Psychology Of Learning And Behavior Ch. 6

Front 1

Thorndike's law of effect and his research on it

Back 1

Law of effect (principle of positive reinforcement): Things that tend to result in a satisfying state of affairs are repeated; those that result in discomfort are not. This tends to be a fallacy. Thing are often repeated if they are not pleasurable, and this are not often repeated if they are satisfying.

Front 2

Escape latency

Back 2

The amount of time it took the subject to escape the puzzle box on each trial

Front 3

Discrete Trial Procedure

Back 3

A trial began each time a subject was placed in the puzzle box, and the subject could make one and only one response on each trial. Dependent variable was response latency.

Front 4

Free Operant

Back 4

The operant response can occur at any time, and the operant response can occur repeatedly for as long as the subject remains in the experimental chamber.

Front 5

Response rate

Back 5

The number or responses made divided by the specific time in which they occurred. The rate of response to a stimulus within a given period of time.

Front 6

Satiation

Back 6

Consequences of reinforcing recurs from a repeated presentation

Front 7

Deprivation

Back 7

Restriction of access results in an increase probability of getting the desired stimulus

Front 8

Positive reinforcer/ment

Back 8

Strengthens by adding stimulus. Employee bonus etc

Front 9

Negative reinforcer/ment

Back 9

Strengthens by subtracting stimulus. Take away alarm clock sleeping will continue.

Front 10

Premack Principle

Back 10

Higher frequency behavior can act as a reinforcement for a lower frequency behavior- homework before T.V.. Procedure of reinforcement is often described as contingency between a behavior (the operant response) and a stimulus (the reinforcer). Two elements of a reinforcement contingency are members of two distinct classes of events: reinforceable behaviors one the one hand and reinforcing stimuli on the other.

Front 11

Stop-action principle

Back 11

states that because of this strengthening process, the specific bodily position and the muscle movements occurring at the moment of reinforcement will have a higher probability of occurring on the next trial.

Front 12

Superstitious behavior

Back 12

Accidental reinforcement of behavior (Skinner’s Pigeons) A behavior is reinforced by a stimulus that is independent of the stimulus when a behavior occurs in close proximity to the deliverance of the stimulus.

Front 13

Skinner's 1948 experiment on superstition

Back 13

Superstitious Experiment: Eight pigeons were given a stimulus every 15 min regardless of their activity. Six of the Eight developed distinct behaviors just before the stimulus was to be delivered.

Front 14

Shaping

Back 14

Method of successive approximations) A procedure for teaching a new behavior in which closer and closer approximations to the desired behavior are reinforced

Front 15

Shaping: Examples in the classroom

Back 15

Acting interested in the lecture every time the instructor is on the left of the podium, this causing the instructor to fall off the left side of the podium.

Front 16

Primary Reinforcers

Back 16

A stimulus that naturally strengthens any response it follows (e.g. food, water, sexual pleasure, and comfort).

Front 17

Conditioned Reinforcers (Secondary Reinforcers):

Back 17

A previously neutral stimulus that is acquired the capacity to strengthen responses because it has been repeatedly paired with a primary reinforcer.

Front 18

Percentile schedule of reinforcement and what it is used for

Back 18

A reinforcement schedule is a rule that states exactly when a reinforcer will or will not be delivered. A given response is reinforced if it is better tan a certain percentage of the last several responses that the learner has made.

Front 19

Three-term contingency

Back 19

A contingency involving a discriminative stimulus, a response, and a reinforcer or punisher

Front 20

The contingency

Back 20

states that in the presence of a specific discriminative stimulus, a specific response will lead to specific consequences.

Front 21

Discriminative Stimulus

Back 21

In operant conditioning, a stimulus that indicates whether or not responding will lead to reinforcement (sets the occasion or influences the response.

Front 22

Response

Back 22

The behavior displayed after a stimulus

Front 23

Reinforcer

Back 23

A stimulus that strengthens behavior if it is delivered after the behavior occurs

Front 24

Punisher

Back 24

A stimulus that diminishes behavior if it is delivered after the behavior occurs

Front 25

Generalized reinforcer

Back 25

A class of reinforcers that are associated with a large number of different primary reinforcers (money) Only acts as a reinforcer if paired with a primary reinforcer

Front 26

Response chains

Back 26

A sequence of behaviors that must occur in a specific order, with the primary reinforcer being delivered only after the final response of the sequence.

Front 27

Forward Chaining

Back 27

A way of chaining by reinforcing the first response of the chain then gradually adding the second response, the third response and so on.

Front 28

Backward Chaining

Back 28

An effective way of chaining by starting with the last response of the chain and working backward.

Front 29

Total task method

Back 29

Another way of training is by teaching all the steps of a response chain at once, using verbal instructions to prompt the correct response at each step.

Front 30

Biological constraints on learning

Back 30

(instinctive drift, autoshaping)

Front 31

Instinctive Drift

Back 31

Innate behavior may ‘creep into’ operantly controlled behavior, dipping raccoon, rooting pig.

Front 32

Autoshaping

Back 32

A response given by an animal that may be previously learned or incorporate an innate behavior (pigeon pecking at the disk with it’s mouth open)

Front 33

Contingency

Back 33

A rule that states that some event will occur if and only if another event occurs

Front 34

Contiguity

Back 34

The idea that two ideas will be associated if they tend to occur together in space or time, important in operant conditioning.

Front 35

“Behavioralizing” variables Definitions

Back 35

(Operationalizing variables) To be studied, behavior must be observable and operationally defined.

Front 36

“Behavioralizing” variables

Back 36

Must turn adjectives into verbs
Must turn constructs into behavior
Thorndike’s: Discrete trials- Learning curve-behavior that was needed to stop trial
Skinner: Free operant
Allows experiment to be repeated
Can occur at any time
Response rate is measured
Less intrusive to organism