OPERANT CONDITIONING

Skinner and reinforcement

OPERANT CONDITIONING Learning from consequences of behavior Subject must engage in the behavior in

order for the desired outcome to occur B.F. Skinner: Behavior can be shaped by

rewards and consequences Studied pigeons and tried to shape their

behaviors.

HABITUATION Decreased response to stimulus that

you no longer see as reinforcing Example: Teacher continuously shhhs

the class, initially the class is quiet, however, over time they ignore the shh in order to finish the story

SENITIZATION Change in response to a weak stimuli in

anticipation for a stronger stimuli Example: You tell a child you will play

“chase” after your TV show is over, every commercial break the child jumps up and is ready to play.

SPONTANEOUS BEHAVIOR Voluntary action

Example: Scratching your head

STIMULUS Something that causes a response, can

be positive or negative; verbal, non-verbal, or tangible

REINFORCEMENT Stimulus that effects the behavior

Positive Reinforcement: Stimulus that effects Likely-hood that the subject will repeat desired behavior

EX: Joe got candy when he moved his hands, so he made the same gesture, attempting to get more candy. Candy was a positive reinforcement• Negative Reinforcement: Stimulus that

effects the likely-hood that the subject will not repeat the behavior, or the behavior will become “extinct”

SECONDARY REINFORCER Reinforcer that signals a reward or

punishment is coming: a smile before saying good job, a frown before grounding a child, money to buy food

Secondary Reinforcers often would be neutral stimulus without the conditioning process.

Primary Reinforcer: satisfies a basic need: food, water, sleep, walks…..

SCHEDULED REINFORCEMENT Elaps of time when you will reward behaviorA continuous schedule would be rewarding behavior every time it occurs-learning is faster but not self sustaining over timeA partial schedule is when you reward behavior intermittently – since the reward is given when the behavior is strongest, this produces the bet results and most effective learningExample: clapping at every presentation allows students to feel comfortable with doing projects, but clapping at only exceptional presentations allows students to produce better projects, and work harder..

FIXED RATIO SCHEDULE/VARIABLE RATIO SCHEDULE

~ Ratio Reward is based on number of times you do behavior Fixed:Specified quantity of responsePartial Schedule where you may only reward behavior every third attempt. Variable:Number of reinforcements changes from time to time, dependingKeno: you play any number of games, but only win if the numbers come up. The numbers that pop up vary from time to time.

FIXED INTERVAL SCHEDULE/VARIABLE INTERVAL SCHEDULE:~Interval Rewards are based on time periods- seconds, minutes, days…. Fixed: Reward behavior in predetermined intervals.Timed intervals: every 10 seconds reward silence: students learn that they can talk for five seconds, as long as they are quiet right before the tenth secondSubject will stop responding after reinforcement Variable: Reinforcement time is not predetermined

and is unknownYou are rewarded for doing the best behavior when it occurs learning is best under these conditionsUnannounced tests- you will learn to always be studying because the test could come whenever.

SHAPING Reinforcements used to sculpt a desired

behaviorExample: Getting Joe and Hannah to move their hands above their heads or touch their nose Chaining: increasing the shaping step by

step. Example: Brushing teeth. First you reward for holding the brush, once that is mastered, you reward for placing the brush to the mouth, and so on

MODELING Shaping a behavior by reaction,

imitation, disinhibiting Clapping when someone does

something well, asking someone to repeat an action you

are preforming showing someone that a previously

negative stimulus can be positive

OPERANT CONDITIONING TECHNIQUES POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT = increasing a

behavior by administering a reward

Some examples of positive reinforcement:

A mother gives her son praise (positive stimulus) for doing homework (behavior).The little boy receives $5.00 (positive stimulus) for every A he earns on his report card (behavior).A father gives his daughter candy (positive stimulus) for cleaning up toys (behavior).

OPERANT CONDITIONING TECHNIQUES NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT = increasing a

behavior by removing an aversive stimulus when a behavior occurs

Some examples of negative reinforcement:

Bob does the dishes (behavior) in order to avoid his mother nagging (negative stimulus).Natalie can get up from the dinner table (negative stimulus) when she eats 2 bites of her broccoli (behavior).

OPERANT CONDITIONING: PUNISHMENT PUNISHMENT = decreasing a

behavior by administering an aversive stimulus following a behavior OR by removing a positive stimulus

TYPES OF PUNISHMENT Positive Punishment–  presenting a negative consequence (aversive stimulus) after an undesired behavior is exhibited, making the behavior less likely to happen in the future. 

Some examples of positive punishment:

A child picks his nose during class (behavior) and the teacher reprimands him (negative stimulus) in front of his classmates.

A child grabs a toy from another child (behavior) and is sent to time out (negative stimulus)

NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT / PENALTY Negative punishment

happens when a certain desired stimulus is removed after a particular undesired behavior is exhibited, resulting in the behavior happening less often in the future.

setting, or removal of unidentified positive

reinforces, for a brief period of time

contingent upon the response

Response-cost: removing a specific

positive reinforcer contingent upon the response

NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT

For a child that really enjoys a specific class, such as gym or music classes at school, negative punishment can happen if they are removed from that class (desired stimulus) and sent to the principal’s office because they were acting out/misbehaving (behavior).

If a child does not follow directions or acts inappropriately (behavior), he loses a token for good behavior (desired stimulus) that can later be cashed in for a prize.

Siblings get in a fight (behavior) over who gets to go first in a game or who gets to play with a new toy, the parent takes the game/toy away (desired stimulus).

PUNISHMENT With punishment, always remember that

the end result is to try to decrease the undesired behavior. Positive punishment involves adding a negative consequence after an undesired behavior is emitted to decrease future responses. Negative punishment includes taking away a certain desired item after the undesired behavior happens in order to decrease future responses

ADVERSIVE CONTROL Conditioning through Punishment There are four main drawbacks of aversive

control:1.) Anger and Fear are side effects: The greatest lesson the victim of punishment may learn is to hate the punisher

2.) The whole situation may lead to total avoidance. For example, a child who is severely punished for breaking a family rule may run away from home.

3.) What appears to be a punishment may actually be a reinforcement. For instance, a student who is publicly scolded in class may enjoy the attention.

4.) Punishment may encourage peer glorification of the sufferer. The "martyr's behavior may be imitated.

EXTINCTION OF PUNISHMENTPROCEDURESEXTINCTION = decreasing a behavior by not

rewarding it Extinction of PositivePunishment

following acquisition:– Do Not Present the Aversive Stimulus whenthe response occurs

AS IN REINFORCEMENT, WITHPUNISHMENT PROCEDURES: One can distinguish between Intrinsic andExtrinsic punishment

Intrinsic = the activity itself is punishing for example, riding a roller coaster makes you feel sick; you’re less likely to ride another one because it was inherently punishing Extrinsic = the activity is followed by a

separateevent that is punishingfor example, being rude to a parent results in loss of your allowance for the week; you’re less likely to be rude to your parent in the near future

AS IN REINFORCEMENT, WITHPUNISHMENT PROCEDURES: One can distinguish between Primary and Secondary Punishers, as well as Generalized Punishers – Primary Punisher = one that does not require learning

to be effective • for example, pain is avoided from birth – Secondary Punisher = a punishment that was originally neutral and became aversive through pairing it with a primary punisher • for example, loss of an allowance has been associated

with inability to buy things which has been associated with

hunger and/or embarrassment

LIMITED EFFECTS OF PUNISHMENT

Punishment does not teach appropriate behaviors

Must be delivered immediately & consistently

May result in negative side effects Undesirable behaviors may be learned

through modeling (aggression) May create negative emotions (anxiety

& fear)

PROBLEMS OR SIDE EFFECTS OFPUNISHMENT Aversive (pain producing) stimuli have

beenshown to produce aggression as a side effect in Animals and humans– In animals:• Shock caused a pair of rats to fight• Been shown in cats, raccoons, monkeys & alligators

SUMMARY Punishment is most effective when it isimmediate, firm, consistent, delivered in avariety of settings, includes reinforcing appropriate behavior, and when it is accompanied by a clear (and fair) explanation.

Under these circumstances, punishment can be a powerful technique for suppressing behavior