Respondent and Operant Conditioning Together Chapter 15 Copyright

Respondent and Operant Conditioning Together Chapter 15 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Review • Respondent Conditioning – If a neutral stimulus is followed closely in time by an unconditioned stimulus (US), which elicits and unconditioned response (UR), then the previously neutral stimulus will also elicit UR in the future • Operant Conditioning – The modification of behavior by its consequences Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Respondent and Operant Conditioning • Experiences often include both respondent and operant conditioning occurring together • Complete behavioral explanations sometimes require consideration of both Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Example of Respondent and Operant Conditioning Interacting Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Example of Respondent and Operant Conditioning Interacting Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Respondent and Operant Component of Emotions • Four important areas: – Reaction one feels during the experience of emotion – The way the emotion is outwardly expressed or disguised – Becoming aware of emotions and describing emotions – Causes of emotions Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Respondent Component of Emotions • Reflexive reaction of body – Digestive system – Circulatory system – Respiratory system • Controlled by autonomic nervous system – Fight or flight – Relaxation – Nearly every organ or gland controlled by the autonomic nervous system is susceptible to respondent conditioning Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Case of “Little Albert”: Watson & Rayner (1920) • Conditioned emotional responses • Conducted experiment with 11 -month-old infant, Albert • Used respondent procedures to condition fear response – Presented Albert with object (white rat, etc. ) – Albert plays with it, unafraid – Demonstrated that striking steel bar with a hammer, produced a fear response – Struck steel bar with hammer while Albert played with a white rat – Albert became conditioned to fear the rat – Albert also showed generalization to other objects (e. g. , white fur coat) not used in conditioning • Watson did not extinguish the fear response in Albert (Albert left the hospital) • Mary Carver Jones (1924) showed that a fear response in a child similar to Albert can be eliminated through by gradual exposure to the feared object (a form of extinction) Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Operant Components of Emotion: Actions, Descriptions, and Awareness • Displays of emotion depend on learning history – operant conditioning at play • Labeling of emotions may be inaccurate if we don’t know: – Emotion causing events – Inner feelings – Relevant operant behaviors Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Some Causes of Emotions • Happiness – Presentation of reinforcers • Anger – Withholding of reinforcers • Anxiety – Presentation of aversive stimuli • Relief – Withdrawal of aversive stimuli Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Respondent and Operant Components of Thinking • Imagery – Respondent – Thinking can produce brain reactions of sensations – Body reactions • Self-Talk – Operant – Much of thinking is verbal – At 5– 6 years, begin subvocal speech (talk silently to self) – Learn what is appropriate to say and what isn’t Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Private Thoughts and Feelings • Principles and procedures of operant and respondent conditioning apply to private behavior Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.