PS261 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Operant Conditioning Chamber, Delivery (Commerce), Reinforcement
Document Summary
Early investigations of instrumental conditioning: begin in early work of thorndike. Pursued this through empirical research: puzzle boxes. Placing a hungry animal in puzzle box with food left outside in plain view of animal, goal was to escape the box. Different boxes different responses: thorndike"s research significant advance in animal intelligence studies. Did not think they got more intelligent. Interpreted results as reflecting learning of an s-r association: formulated the law of effect. If response in presence of stimulus followed by satisfying event, association is strengthened. If followed by annoying event, s-r association is weakened. Modern approaches to study of instrumental learning: discrete-trial procedures, discrete trial procedures similar to method thorndike used, animals are removal of animals from apparatus and instrumental response performed only once during trial. Often conducted in some sort of maze: mazes introduced by w. s small. Mazes would take advantage of rats" propensity for small winding passages: two types of mazes.
