of Reinforcement: Positive and Negative

10. Positive Reinforcement • Strengthens a response by presenting a pleasant stimulus after a response.

11. Negative Reinforcement • Strengthens a response by reducing or removing an aversive stimulus.

12. Other Principles Acquisition: • Essential to learning is that you need to find out the response/results to your action • Reinforcement is a type of feedback from your actions Extinction: • Forget the learning if there is no longer a response

13. So why does any of this matter? • Animal training • Child raising • Reinforce good behavior. • Ignore whining. • No harsh punishment, explain misbehavior. • Or YOU…. (token economies)

14. Types of Reinforcers

15. Primary Reinforcer • An innately reinforcing stimulus

16. Conditioned (Secondary) Reinforcer • A stimulus that gains it reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer.

17. Reinforcement Schedules

18. Reinforcement Schedules • Continuous Reinforcement - desired response is reinforced everytime it occurs. • Partial (intermittent) Reinforcement • Ratio – human actions • Interval - time

19. Continuous Reinforcement • Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. Quick Acquisition Quick Extinction

20. Partial Reinforcement • Reinforcing a response only part of the time. • The acquisition process is slower. • Greater resistance to extinction.

21. Fixed-ratio Schedules • A schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. Example: I give cookie monster a cookie every FIVE times he sings “C is for cookie”. OR – old fashioned factory work

22. Variable-ratio Schedule • A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. Example: I give Homer a donut at random times when he says “DOH!!!” OR – slot machines

23. Fixed-interval Schedule • A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. Example: I give Bart a Butterfinger every ten minutes after he moons someone. OR – salary schedules

24. Variable-interval Schedule • A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response at unpredictabletime intervals. Pop Quizzes OR – going fishing

25. Punishment • An event that DECREASES the behavior that it follows. Does punishment work?

26. Punishment • Examples: detention, grounding, spanking • Problems: can lead to other negative consequences - rage, aggression, fear; or avoidance of punishers • Can suppress behaviors instead of eliminating

27. Learned Helplessness • Inescapable and unpredictable punishment • Seligman’s study of dogs shocked with no control

28. Will we learn without reinforcement? • Edward Tolman found that rats unrewarded for getting through maze performed better on day 2. • Latent learning – hidden knowledge, not apparent until there is reinforcement

29. Cognitive maps • Tolman found that rats carried through a maze in a wire basket performed as well as rats that learned the maze by running

30. Skinner’s legacy • Overjustification: the effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do. • Reward is now important, not the intrinsic motivation • It is better not to reward for an already pleasing task.

31. Applications of Operant Conditioning • At School: Computerized testing based on student pace and immediate feedback. • At Businesses: Employees are most productive when work is well defined and achievable. • At Home: Reinforcing children’s desired behaviors.

32. Learning by Observation • Learning by observing and imitating the behavior of others • Modeling: the process of observation and imitating a behavior. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0iWpSNu3NU

33. Prosocial Behavior • Imitating good, socially positive behaviors we witness • “Pay it Forward”