1. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo PSY - 101 Summer Session 2016 Introductory Psychology Concepts Operant Conditioning

2. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-2 Operant Conditioning: Behavior followed by a consequence The Skinner box is a chamber with a highly controlled environment, used to study operant conditioning processes with laboratory animals.

3. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-3 Reinforcement and Punishment: Positive and negative types Intended Results Increase in behavior (reinforcement) When stimulus is added, the result is... Positive Reinforcement Example: Giving a raise for good performance. Results: INCREASE in response of good performance.

4. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-4 Decrease in behavior (punishment) When stimulus is added, the result is... Positive Punishment Example: Yelling at a teenager for stealing a bracelet. Results: DECREASE in frequency of response of stealing. Intended Results Reinforcement and Punishment: Positive and negative types

5. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-5 Increase in behavior (reinforcement) When stimulus is removed, the result is... Negative Reinforcement Example: Applying ointment to relieve itchy rash leads to higher future likelihood of applying ointment. Results: INCREASE in response of using ointment Intended Results Reinforcement and Punishment: Positive and negative types

6. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-6 Reinforcement and Punishment: Positive and negative types Decrease in behavior (punishment) When stimulus is removed, the result is... Negative Punishment Example: Teenager’s access to car restricted by parents due to teenager’s breaking curfew. Results: DECREASE in response of breaking curfew. Intended Results

7. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-7 Schedules of Reinforcement: Different patterns of frequency and timing of reinforcement following desired behavior. Continuous Reinforcement Schedule: Reinforcing a behavior every time it occurs. Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement Schedule: Reinforcing a behavior some but not all of the time.

8. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-8 Partial Reinforcement Schedules: Cumulative frequency of responses Time Fixed-Ratio Schedule: A schedule by which reinforcement is given only after a specific number of responses are made. Typical Outcome: Short pauses occur after each response. Because the more responses, the more reinforcement, fixed-ratio schedules produce a high rate of responding. There are short pauses after each response.

9. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-9 Partial Reinforcement Schedules: Cumulative frequency of responses Time Variable-Ratio Schedule: A schedule by which reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses rather than after a fixed number. Typical Outcome: Responding occurs at a high rate. Responding occurs at a high, steady rate.

10. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-10 Partial Reinforcement Schedules: Cumulative frequency of responses Time Fixed-Interval Schedule: A schedule that provides reinforcement for a response only if a fixed time period has elapsed, making overall rates of response relatively low. Typical Outcome: Produces lower rates of responding, especially just after reinforcement has been presented. (The organism learns that a specified time period must elapse between reinforcements.) There are typically long pauses after each response.

11. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-11 Partial Reinforcement Schedules: Variable-Interval Schedule: A schedule by which the time between reinforcements varies around some average rather than being fixed. Typical Outcome: Produces a fairly steady stream of responses. Cumulative frequency of responses Time Responding occurs at a steady rate.

12. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-12 Laws of Learning Acquisition (conditioned response and unconditioned response presented together) TrainingCS alone PauseSpontaneous recovery STRONG WEAK Strength of Conditioned Response (CR) TIME

13. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-13 Laws of Learning TIME TrainingCS alone PauseSpontaneous recovery Extinction (conditioned stimulus by itself) A basic phenomenon of learning that occurs when a previously conditioned response decreases in frequency and eventually disappears. Acquisition STRONG WEAK Strength of Conditioned Response (CR)

14. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-14 Laws of Learning TIME TrainingCS alone PauseSpontaneous recovery Spontaneous Recovery The reemergence of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest and with no further conditioning. AcquisitionExtinction Spontaneous recovery of conditioned response Extinction follows (conditioned stimulus alone) STRONG WEAK Strength of Conditioned Response (CR)

15. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-15 Laws of Learning Stimulus Generalization Occurs when a conditioned response follows a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus The more similar the two stimuli are, the more likely generalization is to occur.

16. © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts : Operant Conditioning 5-16 Laws of Learning Stimulus Generalization Occurs when a conditioned response follows a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus; The more similar the two stimuli are, the more likely generalization is to occur. Stimulus Discrimination The process that occurs when two stimuli are sufficiently distinct from one another that one evokes a conditioned response but the other does not The ability to differentiate between stimuli.