Module 1 Operant Conditioning

Question	Answer
Skinner	Creator of Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning	Behaviour is instrumental in producing the consequences(rewards and punishments). Rats pushing a lever to receive food.
Operant Response	a response or behavior of an organism that is voluntary and not associated with a particular stimulus. This response acts on or modifies the environment. I.e. a person picking up a book to read.
Reinforcer	the reward given for a response in order to strengthen it and increase the likelihood of the response occurring again.
Positive Reinforcer	a reward which strengthens a response by providing a pleasurable consequence such as praise or a chocolate bar.
Negative Reinforcer	a reward which strengthens a response by removing or reducing an unpleasant stimulus such as taking away a house chore or homework.
Schedules of Reinforcement	Continuous Reinforcement , Partial, and Variable Interval Schedule.
Continuous Reinforcement	when a satisfying response is reinforced every time.
Partial Reinforcement	reinforcement which does not occur continuously. The reinforcement may be administered in the following ways:
Partial Reinforcement Types: Fixed ratio schedule	1. Fixed ratio schedule-a satisfying response is reinforced after a set number of responses have been made e.g. every fifth response.
Partial Reinforcement type: Fixed interval schedule	a satisfying response is reinforced at regular time intervals e.g. every five minutes
Partial reinforcement types: Variable ratio schedule	Variable ratio schedule- a satisfying response is reinforced at irregular intervals, but the average number of responses is fixed, e.g. poker machines.
Variable interval schedule	a satisfying response is reinforced at random intervals within a fixed length of time e.g. catching four fish w/in a two-hour period.
Punishment	seeks to decrease the likelihood of a response occurring. Not the same as negative reinforcement. Side effects: aggression, frustration, avoidance learning, escape learning and learned helplessness. Child learns fight or flight response, consequently establish a positive reinforcement relationship bc the child is now avoiding them. Effective punishment addresses the action and not the person.
Negative Effects of Punishments	1. Aggression 2. Frustration 3. Avoidance Learning 4. Escape Learning 5. Learned Helplessness 6. No decrease in Behavior, but aggression and avoidance towards punisher. 7. Becomes positive reinforcement and only serves to satisfy the punisher.
Extinction	if the reinforcement ceases. the operantly conditioned response will disappear over time.
Stimulus Generalisation	When the organism responds to stimuli which are similar to the original stimulus. For ex, if a pigeon has been operantly conditioned to peck a blue light by receiving food pellets whenever it does so, the pigeon may also generalise to other similar coloured lights. However, if other lights are increasingly different from the original light stimulus, the pigeon is less likely to peck at them.
Stimulus Discrimination	when the organism learns which response will be reinforced and which will not.
Spontaneous Recovery	When the extinguished response reappears after a rest period.
Shaping	When the organism is reinforced for any response which moves towards the desired behavious, e.g. rewarding your cat for any behavior that relates to it using the kitty litter.
Animal Training	The principles of shaping are used to teach animals certain behaviors. The animal is reinforced for any behaviour which moves toward the desired goal, as in animal training or training guide dogs.
Behaviour Modificatiopn	Positive reinforcement and the withdrawal of reinforcement is administered to eliminate inappropriate behavior and teach new responses, i.e. modify behavior.
Token Economies	A technique which rewards people for appropriate behavior with tokens which can then be traded for privileges. For example, primary school children could be given gold stars as a reward for good behavior which could then be traded in for certain privileges at the end of the week. These privileges could range from time on the class computer or extra play time.
Classical Conditioning vs. Operant Conditioning Elements	1. Role of learner 2. Timing of stimulus and response 3. Nature of response
Elements; Classical Conditioning	Role of learner: Passive; Timing of stimulus and response: Reinforcement occurs before the response; Nature of response: Automatic; The involuntary Response(salivation)depends on a reinforcement(meat powder) being presented.
Elements; Operant Conditioning:	Role of learner: Active Timing of stimulus and response: Reinforcement occurs after the response. Nature of response: Voluntarily and Involuntary Reinforcement (food pellet) depends on response(press lever)being made.

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Module 1 Operant Conditioning

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	Created by Licette Silva almost 6 years ago