Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Respondent and Operant Conditioning...

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Respondent and Operant Conditioning

Together

Chapter 15


Review

• Respondent Conditioning– If a neutral stimulus is followed closely in time by an unconditioned stimulus (US), which elicits and unconditioned response (UR), then the previously neutral stimulus will also elicit UR in the future

• Operant Conditioning– The modification of behavior by its consequences


Respondent and Operant Conditioning

• Experiences often include both respondent and operant conditioning occurring together

• Complete behavioral explanations sometimes require consideration of both


Example of Respondent and Operant Conditioning

Interacting


Respondent and Operant Component of Emotions

• Four important areas:– Reaction one feels during the experience of emotion

– The way the emotion is outwardly expressed or disguised

– Becoming aware of emotions and describing emotions

– Causes of emotions


The Respondent Componentof Emotions

• Reflexive reaction of body – Digestive system– Circulatory system– Respiratory system

• Controlled by autonomic nervous system– Fight or flight– Relaxation– Nearly every organ or gland controlled by the autonomic nervous system is susceptible to respondent conditioning


The Case of “Little Albert”:

Watson & Rayner (1920)• Conditioned emotional responses• Conducted experiment with 11-month-old infant, Albert• Used respondent procedures to condition fear response

– Presented Albert with object (white rat, etc.)– Albert plays with it, unafraid– Demonstrated that striking steel bar with a hammer,

produced a fear response– Struck steel bar with hammer while Albert played with a

white rat– Albert became conditioned to fear the rat– Albert also showed generalization to other objects

(e.g., white fur coat) not used in conditioning• Watson did not extinguish the fear response in Albert

(Albert left the hospital)• Mary Carver Jones (1924) showed that a fear response

in a child similar to Albert can be eliminated through by gradual exposure to the feared object (a form of extinction)


Operant Components of Emotion: Actions,

Descriptions, and Awareness• Displays of emotion depend on learning history – operant conditioning at play

• Labeling of emotions may be inaccurate if we don’t know:– Emotion causing events– Inner feelings– Relevant operant behaviors


Some Causes of Emotions

• Happiness– Presentation of reinforcers

• Anger– Withholding of reinforcers

• Anxiety– Presentation of aversive stimuli

• Relief– Withdrawal of aversive stimuli


Respondent and Operant Components of Thinking

• Imagery – Respondent – Thinking can produce brain reactions of sensations

– Body reactions• Self-Talk – Operant

– Much of thinking is verbal– At 5–6 years, begin subvocal speech (talk silently to self)

– Learn what is appropriate to say and what isn’t


Private Thoughts and Feelings

• Principles and procedures of operant and respondent conditioning apply to private behavior

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Respondent and Operant Conditioning...

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