UNIT 6 Learning Module 27 Operant Conditioning Do

UNIT 6 Learning

Module 27: Operant Conditioning ■ Do First: – Answer the items on your paper – what actions STRENGTHEN a desired behavior? – Be sure your Module 27 HW is out and ready to go! ■ Done early? – Begin housekeeping your binder – straighten out your units and begin your Unit 6 section.

Schedule of Unit 6 ■ Day 1: How We Learn and Classical Conditioning ■ Day 2: Operant Conditioning + Classical Conditioning Practice ■ Day 3: Comparing Classical and Operant Conditioning ■ Day 4: Biology, Cognition, and Learning ■ Day 5: Learning by Observation ■ Day 6: Writing Bibliographies + Unit Review ■ Day 7: Unit 6 Test

Module 27 Objective SWBAT describe and predict the effects of basic operant conditioning principles and concepts SWBAT explain the concept of a “Skinner box” and controversies surrounding the experiments of B. F. Skinner

How Do We Learn? ■ Classical conditioning – Association of TWO or more stimuli – Behavior is respondent – in response to events ■ Operant conditioning – The association in an organism of ACTION and CONSEQUENCE – Behavior is operant – a conscious choice

Operant Conditioning ■ Operant conditioning

Operant Conditioning ■ Edward Thorndike’s Law of Effect – Organisms will pursue actions that give pleasurable/favorable consequences – Organisms will avoid actions that give painful/undesirable consequences ■ Essentially, the law of effect allows for behavior modification – using reward and punishment to control an organisms behavior

Operant Conditioning – Reinforcement and Punishment ■ Reinforcement – A consequence designed to INCREASE the occurrence of a behavior

Operant Conditioning – Reinforcement and Punishment ■ Reinforcement – A consequence designed to INCREASE the occurrence of a behavior ■ Practice! – Round One: Identify whether or not the reinforcement is positive or negative – Round Two: Identify the aversive stimulus being removed and the behavior

Operant Conditioning – Reinforcement and Punishment ■ Primary reinforcer – A reinforcer that satisfies an instinctual biological need (food when hungry, making a painful headache go away) ■ Conditioned (secondary) reinforcer – A reinforcer that becomes associated with the primary reinforcer – EX: if we learn that a light coming on signals food, we will work to turn on that light – the light is a conditioned reinforcer ■ Immediate vs. delayed reinforcers – Humans are unusually capable of understanding delayed gratification – the paycheck at the end of the week, the grade at the end of the quarter – However – how can climate change be explained by a lack of delayed gratification vs. IMMEDIATE gratification?

Reinforcement Schedules ■ Schedule – When and how often you provide a reinforcement ■ Continuous (constant) vs. partial (intermittent) reinforcement – Behaviors that are continuously reinforced extinguish quickly ■ Types of schedules:

Reinforcement Schedules

Reinforcement Schedules ■ – – – Practice! Identify the type of schedule each item represents. FR: fixed ratio VR: variable ratio FI: fixed interval VI: variable interval

Punishment ■ Punishment – A consequence that discourages unwanted behavior ■ Just like reinforcement, there is positive and negative punishment

Problems of Punishment ■ Punished behavior is not forgotten, merely pushed down (suppressed) ■ Punishment teaches discrimination (WHEN and WHO to avoid doing this behavior around) ■ Punishment can teach fear rather than better behavior ■ Physical punishment has been linked to increased aggression in children

Punishment vs. Negative Reinforcement Practice ■ Practice! – Answer the questions on your sheet with a partner. – 5 minutes!

Theory Applied – B. F. Skinner ■ B. F. Skinner – Operant conditioning’s version of Ivan Pavlov and John Watson from yesterday’s class – Argued that it was not only possible to cause behavior but also to control it ■ Operant chamber (aka, a Skinner box) – A box with a “trial” designed to increase behavior ■ Positive reinforcement ex: press a switch when the light comes on, get food ■ Negative reinforcement ex: press a switch when the light comes on to avoid being shocked.

Theory Applied – B. F. Skinner ■ Shaping – “Approximating behavior”: rewarding the organism as they get closer and closer to the desired behavior – You can’t teach a dog to roll over at first; you have to teach it to sit, stay, and move at command – Successive approximations – behaviors that get closer to the desired one and are rewarded ■ Practice! – With your half of the group, come up with a way – without using words – to “shape” a member of the other team to perform a specific action

Exit Ticket 1) What do we call the kind of learning in which a behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer? 2) Which of the following best describes a secondary or conditioned reinforcer? a) Operant conditioning a) Something that elicits a response after association with a reinforcer b) Respondent behavior c) Classical conditioning d) Shaping e) Punishment b) An innately reinforcing stimulus c) Something that when removed increases the likelihood of the behavior d) An event that decreases the behavior it follows e) An amplified stimulus feeding back information to responses

Exit Ticket 3) Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely is known as what? a) Law of effect b) Operant conditioning 4) All of the following are examples of primary reinforcers except a a) Rat’s food reward in a skinner box b) Cold drink on a hot day c) Shaping c) High score on an exam for which a student studied diligently d) Respondent behavior d) Hug from a loved one e) Discrimination e) Large meal following an extended time without food

Exit Ticket 5) Which of the following is best defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience? 6) Classical conditioning is the type of learning in which a person links two or more stimuli and a) Acquisition a) Forgets about them b) Stimulus b) Lays them out in sequence c) Learning c) Shuts down d) Habituation d) Anticipates events e) Response e) Receives a reward

Exit Ticket 7) The work of Ivan Pavlov and John Watson fits into which of psychology’s perspectives? a) Humanism b) Gestalt psychology c) Trait theory d) Behaviorism e) Neuropsychology 8) Lynn is teaching learning. Every time she claps her hands, Charlie turns off the light. When Randy claps in approval of Lynn’s presentation, Charlie does not turn off the light. What concept has Charlie demonstrated? a) Habituation b) Discrimination c) Spontaneous recovery d) Extinction e) Habituation