Operant Conditioning
Learning the Consequences of Behavior
Instrumental Conditioning
The Law of Effect-Thorndike• Behaviors followed by favorable
consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed be unfavorable consequences become less likely.
• Instrumental Conditioning• A procedure in which an organism learns that
certain responses are instrumental in producing desired effects in the environment
Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning
• A synonym for instrumental conditioning
• Comes from Skinner’s emphasis on how an organism learns to “operate on” its environment to produce an effect
Operant (behavior)• Is a behavioral response that has some effect
(consequence) on an organism’s environment Operant Chamber- Skinner Box
• A chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer, with an attached devices to record the animal’s rate of response
Skinner and Skinner Box
Image- Courtesy of B.F. Skinner Foundation
Components of Operant Conditioning
• Reinforcers• A consequence that increases the probability that a
response will occur again (strengthens the behavior it follows
• Positive Reinforcers• Positive stimuli that act like rewards
• Negative Reinforcers• Removal of an unpleasant stimuli
• Escape conditioning• Occurs when an organism learns that a particular response
will terminate an aversive stimuli
• Avoidance Conditioning• Occurs when an organism responds to a signal in a way
that prevents an aversive stimuli
Punishment
Presents an aversive stimuli or removes a pleasant stimuli to decrease the frequency of a behavior
Disadvantages• It doesn’t eliminate behavior merely suppresses it
• Not effective unless it immediately follows the behavior
• Punishment becomes associated with the punisher-so the punisher is feared
• Organism being punished may learn to relate to others in an aggressive way
• Punishment makes clear what behaviors are incorrect, but doesn’t provide any demonstration of desired behaviors
Punishment
Can work if used wisely…• Punish the behavior not the person
• Punish immediately
• Use a severe enough punishment to eliminate the behavior
• Explain and reinforce more appropriate behaviors
Punishment or Negative Reinforcement?
Forming and Strengthening Operant Behavior
Shaping• An operant conditioning process in which successive
approximations of a behavior are reinforced until the desired behavior pattern emerges.
Secondary Reinforcement (Conditioned)• Primary reinforcers-an innately satisfying reinforcing
stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need (food,water, pain relief)
• Conditioned or secondary reinforcer- a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer. (MONEY)
Delay and size of reinforcement• Operant conditioning is strongest when the delay in
receiving a reinforcer is short and the reinforcer is large
Schedules of Reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous reinforcement schedule
• Every correct response receives a reward Partial or Intermittent reinforcement schedule
• Reinforcement is received only some of the time• Fixed Ratio Schedules (FR)
• Give a reward after a fixed number of responses
• Variable-Ratio Schedules (VR)• Give a reward after an average number of responses
• Fixed-Interval Schedules (FI)• Reward the first response displayed after a fixed time interval
• Variable-Interval Schedule (VI)• Reward the first response displayed after a varying time interval
• Schedules and Extinction• The partial reinforcement extinction effect
• Demonstrates that it is more difficult to extinguish an operant behavior learned under a partial rather than a continuous reinforcement schedule
Cognition and Operant Conditioning
Latent learning• Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is
some reason to demonstrate it Cognitive map
• A mental representation of the layout of one’s environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it. (Tolman)
Overjustification effect• The effect of promising a reward for doing what one
already likes to do. The person may now see the reward, rather than the intrinsic interest, as the motivation for performing the task.
Other cognitive processes in learning
Learned Helplessness• Occurs when an organism believes that behaviors are
not related to consequences
• When people’s past experience leads them to believe that nothing they can do will change their lives, they tend to stop trying.
Insight• The sudden grasp of new relationships that are
necessary to solve a problem and that were not learned in the past.
• Kohler’s studies of chimpanzee problem-solving