OPERANT CONDITIONING

OPERANT CONDITIONING

• Learning in which a certain action is reinforced or punished, resulting in corresponding increases or decreases in behavior.

OPERANT CONDITIONING

• Reinforcement:A stimulus or event that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated.

• PunishmentAn unpleasant consequence occurs and decreases the frequency of behavior that produced it.

OPERANT CONDITIONING

Positive ReinforcementMaking a behavior stronger by following the behavior with a pleasant stimulus.

Example: a rat presses a lever and receives food.

Negative ReinforcementMaking a behavior stronger by taking away a negative stimulus.

Example: a rat presses a lever and turns off the electric shock.

PUNISHMENT+ Positive punishment

– The application of an aversive stimulus after a response.

Example: You touch a hot plate; the painful consequence reduces the likelihood of you repeating that behavior.

- Negative punishment- Results from the removal of a reinforcer.

Example: Your parents take away your cell phone because you are not doing well in school.

Limitations of Punishment• Punishment often only produces temporary

changes

• Punishment produces undesirable emotional side effects

• Children who are physically punished learn to model or imitate aggressive acts and often become more aggressive in their interactions with others

• Punishment NEVER teaches a new behavior

Primary vs Secondary Reinforcers

• Primary– Innate (unlearned)

• Secondary– Conditioned (learned)

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Ratio schedules – Provide reward after a certain number of responses.

• Interval schedules – Provide reward after a certain time interval.

Fixed Ratio (FR)Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval (FI)Fixed Interval (FI)

Variable Ratio (VR)Variable Ratio (VR)

Variable Interval (VI)Variable Interval (VI)

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio (FR)Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval (FI)

Variable Ratio (VR)

Variable Interval (VI)

Rewards appear after a certain set number of responses.

e.g. factory workers getting paid after every 10 cases of product are completed

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval (FI)

Variable Ratio Variable Ratio (VR)(VR)

Variable Interval (VI)

Rewards appear after a certain number of responses, but that number varies from trial to trial.

e.g. slot machine pay-offs

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval Fixed Interval (FI)(FI)

Variable Ratio (VR)

Variable Interval (VI)

Rewards appear after a certain fixed amount of time, regardless of number of responses.

e.g. weekly or monthly paychecks

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval (FI)

Variable Ratio (VR)

Variable Interval Variable Interval (VI)(VI)

Rewards appear after a certain amount of time, but that amount varies from trial to trial.

e.g. random visits from the boss who delivers praise

Shaping

• A technique in which a new behavior is produced by reinforcing responses that are similar to the desired response.

Chaining• Response chains

– Learned reactions that follow one another in sequence, each reaction producing the signal for the next.

Swimming has 3 major chains:– Arm stroking chain– Breathing chain– Kicking chain

Aversive Control

• Escape Conditioning– Training of an organism to remove or terminate

an unpleasant stimulus.• Example: A child whines and gags when he eats his

vegetables, so his mother removes them from his plate.

• Avoidance Conditioning– Training of an organism to

withdrawal from or prevent an unpleasant stimulus before it starts.

• Example: A child complains that he does not like vegetables, so his father does not cook them for dinner.

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

• Classical Conditioning– involves the

association of two stimuli (UCS + CS) before the response or behavior.

• Operant Conditioning– involves a

reinforcing (reward) or punishing stimulus after a response or behavior.