Module 22: Operant Conditioning

1. Unit 7: Learning Module 22: Operant Conditioning AP Psychology Mr. Ng

2. Classical conditioning involves respondent behavior (automatic response to stimuli). • Operant Conditioning: learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. (B.F. Skinner) Classical vs. Operant

3. B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1990) • Behaviorist, author, inventor, etc. • Harvard professor. B.F. Skinner

4. E.L. Thorndike experimented with hungry cats. • He put them in “puzzle boxes” and placed a fish outside. • To get the fish, the cats stepped on a pedal, which opened the door. • The cats clawed at the door at first until they accidently stepped on the pedal. Thorndike’s Instrumental Conditioning

5. Thorndike’s Puzzle Box • The time it took the cats to escape gradually fell.

6. Instrumental learning: learning in which a behavior becomes more or less probable depending on its consequences. • Law of Effect: behaviors followed by positive consequences are strengthened while behaviors followed by negative consequences are weakened. Thorndike’s Instrumental Conditioning

7. Skinner designed an Operant Chamber (Skinner Box). • The box had a bar that an animal presses to release a reward (food). B.F. Skinner

8. Other variables were often used: electric grid, lights, images, sound… as part of the experiment. • He experimented with pigeons, rats, and other animals. B.F. Skinner

9. Shaping: the use of rewards to guide behavior toward the desired behavior. • Sometimes we reinforce behavior unintentionally. Operant Conditioning

10. Jim hates school, so he acts out. • He gets suspended. • He continues to act out to get out of going to school. • Jim is reinforced because he doesn’t have to go to school. • Teachers are reinforced because Jim isn’t causing them problems. • Suspensions aren’t always the answer. Operant Conditioning

11. Reinforcement: any event that strengthens a preceding response. • Positive reinforcement: using positive stimuli to strengthen a response. • Occurs after a desired response. • Ex. Give candy for correct answer. • Ex. Give money for work done. • Ex. Rub belly of obedient dog. Operant Conditioning

12. Negative reinforcement: removing a negative stimuli to strengthen a response. • This is NOT punishment. • Ex. Turning off alarm clock. • Ex. Taking aspirin to relieve pain. • Ex. Putting on seat belt to stop annoying buzzer. Operant Conditioning

13. Primary Reinforcers: an innately (inborn) reinforcing stimulus. • Ex. Food, sleep, oxygen, etc. • Conditioned Reinforcers: learned reinforcers. • Ex. Money, grades, points, etc. Operant Conditioning

14. Token Economy: an operant training system where tokens are given to positively reinforce desired behavior and can be spent later. • Ex. Titan Bucks • Used extensively in mental hospitals and jails. Operant Conditioning

15. Continuous Reinforcement: reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. • Ex. If I gave you a Starburst everyday for wearing your ID. • Learning happens quickly if continuously reinforced. • Extinction also happens quickly if when reinforcement stops. Operant Conditioning

16. Partial (intermittent) reinforcement: responses are sometimes reinforced and sometimes not. • Learning is slower, but extinction is also slower. • Ex. Playing a slot machine. Operant Conditioning

17. Fixed-ratio schedule: reinforce behavior after a set number of responses. • Ex. Get a piece of candy for every 5 correct answer. • Variable-ratio schedule: reinforce after an unpredictable number of responses. • Ex. Slot machines Operant Conditioning

18. Fixed-interval schedule: reinforce the first response after a fixed time period. • Ex. Checking for mail at same time every day. • Variable-interval schedule: reinforce the first response after an unpredictable amount of time. • Ex. Checking for ACT scores online. Operant Conditioning

19. Punishment: an event that decreases the behavior it follows. • Opposite of reinforcement. • Reinforcement increases a behavior, punishment decreases it. • Ex. Suspension, jail, parking ticket, etc. Operant Conditioning

20. Critics of punishment: • Behavior is suppressed, not eliminated. Do it again when safe. • May breed aggressiveness. • Creates fear of punisher & behavior. • Does not guide to correct behavior. • Punishment along with reinforcement is more effective! Operant Conditioning

21. Cognitive Map: a mental representation of one’s environment. • Ex. After exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a map of it. • Latent Learning: demonstrate learning only when there is incentive to demonstrate it. • Ex. Don’t do homework, but pass all tests. Operant Conditioning

22. Intrinsic Motivation: a desire to perform a behavior for its own sake. • Ex. Getting good grades for yourself, not your parents. • Extrinsic Motivation: a desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or punishment. • Ex. Money for good grades or spanking for poor grades. Operant Conditioning

23. Learned Helplessness: the feeling of futility and passive resignation that results from the inability to avoid repeated aversive events. • Meaning: you give up and accept the results because you feel you can’t control it. • Ex. Dog being shocked no matter what it does and just lays there. • Ex. Not studying for Psych tests because you accept failing them. Operant Conditioning

24. Similarities: • Both forms of associative learning. • Both include acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination. • Differences: • Classical – automatic responses. • Operant – rewards & punishments to “train” responses. Operant vs. Classical

25. Unit 7: Learning ObservationalLearning AP Psychology Mr. Ng

26. Observational Learning: learning by watching others. • Ex. Copying dance moves. • Modeling: observing and imitating a specific behavior. • Ex. “I do, you do”, Math examples • We imitate so much in modern society, we gave it a name: memes. • Fashion, music, foods, technology… Observational Learning

27. Albert Bandura: psychologist responsible for famous “Bobo Doll” experiment. • Recent survey ranked him 4th most frequently cited psychologist behind Skinner, Freud, and Piaget. • Considered the greatest living psychologist and one of most influential psychologists of all time. Observational Learning

28. Bobo Doll Experiments • Bandura studied children’s behavior after watching an adult model aggression (beat up) towards a Bobo doll. • Results were that children exposed to aggressive models were more likely to act in physically aggressive ways. Observational Learning

29. Children observing adult behavior are influenced to think their behavior is acceptable, good or bad. • Conclusion: we are especially likely to imitate people we perceive as similar to ourselves, as successful, or as admirable. • Unfortunately, people copy bad behavior…do you???? Observational Learning

30. Extending Bandura’s research… • Just like imitating bad behavior, we imitate good behavior. • Prosocial (positive) models can have huge effects as well. • Ex. Dr. King, Gandhi, Mandela, etc. • Are you going to be a prosocial model for your child? What about your peers? Observational Learning

31. Bandura and Television • Most children in developed countries spend more time watching TV than in school. • In US, 9 in 10 teens watch TV daily. • 2/3 of US homes have 3+ TVs. • Over 1,000,000,000 TVs sets in the world. • TV reaches almost all people! Observational Learning

32. In the real world, 87% of crimes are nonviolent. • On TV, 13% of crime is nonviolent. • 74% of TV crimes went unpunished • 58% did not show victim’s pain • Does watching TV violence translate to real world violence? Observational Learning

33. Results of studies: • Correlational studies do link viewing violence with violent behavior. • Kids: More hours of TV violence = more fights. • Homicide rates doubled with the introduction of TV in US, Canada, and South Africa. Observational Learning

34. APA says no doubt it that watching violence on TV leads to acceptance of violent behaviors. • Violence stems from imitation (Bandura experiment) of acts seen on TV. • Prolonged exposure to violence desensitizes viewers to real life violence and it becomes more accepted. Observational Learning