PSYC 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Operant Conditioning Chamber, Operant Conditioning, Reinforcement
Document Summary
Operant conditioning: behavior operates on the environment to produce rewarding or punishing stimuli > organisms associate. Thorndyke"s law of effect: responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation. Developed behavioral technology and principles of behavior control. Designed and used the skinner box for experiments and recorded responses. Skinner box: inside the box, the rat presses a bar for a food reward. Outside, a measuring device records the animal"s accumulated responses. Reinforcement: any event that strengthens a preceding response. Shaping: gradually guiding toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. A dog may be shaped to sense drugs. An otter may be shaped to discriminate objects of different shapes, colors, and sizes. Positive reinforcement: increases behavior by presenting positive reinforcers: any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.
