Operant conditioning Zimbardo, P.G. & Johnson, R.L. & McCann, V. (2009). Learning and human nurture. In S. Frail (Ed.) Psychology: Core Concepts (pp ). (6 th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Operant conditioning Voluntary (not just reflexes = CC) Reward and punishments Consequences of behavior encourage or discourage behavior Consequences = reward or punishment More important than classical conditioning

Behaviorism Skinner - consequences Thorndike – law of effect  dog in a boxdog in a box Skinner uses law of effect but gets rid of ‘the mind’ = Radical behaviorism

Reinforcement Try to reinforce the behavior; you want the behavior to happen again, to be repeated:  Positive reinforcement  Negative reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement Positive reinforcer follows and strengthens a response  food, money, sex  smile, praise Positive reinforcement  behavior will happen again

Negative Reinforcement Negative reinforcer is taken away and strengthens the response  rain  noise Negative reinforcement  behavior will happen again The Skinner box Big Bang

The Skinner Box or Operant Chamber

Time and frequency of reinforcements Crucial Continuous reinforcement  Shaping – The PonyThe Pony  Disadvantages: -Not always a reward for good behavior -Subject could get full Experiment

Intermittent reinforcement Not rewarding all correct responses Already learned behavior Social reinforcement – ‘Good dog’ Resistance to extinction (2 slotmachines) Schedules of reinforcement  Ratio – reinforcement after a certain number of responses  Interval – reinforcement after a certain time interval

Time and frequency of intermittent reinforcements 1.Fixed ratio 2.Variable ratio 3.Fixed interval 4.Variable interval

Ratio schedules Fixed ratio (FR)  work faster  production  disadvantages? Variable ratio (VR)  less predictable, very effective  telemarketing  slot machines

Interval schedules Fixed interval (FI)  weekly quizzes  rats in a lab  paycheck (extension of a weekly contract) Variable interval (VI)  random visits boss  pop quizzes  fishing

B.F. Skinner Schedule of reinforcement Ping Pong

Applied to a work situation Which of these schedules of reinforcement is useful for what type of job? Paycheck or supervision?

Primary and secondary reinforcers Primary reinforcers Secondary or conditioned reinforcers How secondary reinforcers can become primary ones.

Biological base in operant conditioning Biological base of operant conditioning  certain reinforcers (junk food)  instinctive drift  Nature vs. Nurture Humans and operant conditioning  Token economies

The Premack Principle Desirable activities as a reinforcer  exercise  run around Experiments  thirsty rats  exercise deprived rats

Reinforcement across cultures What is a good reinforcer?  eating chocolate cake  taking away the noise of heavy metal music  going to the gym

Punishment Discourage behavior Opposite of reinforcement  positive punishment -Hotplate -Fingers between doors -Cut in your fingers -Using salt instead of sugar  negative punishment -Teenagers phone -No dessert

Punishment Punishment has to change the behavior -Spanking -Speeding ticket -Behavior point deduction Continuous (unlike reinforcement)  Employee comes in late (rewarding) Different from negative reinforcement - Rat presses lever to turn off the loud sound - Rat presses lever and a loud sound starts

Operant Conditioning

Punishment Does punishment work? What are the reasons of punishment? Punishment or reinforcer?

Why do people punish? It immediately changes behavior Punisher may feel good But does it work in the long run?

Effective punishment = difficult 1.Threat goes away -Supervision -Police 2.Reward is bigger than the punishment -Dieting -Drugs

Effective punishment = difficult 3. Aggression and escape -Prison -Rats in a shock box -Aggression can be used to influence 4. Stops the learning process -Learned self-helplessness (depression) -Focus on what not to do

Effective punishment = difficult 5. Applied unequally  boys  children  minority groups Does punishment ever work?  Self-destructive behavior  Logical consequence

Effective punishment 1.Immediate 2.Consistent – every time 3.Limited time and intensity 4.Logical consequence of behavior – late for dinner  eat dinner cold 5.Limited to the situation 6.No mixed messages ‘ no hitting in this house’ 7.Negative punishment

Examples of Operant Conditioning Lab rat Big Bang

How to change behavior? Positive reinforcement (Premack Principle) Punishment Negative reinforcement (nagging, allowed to come out of ‘time out’) Extinction – ignoring the behavior Combination!

Classical conditioningOperant conditioning First = stimulus Second = behavior First = behavior Second = stimulus Encourage/discourage behavior with consequences (reward or punishment) No reward or punishment (pleasant or aversive stimuli) Reward or punishment New stimulus produces and ‘old’ (reflexive) behavior A new stimulus (reinforcer) produces new behavior Extinction = withholding UCSExtinction = withholding reinforcement Involuntary responses (reflexive) Voluntary responses