Operant Conditioning – Module 19 Cognitive (Latent) Learning – Module 19 Intro Psychology Oct 21-23, 2009 Classes #23-24
Jan 04, 2016
Operant Conditioning – Module 19Cognitive (Latent) Learning –
Module 19
Intro Psychology Oct 21-23, 2009Classes #23-24
Instrumental Conditioning
E. L. Thorndike (1905) Described the learning that
was governed by his "law of effect" as instrumental conditioning because responses are strengthened when they are instrumental in producing rewards
Law of Effect Responses that are
rewarded are more likely to be repeated and responses that are produce discomfort are less likely to be repeated
Thorndike's Puzzle Box
In his classic experiment, a cat was locked in the box and enticed to escape by using food that was placed out of the reach from the box The box included ropes, levers, and
latches that the cat could use to escape Trial and error behavior would lead to
ultimate success (usually within three minutes)
Thorndike felt we learned things through trial and error – awareness
Gestalt Viewpoint
Wolfgang Kohler A Gestalt psychologist had an opposing
view is that we learn things implicitly – unawareness – natural insight
Example: gorilla in a cage – food out of reach – but stick is not…
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning A type of learning in which voluntary
(controllable and non-reflexive) behavior is strengthened if it is reinforced and weakened if it is punished (or not reinforced)
Skinner (1938)
The organism learns a response by operating on the environment…
Note: The terms instrumental conditioning and
operant conditioning describe essentially the same learning process and are often used interchangeably
Basically, Skinner extended and formalized many of Thorndike's ideas
Operant Conditioning
Response comes first and is voluntary unlike classical where stimulus comes first and response is involuntary Classical: S R Operant: S R S
that becomes
R S
The Skinner Box
Soundproof chamber with a bar or key that could be manipulated to release a food or water reward
Shaping:Reinforcing successive approximations
Responses that come successively closer to the desired response were reinforced… Skinner referred to this as his “Behavioral
Technology” Taught pigeons “unpigeon-like” behaviors Walking in Figure 8, playing ping-pong, and
keeping a “guided missile” on course by pecking at a moving target displayed on a screen…but most proud of getting them to hoist an American flag and then to salute it
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
In the Lab…
Operant Conditioning
Important terms Primary Reinforcers Conditioned (Secondary) Reinforcers Positive Reinforcement Punishment Negative Reinforcement
Reinforcers
Primary Reinforcers Innately rewarding; no learning necessary Stimulus that naturally strengthens any
response that precedes it without the need for any learning on the part of the organism
Food, water, etc. Secondary Reinforcers
A consequence that is learned by pairing with a primary reinforcer
For people, money, good grades, and words of praise, etc. are often linked to basic rewards
We need money to buy food, etc.
Positive Reinforcement
Behavior is strengthened when something pleasant or desirable occurs following the behavior With the use of positive
reinforcement chances that the behavior will occur in the future is increased
Punishment
Any stimulus presented immediately after a behavior in order to decrease the future probability of that behavior For example:
If your kid runs into the middle of the street and you flip out and “express to him how bad he is” this (at least in psychological terms) is only considered to be punishment if it does in fact lead to a decrease in that child’s behavior of running into the street
Negative Reinforcement
One of the most misunderstood terms in psychology…
Definitely a problem with semantics here The word reinforcement means that a response is
strengthened The word negative seems to imply that the
response is somehow weakened This is not the case here! So how literally can a response be negatively
reinforced??? Often, this term is misapplied to term punishment
So lets try to proceed slowly in our attempts to figure this out…
Negative Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement is a reward That’s easy enough
Punishment is something that weakens a response Again, this is pretty basic
In an attempt to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant response is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus. This is negative reinforcement… Example: When a child says "please" and
"thank you" to his/her mother, the child may not have to engage in his/her dreaded chore of setting the table
Negative Reinforcement
So we are learning to do something to turn off a bad stimulus Example: We put on boots to prevent
sitting in class with wet socks on Increasing a behavior to stop a bad thing
from occurring Doing something to remove the reinforcer
Types of Negative Reinforcement
Escape Conditioning This occurs when the behavior has led to a reduction of the
aversiveness of the environment Example: Rats moving away from the shock area after
feeling the pain This does involve an observable change in the
environment Avoidance Conditioning
When a behavior has prevented the onset of an impending increase in the aversiveness of the environment
Example: Rats moving away from the shock area after hearing a signal that the shock is about to be administered
A child apologizes upon seeing their parent frowning thus avoiding being yelled at
Involves no observable change in the environment
Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous Reinforcement
Reinforcement delivered every time a particular response occurs
Intermittent Reinforcement Reinforcement is administered only some of
the time
Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement Fixed-Ratio
Reinforcement provided after a fixed number of responses
Food every tenth bar press
Variable-Ratio Reinforcement after a
a variable number of responses (works on a average)
Unpredictable number of responses are required (slot machines)
Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement Fixed-Interval Schedules
Provides reinforcement for the first response that occurs after some fixed time has passed since the last reward
Number of responses doesn’t matter only time Example: Food is given to rats every 20 min.
Variable-Interval Schedule Reinforce the first responses after a certain amount of
time has past Again number of responses doesn’t matter But this time the amount of time changes
Might be the first response after ten minutes then the next time it is the first response after 20 minutes, and then the next time it is the first response after 30 min…
Applications of Operant Conditioning: In the Classroom Skinner thought that our education system was
ineffective He suggested that one teacher in a classroom
could not teach many students adequately when each child learns at a different rate
He proposed using teaching machines (what we now call computers) that would allow each student to move at their own pace
The teaching machine would provide self-paced learning that gave immediate feedback, immediate reinforcement, identification of problem areas, etc., that a teacher could not possibly provide
Applications of Operant Conditioning: In the Workplace
Pedalino & Gamboa (1974) To help reduce the frequency of employee
tardiness, these researchers implemented a game-like system for all employees that arrived on time
When an employee arrived on time, they were allowed to draw a card
Over the course of a 5-day workweek, the employee would have a full hand for poker
At the end of the week, the best hand won $20 This simple method reduced employee
tardiness significantly and demonstrated the effectiveness of operant conditioning on humans
Criticisms Of The Use Of Reinforcement
Criticism #1: Behavior should not have to rely on
persuasion… It is manipulative and controlling Appropriate behavior should be the norm Skinner says we are always controlled by
rewards but often are unaware of these… Parents, peers, schools, employers, etc. all
use rewards to control our behavior Skinner:
If its manipulative then everyone is to blame?
Criticisms Of The Use Of Reinforcement
Criticism #2: Reinforcement undermines Intrinsic
Motivation…Messes up our inner desire to do
somethingNow we need to do it for a tangible
rewardExample: Child cleaning his/her room…
Why do they do it? Be careful of overjustification…
Cognitive Learning
Focus on the role of thinking processes in learning
Theory based on unseen internal factors rather than on external factors Skinner was very much against these theories
but lets look at one…latent learning…
Latent Learning
Tolman and Honzik (1930) Took three groups of rats and had them run a
maze Group 1
Reinforced every time they found their way out of the maze (food box) for ten days
Group 2 Never reinforced (no food at the end)
Group 3 Reinforced only after day 10 of the experiment
Latent Learning On day 11, they timed the three groups to
see which group would make it through the maze the quickest… Which group do you think was the
fastest?