Study GuidePsychology of Learning (PSY211)

Exam #2

Operant and Instrumental Conditioning: Reinforcement

Key terms

Operant (emitted) behavior Reflexive (elicited) behaviorTrial and error/success Law of effectPositive reinforcement Negative reinforcementPrimary reinforcer Secondary (conditioned) reinforcerGeneralized reinforcer Superstitious behaviorSuccessive approximation (shaping) ChainingAcquisition ExtinctionSpontaneous recovery ResurgencePrimary drives Secondary drivesEscape conditioning Avoidance conditioning

Key issues/distinctions/questions

Identify the sequence of events that leads to reinforcement or punishment.Why is classical conditioning termed S-S and operant conditioning termed S-R-S?Generate examples of the following:

Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement Primary reinforcer Secondary reinforcer Positive punishment Negative punishment Shaping Chaining Superstitious behavior Extinction Spontaneous recovery Escape conditioning Avoidance conditioning

What effect do the following have on the acquisition of operant behaviors (i.e., on the speed of conditioning or the strength of the response)?

Amount of reward Type of reward Delay of reward Conditioning somatic (voluntary) behavior versus autonomic (involuntary)

behaviors. Motivation level Competing rewards

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Reward contingency Awareness of reward

What effect do the following have on the extinction of operant behaviors? Extinction burst Reinforcement variability Stimulus variability Response variability

How do the following theories of reinforcement differ? What are the basic problems with each theory?

Hedonic Drive reduction Relative value

What are the two processes in the two-process theory of avoidance? Why is there a problem with using these two processes to explain avoidance?

Operant and Instrumental Conditioning: Punishment

Key terms

Positive punishment Negative punishmentDisplaced aggression Elicited aggressionLearned helplessness DRL, DRO, DRI, DRAPunishment as retribution Punishment as deterrence

Key issues/distinctions/questions

How are punishment and negative reinforcement different?How are negative punishment and extinction related?What effect do the following conditions have on punishment?

R-S contingency R-S delay Intensity of punisher Progressive punishment Behaviors that are both reinforced and punished Presence of alternative behaviors Behaviors that are highly motivated

How do the one-process and two-process theories of punishment differ?What are seven major problems with using punishment for behavioral control?What are six alternatives to aversive control?What are the three primary theories of punishment? Which theory is the most limited?Why has incarceration (imprisonment) been used as a form of punishment over the years?

Has incarceration been successful?

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Operant and Instrumental Conditioning: Schedules

Key terms

Cumulative responses Response rateContinuous reinforcement Intermittent (partial) reinforcementRatio schedule Interval scheduleFixed ratio (FR) Variable ratio (VR)Post-reinforcement pause Run rateFixed interval (FI) Variable interval (VI) Fixed time (FT) Variable time (VT)Fixed duration (FD) Variable duration (VD)Differential reinforcement of low Differential reinforcement of high

rates (DRL) rates (DRH)Differential reinforcement of zero Differential reinforcement of

responses (DRO) alternative responses (DRA)Differential reinforcement of incompatible Ratio stretch/strain

responses (DRI) Partial reinforcement effectResistance to extinction

Key issues/distinctions/questions

What behavioral pattern on a cumulative record do the following schedules produce? Give examples of each:

Fixed ratio Variable ratio Fixed interval Variable interval

Give examples of the following time-related schedules: Fixed time Variable time Fixed duration Variable duration

Give examples of the following rate-related schedules: DRL DRH Ratio stretch

Describe the four hypotheses of the partial reinforcement effect. How are they different?

Generalization, Discrimination & Transfer

Key terms

Stimulus generalization Response generalizationStimulus discrimination Response discriminationStimulus control Discriminative stimuli (S+)

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Excitatory gradient Inhibitory gradientPeak shift Basic transfer designPositive transfer Negative transferPractice/Warm-up effects Learning to learn/Strategies

Key issues/distinctions/questions

Provide examples of the following: Stimulus generalization Response generalization Stimulus discrimination Response discrimination

What are the essential elements of Pavlov’s Brain Theory of discrimination?What are the essential elements of Spence’s Gradient Theory of discrimination? How

does it differ from the Lashley-Wade theory?Using the basic transfer design, how does a researcher know when positive transfer has

occurred? Why?Using the basic transfer design, how does a researcher know when negative transfer has

occurred? Why?In a transfer task, what do the letters A-B stand for when applied to the first task? What

do the letters C-D refer to when applied to the second task?Which of the following conditions usually lead to positive transfer and which usually

lead to negative transfer? Response generalization Stimulus generalization Response integration Response interference

Supply some examples of the following transfer situations. Which produce positive transfer and which produce negative transfer?

Task 1 Task 2A-B C-DA-B A-B’A-B A’-BA-B A’-B’A-B C-BA-B A-DA-B A-Br

What is meant by the content of transfer?What is meant by the context of transfer?What are the three content areas of transfer? Describe each.What are the six context areas of transfer? Describe each.What is the difference between near transfer and far transfer?

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