PSY 200/203 Virginia Union University Chapter 10: Learning

Operant Conditioning Positive Reinforcement Positive Punishment Response Increased Response Decreased Positive Reinforcement Positive Punishment Negative Reinforcement Negative Punishment Stimulus Presented Stimulus Removed Apply your understanding of the four categories of Reinforcement & Punishment to creating 4 unique scenarios that all center on one of the common themes listed below 1. School 2. Money 3. Car

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems Your father gives you a credit card at the end of your first year in college because you did so well. As a result, your grades continue to get better in your second year.

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems Your father gives you a credit card at the end of your first year in college because you did so well. As a result, your grades continue to get better in your second year. Positive Reinforcement!

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems Your car has a red, flashing light that blinks annoyingly if you start the car without buckling the seat belt. You become less likely to start the car without buckling the seat belt.

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems Your car has a red, flashing light that blinks annoyingly if you start the car without buckling the seat belt. You become less likely to start the car without buckling the seat belt. Positive Punishment

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems A professor has a policy of exempting students from the final exam if they maintain perfect attendance during the quarter. His students’ attendance increases dramatically.

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems A professor has a policy of exempting students from the final exam if they maintain perfect attendance during the quarter. His students’ attendance increases dramatically. Negative Reinforcement

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems The child has his crayons taken away for fighting with his sister.

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems The child has his crayons taken away for fighting with his sister. Negative Punishment

Operant Conditioning Partial Reinforcement Schedules Fixed-ratio (FR) Schedule Reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses Schedule produces a high, steady rate of responding with only a brief pause after the delivery of the reinforcer Examples: Rat on a 10-to-1 fixed ratio schedule receives 1 food pellet per 10 bar presses Frequent buyer punch cards Other Examples?

Operant Conditioning Partial Reinforcement Schedules Variable-ratio (VR) Schedule Reinforcement occurs after an average number of responses, which varies from trial to trial Schedule creates a high, steady rate of responding Examples: Rat on a variable ratio 20 schedule might have to press the bar 25X on the 1st trial & 15X on the 2nd trial – the ratio works out to a predetermined average Gambling Other Examples?

Operant Conditioning Partial Reinforcement Schedules Fixed-interval (FI) schedule Reinforcement delivered after a preset time interval has elapsed Schedule causes high amounts of responding near the end of the interval, but much slower responding following the delivery of the reinforcer Examples: Rat on a 2 minute FI schedule would receive food pellets 2 minutes after the first bar press, independent of the number of additional bar presses Paychecks Other Examples?

Operant Conditioning Partial Reinforcement Schedules Variable-interval (VI) schedule Reinforcement occurs for the first response emitted after an average amount of time has elapsed, but the interval varies from trial to trial Produces slow, steady rate of responding Examples: Rat on a VI-30 second schedule might be reinforced for the 1st bar press after 10 seconds for the 1st trial, after 50 seconds for the 2nd trial, and after 30 seconds for the 3rd trial – time elapsed works out to a predetermined average amount of time Whining kids Other Examples?

Partial Reinforcement Schedule Practice Problems

Cognitive Aspects of Operant Conditioning NS = No Response UCR NS UCS = + CS CR =

Cognitive Aspects of Operant Conditioning Step 1: Classical Conditioning Dogs classically conditioned to fear the sound of a tone Dogs in harnesses during classical conditioning, unable to escape Step 2: Operant Conditioning Dogs placed in a shuttlebox divided in half with a low barrier that, one side of the box is electrified, dog can escape shock by jumping over barrier Dogs from step 1 did not try to jump over barrier, why?

Cognitive Aspects of Operant Conditioning Martin Seligman & Learned Helplessness Dogs had learned that the shocks were inescapable, learned they were helpless, didn’t try to escape Learned Helplessness Phenomenon in which exposure to inescapable and uncontrollable aversive events produces passive behavior Other examples of learned helplessness Political process: People are becoming discouraged with the political process and not turning out to vote because nothing gets done. Weight loss programs: There are so many weight loss programs that are ineffective that they discourage people. Studying for class: Students with poor study skills or are using ineffective strategies start to give up on their classes and resign themselves to poor grades.

Observational Learning Human learning can also occur indirectly, by watching what others do and imitating them Observational learning Learning that takes place through observing the actions of others Albert Bandura Bandura credited with observational learning Believed that observation learning was the result of cognitive processes that are actively judgmental and constructive

Bobo Doll

Observational Learning Bobo Doll Study 4 year olds separated into groups and shown 3 different versions of a video Version 1: adult playing aggressively with Bobo Doll reinforced with snacks & candy after Version 2: adult playing aggressively with Bobo doll punished with scolding & spanking after Version 3: adult playing aggressively with Bobo doll receives no consequences Child’s play behavior reflected the version of the video they viewed Children then reinforced for imitating what they saw Suggests that reinforcement is not essential for learning to occur, but the expectation of reinforcement affects the performance of what has been learned

Observational Learning Bandura’s 4 cognitive processes that determine whether imitation will occur 1. Attention You must be paying attention to the other person’s actions 2. Remember You must remember the other person’s behavior 3. Reproduce You must be capable of reproducing what you’ve observed 4. Motivation You must be motivated to imitate the behavior