PSYC 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Edward Thorndike, B. F. Skinner, Operant Conditioning
14 Jun 2018
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2/05/2018
Operant Conditioning
How is Pavlovian Conditioning Different from Operant Conditioning?
-Operant conditioning focuses on behavioral consequences
-Operates on positive, negative, reinforcer, punisher
Operant conditioning and classical conditioning are both forms of associative learning
Classical conditioning->organisms form associations between stimuli CS + US ->It
involves automatic reactions to stimuli (respondent behavior)->stimulus precedes
Thorndike and the Law of Effect
Edward Thorndike (1898)
Placed cats in puzzle box with a food reward placed outside the box
Recorded the amount of time that it took them to figure out how to escape
Concluded that rewarded behavior is likely to occur, which he called law of effect
The ABCs of operant conditioning
-Antecedent (The stimulus that comes before behavioral response has been made)
-Behavior
-Consequence (Consequence of the action)
Behavior gets worse before it gets better
Important Terms in Operant Procedures
Reinforcement (Anything that increases frequency of behavior)
Punishment (opposite of reinforcement)
Positive (stimulus that is provided to the situation)
Negative (stimulus that is removed from the situation)
How do I describe an operant procedure?
Step 1: What is the behavior I am focusing on?
(ex: Teach a pet Kangaroo to sit on command)
Step 2: Do I want to increase or decrease the output of that behavior?
(ex: increase)
Step 3: What am I going to use as my consequence?
(ex: food reward/praise)
Step 4: Will I be adding this consequence or removing it?
(ex: adding)
B.F Skinner: Reinforcement Schedules
Continuous Reinforcement: Behavior is reinforced every single time
Partial Reinforcement: only reinforced sometimes
Fixed ratio: reinforced after a specified # of responses
Variable ratio: reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses
Fixed intervals: Reinforced after a specified amount of time
Document Summary
Operant conditioning and classical conditioning are both forms of associative learning. Classical conditioning->organisms form associations between stimuli cs + us ->it involves automatic reactions to stimuli (respondent behavior)->stimulus precedes. Placed cats in puzzle box with a food reward placed outside the box. Recorded the amount of time that it took them to figure out how to escape. Concluded that rewarded behavior is likely to occur, which he called law of effect. Antecedent (the stimulus that comes before behavioral response has been made) Positive (stimulus that is provided to the situation) Negative (stimulus that is removed from the situation) Step 1: what is the behavior i am focusing on? (ex: teach a pet kangaroo to sit on command) Step 2: do i want to increase or decrease the output of that behavior? (ex: increase) Step 3: what am i going to use as my consequence? (ex: food reward/praise) Step 4: will i be adding this consequence or removing it? (ex: adding)
