Learning Part 2

Operant Conditioning•Operant Conditioning - Associate own actions with consequences

•Actions followed by reinforcers increase•Actions followed by punishments decrease

•Operant Behavior – behavior that produces consequences

•The Learner is NOT passive•Voluntary Response.•Learning associations between events organism does control and own behavior

The Law of Effect

• Edward Thorndike• Locked cats in a cage• Behavior changes because

of its consequences.• Rewarded behavior is likely

to recur.• If consequences are

unpleasant, the Stimulus-Reward connection will weaken.

• Called the whole process instrumental learning.

B.F. Skinner• The Big Daddy of

Operant Conditioning.

• Nurture guy through and through.

• Used a Skinner Box (Operant Conditioning Chamber) to prove his concepts.

Skinner Box – an operant conditioning chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a reinforcer (food), a device records these responses

Shaping Behavior

Shaping is reinforcing small steps on the way to the desired behavior.

Example:

To train a dog to get your slippers, you would have to reinforce him in small steps. First, to find the slippers. Then to put them in his mouth. Then to bring them to you and so on…this is shaping behavior.

To get Barry to become a better student, you need to do more than give him a massage when he gets good grades. You have to give him massages when he studies for ten minutes, or for when he completes his homework. Small steps to get to the desired behavior.

Shaping BehaviorSuccessive Approximations – rewarding responses that are ever-closer to the final desired behavior and ignore all other responsesExample:1.

You could train your boyfriend this way too!!

Reinforces• A reinforcer is anything the INCREASES a

behavior.Positive Reinforcement:• The addition of something pleasant.Negative Reinforcement:• The removal of something unpleasant.• Two types of NR• Escape Learning• Avoidance Learning(Getting kicked out of class versus cutting class)

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT IS NOT PUNISHMENT

Positive or Negative?

Putting your seatbelt on.Studying for a test.

Having a headache and taking an aspirin.

Faking sick to avoid Psych class.

Breaking out of jail.

Getting a kiss for doing the dishes.

Primary v. Secondary ReinforcersPrimary Reinforcer

• Things that are in themselves rewarding

• Example:

Conditioned Reinforcer/Secondary Reinforcer

• A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through assoc. with a primary reinforcer

• Things we have learned to value.

• Example:

PunishmentMeant to decrease a

behavior.Positive Punishment• Addition of something

unpleasant.Negative Punishment

(Omission Training)• Removal of something

pleasant.Punishment works best

when it is immediately done after behavior and if it is harsh!

Positive or Negative?

Spanking Time out Losing Driving Privileges

Detention

Punishments

• Punished behavior is suppressed, not forgotten

• Punishment teaches discrimination

• Punishment can teach fear

• Physical punishment may increase aggressiveness (modeling)

Positive Negative

Reinforcement Add good Remove bad

Punishment Add badRemove

good

Reinforcement & Punishment

Same Terminology as Classical Conditioning

• Acquisition – Associating response with a consequence

• Extinction – Responding decreases when reinforcement stops

• Spontaneous Recovery – reappearance of a behavior after an extinguished response

• Generalization – responses to a similar stimuli are being reinforced

• Discrimination – learn that certain responses and not others will b e reinforced

If we wanted to reinforce this baby’s dancing by giving him lollipops when he dances. Identify the following….

Token Economy

• Every time a desired behavior is performed, a token is given.

• They can trade tokens in for a variety of prizes (reinforcers)

• Used in homes, prisons, mental institutions and schools.

• Example:

Immediate and Delayed Reinforcers

• Immediate – present reinforcer right after the desired behavior

• Delayed – most animals will not learn the desired behavior, however, humans do respond– Paycheck at end of the week– Good Grade at end of term

• Delaying gratification for more valued rewards is part of maturity– Children who delay gratification are more socially

competent and high achieving adults• Marshmallow Study

Superstitions

• Superstitious behavior is reinforced, but the reinforcer is not contingent on the behavior

• Someone is rewarded or punished for a random set of actions

• Example:

Reinforcement Schedules

How often do you give the reinforcer?

• Every time or just sometimes you see the behavior.

Continuous v. Partial Reinforcement

Continuous• Reinforce the behavior

EVERYTIME the behavior is exhibited.

• Usually done when the subject is first learning to make the association.

• Acquisition comes really fast.

• But so does extinction.

Partial

• Reinforce the behavior only SOME of the times it is exhibited.

• Acquisition comes more slowly.

• But is more resistant to extinction.

• FOUR types of Partial Reinforcement schedules.

Ratio Schedules

Fixed Ratio• Provides a

reinforcement after a SET number of responses.

Variable Ratio• Provides a reinforcement

after a RANDOM number of responses (unpredictable).

• Very hard to get acquisition but also very resistant to extinction.

Examples:

Interval Schedules

Fixed Interval• Requires a SET

amount of time to elapse before giving the reinforcement.

Variable Interval• Requires a RANDOM

amount of time (unpredictable) to elapse before giving the reinforcement.

• Very hard to get acquisition but also very resistant to extinction.

Examples:

Reinforcement Schedules

Fixed Variable

Ratio Every so many; a set number

After an unpredictable number; a changing

number

IntervalEvery so often; a fixed

amount of timeUnpredictably often; a

changing amount of time

Schedules of Reinforcement

Cognition and Operant Conditioning

• Expectancy – organisms develop expectations that a response will be reinforced or punished– Animals on fixed-interval

reinforcement schedule respond more and more frequently as the time approaches when a response will produce a reinforcer

Latent Leaning

• Edward Toleman• Three rat

experiment.• Latent means

hidden.• Sometimes learning

is not immediately evident.

• Rats needed a reason to display what they have learned.

Insight Learning

• Wolfgang Kohler and his Chimpanzees.

• Some animals learn through the “ah ha” experience. Click pic to see insight learning.

Intrinsic Motivation

• Who remembers the Overjustification Effect?

• Intrinsic motivation – motivation that comes from inside an individual without external rewards

• Extrinsic Motivation – motivation that comes from promised rewards or to avoid punishment

Biological Predispositions

• Organisms learn behaviors similar to their own natural behaviors best

• Unnatural behaviors instinctively drift back toward natural ones

Skinner’s LegacyApplications of Operant

Conditioning• At school• In sports• At home• For self-

improvement

Contrasting Classical and Operant Conditioning

Observational Learning

• Observational learning/Social Learning – learning by observing and imitating others

• Modeling – the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Children who receive physical punishment tend to display more aggression

Mirrors in the Brain• Mirror neurons – frontal lobe neurons that

fire when performing certain actions or when observing others– Example:

• Theory of mind – a child’s developmental ability to empathize and infer another persons state of mind– Example:

Observational Learning

• Albert Bandura and his BoBo Doll

• We learn through modeling behavior from others.

• Observational learning + Operant Conditioning = Social Learning Theory

Prosocial vs Antisocial Effects• Prosocial effects – positive,

constructive, helpful behavior • Antisocial effects – negative,

destructive, unhelpful behavior