LAWS 3307 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Reinforcement, Noam Chomsky, Oneword
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Knowledge is mediated by innate ideas or structures. These innate ideas or structures are present at birth. Knowledge and reason come from experience, i. e. from the senses. At birth the mind is a blank slate. It is possi(cid:271)le to e(cid:454)plai(cid:374) all of (cid:373)e(cid:374)tal life i(cid:374) te(cid:396)(cid:373)s of o(cid:374)e(cid:859)s (cid:271)eha(cid:448)io(cid:396), (cid:449)ithout (cid:396)efe(cid:396)e(cid:374)(cid:272)e to (cid:862)i(cid:374)te(cid:396)(cid:374)al(cid:863) e(cid:448)e(cid:374)ts. The pigeon is in a state of deprivation (hunger). The desired behavior (pecking the peck sign) is reinforced with a reward (food) that reduces deprivation. As a result, an increased association of a response (pecking behavior) to stimulus (the presence of (cid:858)peck(cid:859)(cid:895). Operant conditioning: changing behavior by means of a pattern of positive reinforcement. All behavior is entirely explainable as a response to environmental stimulus and to the history of reinforcement. No (cid:374)eed to appeal to i(cid:374)te(cid:396)(cid:374)al states o(cid:396) (cid:862)(cid:396)ep(cid:396)ese(cid:374)tatio(cid:374)s(cid:863) that (cid:272)ould de-couple the tight relationship between stimulus and behavior. Skinner sees no difference between pigeon behavior and human behavior.
