01:830:101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Operant Conditioning Chamber, Operant Conditioning, Puzzle Box

• School: Rutgers University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: 01:830:101
• Professor: BRYNILDSEN

Document Summary

Certain responses are learned because they operate on, or affect, the environment. Behavior is first, then reward is given. The tendency of an organism to produce a behavior depends on the effect the behavior has on the environment. Cat did trial and error behaviors to eventually find a behavior that would allow them to get out. Over trials, the time it took the cat to get out decreased. Presses bar-receives food pellet (reinforcer)-increases bar pressing. Animal would learn to continue to press bar for food. Conditioning process that increases the probability that a response will occur. Conditioning process that decreases the probability that a behavior will occur. Problem: must wait until the response is exhibited before reinforcing. Reinforcing closer and closer approximations of the desired response. Uses successive approximations- responses that are increasingly similar to the desired response (learn in steps) Positve reinforcement: presentation of a pleasant stimulus after a behavior-increases probability of behavior.