Chapter 7, Section 2 Psychology Operant Conditioning Chapter 7, Section 2 Psychology

What is Operant Conditioning? Operant conditioning is a behavior that is learned or avoided as a result of its consequences. Learning that involves voluntary actions. The two types: What is the difference between classical vs. operant conditioning?

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning? Classical - A type of learning that takes place without any choice. Ex: One shoves a certain vegetable such as broccoli into a persons mouth while talking about something nauseating. After this happens several times, you find that the thought of conditioned to dislike broccoli. Operant- The broccoli is unpleasant. Therefore, you have been classically organism plays some role in what happens. Ex: By acting on something (operations), oneself finds their preference on certain things (food, music, sports) over others.

B.F. Skinner Best known for his work with the operant conditioning theory. Psychologist that believes how we turn out in life is the result of what we learn from all the operations we make over the years. If our actions result in people getting angry and disliking us, we are being operantly conditioned to believe that the world is a dangerous and threatening place.

Rewards vs. Punishment Should someone perform a task in which the results are rewarding they are more likely to repeat the action, where as if the task had a negative consequence(s), the person would be more likely to stop doing the action.

Operant Conditioning Processes Reinforcement - Something that follows a response and strengthens the tendency to repeat that response. Primary Reinforcement - (of first and greatest and importance), something necessary for psychological or physical survival that is used as a reward. Secondary Reinforcement - anything that comes to represent a primary reinforcement, such as money. All secondary reinforcement is related to the primary one.

Processes (continued) Positive Reinforcement – Reinforcement that involves strengthening the tendency to repeat a response by following is with the addition of something pleasant. Negative reinforcement – Reinforcement that involves the strengthening a response by following it with the removal of something unpleasant. In both of these, the consequences of an action are something the organism wants.

Processes (continued) Punishment – The process of weakening a response by following it with unpleasant consequences. Ex 1: Something desired is taken away, such as a traffic violation. Ex 2: Something unwanted is added, as when students in the “olden days” had to write “I shall not talk in class” 100 times on the blackboard. In either case, the goal is to weaken the behavior, not strengthen it.

Processes (continued) Generalization – A behavior that spreads from one situation to another. To generalize, or relate a certain situation to another. Discrimination Learning – Learning to tell the difference between one event or object and another; reverse of generalization. In other words, to have a conflicting affect to the generalization that people know.

Extinction Extinction happens when a response is no longer followed by reinforcement, a person will gradually stop making that response. This can happen in both classical and operant conditioning. In both scenarios, the association has been weakened. Classical conditioning - Stimulus no longer present. Operant conditioning – Reinforcement if no longer present .

Shaping and Chaining These are two techniques to teach more complex responses. Shaping – The process of gradually refining a response by successively reinforcing close approximations of it. Chaining - Reinforcing the connection between the parts of a sequence.

Schedules of Reinforcement These are methods for providing reinforcement during operant conditioning. Continuous reinforcement – Reinforcement given each time a behavior occurs. Schedules of reinforcement – The different methods of reinforcing . Partial reinforcement schedule – Reinforcement not given each time an act is performed. There are four types of partial reinforcement schedules.

Types of Partial Reinforcement Schedules Variable Ratio Schedule – Schedule in which reinforcement occurs after a desired act is performed specific but variable number of times. Ex: slot machines, people are reinforced with winning barley any money back, and very infrequently maybe one player wins a jackpot. Fixed Ratio Schedule – schedule in which reinforcement occurs after a desired act is performed a fixed number of times. Ex: A basketball player being rewarded with every point he/she scores in the game.

Types of Partial Reinforcement Schedules (continued) Variable Interval Schedule – Schedule in which reinforcement occurs after a desired act is performed following a variable amount of time. Reinforcement that comes after an unknown period of time. Ex: fishing, basically unknown when someone will catch a fish.

Types of Partial Reinforcement Schedules (continued) Fixed Interval Schedule – Schedule in which reinforcement occurs after a desired act is performed following a fixed amount of time. Ex: Receiving your paycheck! You have to work for a fixed amount of time in order to receive your cash.