Psy 325 Ontogeny 118-126

Front 1

Law of Effect

Back 1

in a given situation, an organism's responses that are closely followed by satisfaction will be more likely to recur in that situation
whereas those that are followed by discomfort will be less likely to recur

(Thorndike)

Front 2

What did B.F. Skinner examine specificly in the Law of Effect?

Back 2

How the consequences of behavior affect future responding

Front 3

Operant behavior

Back 3

behavior operates on the environment, changes it in some way (produces consequences), and is itself altered as a result

Front 4

Operant response class

Back 4

all behaviors that produce the same consequence, regardless of their form

Front 5

What is the example with turning on a tv of the operant response class?

Back 5

-pushing power button on tv
-using remote
-asking someone else to turn it on

Front 6

What was the example with Ann in operant conditioning?

Back 6

She is learning to write her name.
Her father praises her correct approximations and mildly reprimands or ignores her incorrect attempts.
Also, he only praises her attempts that occur at appropriate times.

Front 7

What is the antecedent stimulus for the operant response of writing "Ann"?

Back 7

"Please write your name."

Front 8

What are the three components that simple operant relationships can be described in?

Back 8

*Antecedent stimulus* for a *response* that produces certain *consequences*

Front 9

What can the three components also be called?

Back 9

Stimulus-Response-Stimulus
(SRS)

Front 10

What two effects can stimuli produced by a response have?

Back 10

1) Future occurrence of the response will increase
2) Future occurrence of the response will decrease

Front 11

Reinforcement

Back 11

When a response is followed by a change in the environment (reinforcer) and is thereby strengthened under similar circumstances

Front 12

What are four things reinforcement can cause?

Back 12

-Increase in future rate
-Increase in future probability of the occurrence of the response
-Decrease in response latency
-Increase in response magnitude

Front 13

What does reinforcement always do?

Back 13

Strengthen behavior under circumstances that are similar to those that were present when reinforcement occurred

Front 14

Positive reinforcer (S^R+)

Back 14

a stimulus that strengthens behavior by virture of being presented following the occurrence of such behavior

Front 15

What does the "positive" indicate?

Back 15

The addition of the consequence

Front 16

Negative reinforcer (S^R-)

Back 16

a stimulus that strengthens the behavior by virtue of being subtracted (or decreased in intensity) following the occurrence of such behavior

Front 17

What does the "negative" indicate?

Back 17

The subtraction of the consequence

Front 18

What is important to recognize in regard to reinforcers?

Back 18

That reinforcers are defined in terms of how they affect behavior, not in terms of their subjective effects

Front 19

What are humans typically unaware of?

Back 19

Unaware of the reinforcers that maintain their behavior

Front 20

Unconditioned reinforcers (primary reinforcers)

Back 20

strengthen behavior in organisms without any particular history of learning (in most "normal" members of a particular species)

Many are of direct biological significance (e.g. air, food, water)

Front 21

Unconditioned negative reinforcers

Back 21

stimuli which organisms will escape (respond to terminate) or avoid (respond to prevent contact with)

Front 22

What are examples of unconditioned negative reinforcers?

Back 22

High-intensity stimulation:
-loud sounds
-bright lights
-intense cold or heat

Pain

Front 23

Conditioned reinforcers (secondary reinforcers)

Back 23

gain their ability to strengthen behavior through learning

Front 24

How can you establish conditioned reinforcers?

Back 24

By pairing previously neutral stimuli with unconditioned reinforcers or established conditioned reinforcers in the same way that stimuli are paired in classical conditioning

Front 25

What was the dog example of a conditioned reinforcer?

Back 25

Saying "good dog" became a conditioned reinforcer after repeatedly being paired with petting or food

Front 26

How can painful stimuli, such as being struck by a belt, become conditioned reinforcers?

Back 26

By being paired with power unconditioned reinforcers (e.g. sexual stimulation)

Front 27

When does a conditioned reinforcer lose the capacity to strengthen behavior?

Back 27

When it is no longer paired occasionally with another reinforcer

Front 28

Generalized conditioned reinforcer

Back 28

conditioned reinforcers that are paired with many other reinforcers

E.g. money, attention

Front 29

Delayed reinforcement

Back 29

the response-strengthening effects of reinforcers diminish rapidly as the delay between the response and the reinforcer increases

Front 30

What is the maximum amount of time that a reinforcer can be delayed to be effective?

Back 30

One minute

Immediacy is VERY important

Front 31

Superstitious Reinforcement

Back 31

environmental events may reinforce responses that precede them even if the response does not actually produce the reinforcer

Front 32

What is superstitious reinforcement also called?

Back 32

Adventitious
Response-independent

Front 33

What have some psychologists described reinforcers as?

Back 33

Behaviors (consequences) that only become possible when other behaviors (the operant response) occur

Front 34

Premack Principle

Back 34

For any two behaviors that occur with different probabilities (amount of time spent engaging in the behavior),
the opportunity to engage in the higher probability behavior will
reinforce (or increase) the lower probability behavior

Front 35

What is an example of the Premack principle?

Back 35

Food delivery (which allows for the higher probability behavior of eating in a deprived rat) will reinforce bar pressing (a lower-probability behavior)

Front 36

How can you punish/decrease the higher probability behavior?

Back 36

Force an organism to engage in the lower probability behavior when a higher probability behavior occurs.

Front 37

What kind of behaviors can operant conditioning strengthen?

Back 37

Socially desirable behaviors, as well as socially undesirable behaviors

Front 38

What was wrong with the wheel-chair bound man?

Back 38

He said he suffered from back pain for more than 15 years with no medical cause

Front 39

How did they treat him?

Back 39

They had sessions of social reinforcement from a young female assistant.

She would reinforce his efforts to stand, the praised gradual approximations of walking

Front 40

What were the results?

Back 40

After 18 days he was walking normally and was able to leave the hospital

Front 41

Why did he relapse?

Back 41

His family had reinforced his complaints and other behaviors indicative of illness, but had ignored walking and other behaviors indicative of wellness

Front 42

How did they treat him again?

Back 42

By using social reinforcement and teaching his family to reinforce his attempts to stand and walk, and ignore his commplaints of illness

Front 43

What does this example illustrate?

Back 43

Systematic attempts to change the consequences of particular behaviors can lead to significant improvements in a person's life.

Naturally occurring reinforcement can also strengthen undesirable behaviors.