PSYC104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Operant Conditioning, Reinforcement, Observational Learning
13 Jun 2018
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Lecture Five – Operant Conditioning
Introduction
- Frederik Skinner important
- Learning that occurs from possible consequences of our actions
- Thorndike:
o Law of effect
o Leaig aused y oseuees o effets
o Behaious that ae satisfyig ae staped i
o Behaious that had a aoyig effet ee staped out
o Probability of an action being repeated is strengthened when it is followed by a
pleasant or satisfying consequence
- Skinner
o Consequences of behaviour will determine the probability it occurs again
1. Reinforcement (increase likelihood of response) and
2. Punishment (decreases probability)
▪ Always defined after the fact
Operant Conditioning
- An individual will make an association between a particular behaviour and a consequence
- Learning through reinforcement and punishment
- Responses are voluntary, unlike classical conditioning
- Behaviour is modified according to consequences
“kiers Radical Behaviouris
- Fatos otollig a ogaiss ehaiou as the oseuee of that ehaiou
- No need to hypothesise internal processes
- Only appropriate object of study is overt, observable behaviour
- The las goeig leaig ia opeat oditioig ee the sae fo all ogaiss
Reinforcement Contingencies
- Contingencies reflect conditions that must be met in order for reinforcement to be
dispensed
- Reinforcement must be meaningful to organism
- Reinforcement must follow the behaviour
The Consequence of Responding in Operant Conditioning
- Used where there is a contingent relationship between a behaviour and an event – a
consequence is an event that is caused by a behaviour
- Consequences:
o Presentation of a stimulus
o Removal of a stimulus that is already present
- Positive contingency – where response causes presentation of a stimulus
- Negative contingency – where response causes the removal of a stimulus that is already
present
- Different types of stimulus events:
o Pleasant
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
o Unpleasant (aversive)
o Neutral
o Positive and negative describes contingent relationships, not type of stimulus
Two Types of Effects on Behaviour – Consequence Relationships on Behaviour
- Reinforcement – any contingent relationship between a consequence and response that
causes the response to increase in frequency
- Punishment – any contingent relationship between a consequence and response that causes
the response to decrease in frequency
Four Types of Behaviour-Consequence Relationships in Operant Conditioning
TYPE OF STIMULUS
Appetitive nice
Aversive nasty
CONTINGENCY
Positive (stimulus
added)
Positive
reinforcement
Positive punishment
Negative (stimulus
removed)
Negative punishment
Negative
reinforcement
Behaviour increases in frequency
Behaviour decreases in frequency
Discriminative Stimuli
- In classical conditioning – elicits automatic responses (involuntary reflexes)
- Operant conditioning – informs us when we can emit a voluntary response
- Positive reinforcement strengthens a behaviour by providing a rewarding consequence
- Disiiatie stiuli ifo the aial/peso he espodig is eefiial ad he its
not
- Discriminative stimulus – when a present response will be followed by reward or
punishment
- Can produce stimulus generalisation or stimulus discrimination
- Negative reinforcement – strengthens behaviour because it stops or removes an unpleasant
experience
Acquiring Complex Behaviour: Shaping
- Complex behaviour such as bar-pressing is unlikely to occur spontaneously – hard to
reinforce
- Shaping is the solution to this
o Where reinforcement is delivered for successive approximations of the desired
response
▪ Training a dog to fetch the paper
▪ Teach a child to tie shoelaces
Variables That Affect Operant Conditioning – These Apply to Both Reinforcers and
Punishers
- Effect of delay or reward on operant conditioning
- The greater the delay – the weaker the learning
Reinforcer magnitude:
- The larger the reward, the faster the acquisition of learning
- The quality of reinforcer is important
- Reward must be of certain value in order for the instrumental response to be performed
(after acquisition)
Magnitude of Reinforcer
- Crespi – the larger the reward, the faster rats run down an alley
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Learning that occurs from possible consequences of our actions. Skinner: consequences of behaviour will determine the probability it occurs again, reinforcement (increase likelihood of response) and, punishment (decreases probability, always defined after the fact. An individual will make an association between a particular behaviour and a consequence. Fa(cid:272)to(cid:396)s (cid:272)o(cid:374)t(cid:396)olli(cid:374)g a(cid:374) o(cid:396)ga(cid:374)is(cid:373)(cid:859)s (cid:271)eha(cid:448)iou(cid:396) (cid:449)as the (cid:272)o(cid:374)se(cid:395)ue(cid:374)(cid:272)e of that (cid:271)eha(cid:448)iou(cid:396) Only appropriate object of study is overt, observable behaviour. The la(cid:449)s go(cid:448)e(cid:396)(cid:374)i(cid:374)g (cid:862)lea(cid:396)(cid:374)i(cid:374)g(cid:863) (cid:448)ia ope(cid:396)a(cid:374)t (cid:272)o(cid:374)ditio(cid:374)i(cid:374)g (cid:449)e(cid:396)e the sa(cid:373)e fo(cid:396) all o(cid:396)ga(cid:374)is(cid:373)s. Contingencies reflect conditions that must be met in order for reinforcement to be dispensed. Used where there is a contingent relationship between a behaviour and an event a consequence is an event that is caused by a behaviour. Consequences: presentation of a stimulus, removal of a stimulus that is already present. Positive contingency where response causes presentation of a stimulus. Negative contingency where response causes the removal of a stimulus that is already present.
