Module 10

1. Module 10 Operant & Cognitive Approaches

2. Operant Conditioning • the consequences that follow some behavior increase or decrease the likelihood of that behavior’s occurrence in the future • BICOC (behavior is contingent on consequences) • Goal-directed behavior • Goal: increase or decrease the rate of some response • Voluntary/emitted/performed response • Edward Lee Thorndike (cats in the puzzle box) Law of Effect--behaviors followed by positive consequences are strengthened, while behaviors followed by negative consequences are weakened • Burrhus Frederic Skinner (Skinner box/rats) • Invented the Air Crib and a Pigeon-guided missile Thorndike states a general principle-Skinner explained how it worked and provided a way to measure

3. Skinner Box • Principles and procedures • Skinner box • automated to record the animal’s bar presses and deliver food pellets • an efficient way to study how an animal’s ongoing behaviors may be modified by changing the consequences of what happens after a bar press • 3 factors in operant conditioning of a rat • a hungry rat will be more willing to eat the food reward • operant response: condition the rat to press the bar • shaping: procedure in which an experimenter successively reinforces behaviors that lead up to or approximate the desired behavior

4. p215 SKINNER BOX

5. OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT.) • Shaping (facing, touching, then pressing the bar) • Facing the bar • rat is put in box. • when rat finally faces the bar, food pellet is released • rat sniffs the food pellet • Touching the bar • rat faces and moves towards the bar • another pellet is released. • Rat eats then wanders. Returning to sniff for a pellet, another pellet is dropped into the cup. Rat places a paw on the bar and another pellet is released.

6. OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT.) • Shaping • Pressing the bar • When rat touches bar pellet is released. Rat eats and then puts paws back on bar and gets another pellet. Wait for rat to now push bar then release pellet. • Rat soon presses bar over and over again to get pellets. • Rat’s behavior was reinforced as the rat leads up to, or approximates, the desired behavior of bar pressing

7. Virtual Rat

8. Operant conditioning in the classroom • Hot, hot…cold, cold activity • Need one volunteer to step out of class for a moment • Class chooses a behavior • Volunteer returns • Class shapes volunteer’s behavior by stating “HOT, HOT” or “COLD, COLD”

9. OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT.) • Immediate reinforcement • reinforcer should follow immediately after the desired behavior • if reinforcer is delayed, the animal may be reinforced for some undesired or superstitious behavior • Superstitious behavior • behavior that increases in frequency because its occurrence is accidentally paired with the delivery of a reinforcer

10. OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT.) • Examples of operant conditioning • Toilet training, food refusal, increasing study • target behavior • preparation • reinforcers • shaping

11. REINFORCERS (CONT.) • Consequences • consequences are contingent on behavior • Reinforcement • consequence that occurs after a behavior and increases the chance that the behavior will occur again • Punishment • consequence that occurs after a behavior and decreases the chance that the behavior will occur again

12. REINFORCERS (CONT.) • Reinforcement • Positive reinforcement • refers to the presentation of a stimulus that increases the probability that a behavior will occur again • Negative reinforcement • refers to an aversive stimulus whose removal increases the likelihood that the preceding response will occur again

13. Reinforcement & Punishment Positive Reinforcement Negative Punishment • A child swears and is spanked. • A person takes an aspirin to get rid of a headache. • A teenager is put on restriction for taking the car without asking. • A student studies and gets an A. Reinforcement = increases behaviorPunishment = decreases behaviorPositive = giving / adding toNegative = taking away Positive Punishment Negative Reinforcement

14. Reinforcement = increases behaviorPunishment = decreases behaviorPositive = giving / adding toNegative = taking away Positive Reinforcement A Negative Punishment Take-away Positive Punishment Spanking Negative Reinforcement Aspirin

15. REINFORCERS (CONT.) • Reinforcers • Primary reinforcers • stimulus such as food, water, or sex, that is innately satisfying and requires no learning on the part of the subject to become pleasurable • Secondary reinforcers • any stimulus that has acquired its reinforcing power through experience; secondary reinforcers are learned, such as by being paired with primary reinforcers or other secondary reinforcers (Examples: coupons, money, grades, praise, pizza party, etc.)

16. REINFORCERS (CONT.) • Punishment • Positive punishment • refers to presenting an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus after a response • Negative punishment • refers to removing a reinforcing stimulus after a response

17. Cognitive Learning • Cognitive learning • involves mental processes, such as attention and memory Albert Bandura (Bobo doll) • children who had watched the film of an adult modeling aggressive behavior played more aggressively than children who had not seen the film • learning through observation or imitation

18. COGNITIVE LEARNING • Three viewpoints of cognitive learning • against: B. F. Skinner • Skinner said, “As far as I’m concerned, cognitive science is the creationism (downfall) of psychology”. • in favor: Edward Tolman • explored hidden mental processes • cognitive map: a mental representation in the brain of the layout of an environment and its features

19. COGNITIVE LEARNING (CONT.) • Three viewpoints of cognitive learning • in favor: Albert Bandura • Bandura focused on how humans learn through observing things • Social cognitive learning theory • results from watching, and modeling and does not require the observer to perform any observable behavior or receive any observable reward

20. COGNITIVE LEARNING (CONT.) • Four processes: Attention, Memory, Imitation, Motivation • 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 and used later

21. COGNITIVE LEARNING (CONT.) • Bandura’s social cognitive theory • Four processes (cont.) • Imitation • observer must be able to use the remembered information to guide his or her own actions and thus imitate the model’s behavior • Motivation • observer must have some reason or incentive to imitate the model’s behavior.

22. COGNITIVE LEARNING (CONT.) • Insight learning • Insight • a mental process marked by the sudden and expected solution to a problem: a phenomenon often called the “ah-ha!” experience. • Thorndike tried to show cats learned through insight

23. BIOLOGICAL FACTORS • Definition • Biological factors • refer to innate tendencies or predispositions that may either facilitate or inhibit certain kinds of learning • Imprinting • refers to inherited tendencies or responses that are displayed by newborn animals when they encounter certain stimuli in their environment