PSYC 154 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Flashlight, Reinforcement, Learned Helplessness
Document Summary
What happens to behavior when reinforcement contingencies are broken. We want to change the contingencies that promote/maintain bad behavior (so that behavior will change) More concerned with current contingencies than ones that established behavior. Extinction- process in which a previously reinforced behavior is no longer followed by the reinforcing consequence. Causes behavior to decrease/weaken and stop occurring in the future (doesn"t always need to be completely eliminated, depending on severity of behavior/situation) *punishment is implementing new contingency that deters a behavior, extinction is breaking a preexisting contingency that promotes behavior. If behavior is new, and has never occurred before then it has no previous contingency breaking this behavior would need punishment and. Goal in the present: behavior is no longer reinforced, future goal: behavior stops occurring. All of these changes (from normally what happens) lead to change in behavior. Extinction burst- increase in behavior the first time it is not reinforced.
