PSY 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Amygdala, Nucleus Accumbens, Operant Conditioning
Document Summary
Operant conditioning (instrumental conditioning): a learning process in which the consequences of an action determine the likelihood that it will be performed in the future. You can control the events unlike classical conditioning where it is out of your control. Reinforcer: a stimulus that follows a response, and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated. Operant chamber/skinner box: all-inclusive box that tested operant conditioning, just had to observe. Shaping: an operant conditioning technique in which you award any behavior that is increasingly similar to the desired behavior. Reinforcing successive approximations eventually produces the desired behavior. Primary reinforcers: reinforcements that satisfy the basic needs such as food and water. Animals are encouraged by these out in the wild, because survival means the passing on of their genes. Premack principle: a more-valued activity can be used to reinforce the performance of a less-valued activity. Negative reinforcement: increases a behavior through removal of an unpleasant stimuli.
