PSYCO282 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: B. F. Skinner, Reinforcement, Contiguity
12 Feb 2018
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Behaviour is changing, can not be exactly the same every time, so we need a criteria to help define the behaviour. Bf skinner defined behaviour as operant: comes from the verb operating. Operant: a class of behaviour that operates on the environment to produce a common environmental consequence. Learning: a change in behaviour due to experience. Operant learning: a change in a class of behaviour as a function of the consequences that followed it. Punishing behaviour: decreasing the probability of behaviour. You get an increase of whatever the reinforcer is contingent on. Positive reinforcement: ex: rat pressing lever and getting food. Positive and negative is simply describing whether a stimulus is given or taken away: not emotionally related. Simply because a behaviour is rewarding does not mean that the behaviour has been reinforced. Can only call it a reinforcer if the probability of the behaviour increases.
