PSYC 351 Lecture 36: class 36
8 Apr 2020
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Definition of a reinforcer: revisited: a stimulus that produces a satisfying state of affairs (thorndike), a stimulus or outcome that increases the response that caused that stimulus to become available (skinner). Reinforcer responses were assumed to be special because they involved the consummation of: an instinctive behavior sequence, class notes. Species-specific consummatory behaviors are a critical feature of reinforcers (eating, licking). They: are involves in the completion of an instinctive behavioral sequence. They are fundamentally different from: various instrumental responses (lever-pressing, running). The premack principle: premack pointed out that responses that accompany commonly used reinforcers involve activities that individuals are highly likely to perform. In a food reinforcement experiment, participants are food-deprived and are likely to eat. An experimentally na ve rat is much less likely to press a response than it is to eat: premack proposed that this difference in response probabilities is critical for reinforcement. The premack: principle can be stated as follows:
