PSYCH 1001 EXAM 2: Chapter 6 Behavioral Psychology-Operant Conditioning

E.L. thorndike discovered the lew of effect in a classic study of cats and puzzle boxes.

Law of effect: principle asserting that if a stimulus followed by a behavior results in a reward, the stimulus is more likely to give rise to the behavior in the future.

Learning curve: The time it takes to get the correct solution vs. the # of trials in an experiment.

Insight: grasping the underlying nature of the problem.

BF Skinner: Famous American behaviorist who studied learning behaviors. He used the Skinner Box to study rats, pigeons etc... And mapped out their responses to reward. Small animal chamber constructed by Skinner to allow sustained periods of conditioning to be administered and behaviors to be recorded unsupervised. Mouse, light for food and water box. Discoveries: He defined operant conditioning, discovered shaping, and described clicker training. Discovered that animal behaviors differ depending on the schedule of reinforcement (continuous vs. partial(variable/fixed ratio or variable/fixed interval))

Discriminative stimulus: stimulus that signals the presence of reinforcement. -Friend waving from across the room.

Reinforcement: outcome or consequence of a behavior that strengthens the probability of the behavior. Punishment: outcome or consequence of a behavior that weakens the probability of the behavior.

Positive reinforcement: presentation of a stimulus that strengthens the probability of the behavior. -Administer a stimulus Negative reinforcement: removal of a stimulus that strengthens the probability of the behavior. -Remove a stimulus

Primary reinforcer: item or outcome that naturally increases the target behavior. Secondary reinforcer: neutral object that becomes associated with a primary reinforcer. Primary reinforcers are biological. Food, drink, and pleasure are the principal examples of primary reinforcers. But, most human reinforcers are secondary, or conditioned. Examples include money, grades in schools, and tokens.

Acquisition: Learning phase during which a response is established. Extinction: When we stop delivering reinforcements following a preciously reinforces behavior.

Shaping: conditioning a target behavior by progressively reinforcing behaviors that come closer and closer to the target. By using shaping, we reinforce behaviors that aren't exactly the target behavior but that are progressively closer versions of it.

Chaining: Linking a number of interrelated behaviors to form a longer series.

A conditioned reinforcer is an object or noise that creates an outcome or consequence of a behavior that strengthens the probability of the behavior. Classical conditioning creates a reinforcer by making a neutral object into a conditioned stimulus.