Features of conditioning

Features of conditioning

1. Generalisation: animals respond in the same way to stimuli that are similar

2. Extinction: a new response disappears because it is no longer reinforced

3. Shaping: animals gradually learn a target behaviour by being reinforced for behaviours that are closer and closer to the target behaviour

4. Reinforcement schedules

   • Continuous: animal expects it every time and notices absence more quickly, leader to faster extinction
   • Partial: more effective and more resistant to extinction
     • Fixed or variable ratios and fixed or variable intervals