Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning Learning when an animal

Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning • Learning when an animal or human performs a behavior, and the following consequence increases or decreases the chance that the behavior will happen again • B. F. Skinner • Skinner box

Operant Conditioning • Shaping – Procedure in which an experimenter successively reinforces behaviors that lead up to or approximate the desired behavior – Rat progressively gets reinforced until it is actually pressing the bar in order for it to get food

Operant Conditioning • Consequences – Reinforcement • A consequence that occurs after a behavior and increases the chance that the behavior will happen again – Punishment • A consequence that occurs after a behavior and decreases the chance that the behavior will happen again

Operant Conditioning • Reinforcement – Positive Reinforcement • Refers to the presentation of a stimulus that increases the probability that a behavior will occur again • Positive reinforcer- stimulus that increases the likelihood that a response will occur again

Operant Conditioning • Negative reinforcement – Refers to an aversive stimulus whose removal increases the likelihood that the preceding response will occur again • Primary reinforcers- a stimulus that is innately satisfying and requires no learning to become pleasurable • Secondary reinforcer- stimulus that has required its reinforcing power through experience

Operant Conditioning • Punishment – Positive Punishment • Presenting an aversive stimulus after a response – Negative Punishment • Removing a reinforcing stimulus after a response

Operant Conditioning • Schedule of Reinforcement – Continuous reinforcement • Every occurrence of the operant response results in delivery of the reinforcer – Partial reinforcement • Situation in which responding occurs only some of the time •

Operant Conditioning • Partial Reinforcement schedules – Fixed-ratio Schedule- reinforcer occurs only after a fixed number of responses – Variable-ratio schedule- reinforcer is delivered after an average number of responses – Fixed-interval schedule- reinforcer occurs following the first response that occurs after a fixed interval of time – Variable-interval Schedule- reinforcer occurs following the first correct response after an average amount of time has passed

Cognitive Learning • Social Cognitive Learning- results from watching, imitating, and modeling; does not require the observer to perform any observable behaviors or receive any observable reward • Alfred Bandura • Bobo Doll experiment

Cognitive Learning • Learning vs. performance – Learning may occur, but may not always be measured by, or immediately evident in, performance

Cognitive Learning • Four processes – Attention • Observer must pay attention to what the model says or does – Memory • Observer must store or remember the information so that it can be retrieved later

Cognitive Learning • Imitation – Observer must be able to use the remembered information to guide their own actions to imitate the models behavior • Motivation – Observer must have some reason or incentive to imitate the model’s behavior