Operant Conditioning

Classical v. Operant

Conditioning

Classical v. Operant Conditioning

• ∙ Both classical and operant conditioning use acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.
• ∙ Classical conditioning uses reflexive behavior - behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus that come before the behavior.
• ∙ Ask: Is the behavior something the animal does NOT control? YES. Does the animal have a choice in how to behave? NO. - Classical conditioning.
• ∙ Operant conditioning uses operant or voluntary behavior – voluntary behavior that is shaped by consequences that come after the behavior
• ∙ Ask: Is the behavior something the animal can control? YES. Does the animal have a choice in how to behave? YES. - Operant Conditioning.

​

Classical v. Operant

Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

• Learning where the frequency of a behavior depends on the consequence that follows that behavior
• The frequency will increase if the consequence is reinforcing to the subject.

• The frequency will decrease if the consequence is not reinforcing or punishing to the subject.

​

The Law of Effect

Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)

• Author of the law of effect
• Behaviors with favorable consequences will occur more frequently.
• Behaviors with unfavorable consequences will occur less frequently.
• Created puzzle boxes for research on cats

Thorndike’s Puzzle Box�“Thorndike’s Puzzle Box” �Video #8 from Worth’s Digital Media Archive (2 min)�

Thorndike’s Puzzle Box

B. F. Skinner (1904–1990)

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

• Believed that internal factors like thoughts, emotions, and beliefs could not be used to explain behavior.
• Instead said that new behaviors were actively chosen by the organism
• Looked at “Operants” or active behaviors that are used on the environment to generate consequences
• Developed the fundamental principles and techniques of operant conditioning and devised ways to apply them in the real world

The Skinner Box/Operant Chamber�

Skinner’s Air Crib:�A room fit for a…Baby!

To read more on this invention: Click Here!

Reinforcement/Punishment

• Reinforcement - Any consequence that increases the likelihood of the behavior it follows
• Reinforcement is ALWAYS GOOD!!!
• Punishment - Any consequence that decreases the likelihood of the behavior it follows
• The subject determines if a consequence is reinforcing or punishing

​

Types of Reinforcement:�- Always GOOD

Positive Reinforcement

• Strengthens a response by presenting a stimulus that you like after a response
• Anything that increases the likelihood of a behavior by following it with a desirable event or state
• The subject receives something they want (added)
• Will strengthen the behavior

Positive Reinforcement

Negative Reinforcement

• Strengthens a response by reducing or removing an aversive (disliked) stimulus
• Anything that increases the likelihood of a behavior by following it with the removal of an undesirable event or state
• Something the subject doesn’t like is removed (subtracted)
• Will strengthen the behavior
• Neg. Rein. Allows you to either:
• Escape something you don’t like that is already present (Neg. Rein. By Escape)
• Avoid something before it occurs (Neg. Rein. By Avoidance)

​

Negative Reinforcement

Positive/Negative Reinforcement

BOTH ARE GOOD THINGS!!!

Punishment:�Always BAD

Punishment

• An undesirable event following a behavior
• Behavior ends a desirable event or state
• Its effect is opposite that of reinforcement – it decreases the frequency of behavior

Positive Punishment�(Punishment by Application)

• Something is added to the environment you do NOT like.
• A verbal reprimand or something painful like a spanking

Negative Punishment�(Punishment by Removal)

• Something is taken away that you DO LIKE.
• Lose a privilege.

The Good Effects of Punishment

• Punishment can effectively control certain behaviors if…
• It comes immediately after the undesired behavior
• It is consistent and not occasional
• Especially useful if teaching a child not to do a dangerous behavior
• Most still suggest reinforcing an incompatible behavior rather than using punishment

Bad Effects of Punishment

• Does not teach or promote alternative, acceptable behavior.
• Only tells what NOT to do while reinforcement tells what to do.

​

​

​

​

• 4 Drawbacks to Physical Punishment:
1. Punished behavior is suppressed, not forgotten.
• If child stops bad behavior, parent is negatively reinforced to use physical punishment again
2. Doesn’t prevent the undesirable behavior when away from the punisher in a “safe setting” (discrimination)
3. Can lead to fear of the punisher, anxiety, and lower self-esteem
4. Children who are punished physically may learn to use aggression as a means to solve problems.

Reinforcement vs. Punishment

​

How is Neg. Reinforcement different from Punishment?

• Negative Reinforcement will always increase a behavior
• Punishment will always decrease a behavior
• Negative Reinforcement is something YOU DO to take away something bad.
• Punishment is something DONE TO YOU that is bad and makes you stop doing a behavior.

Types of Reinforcement & Punishment

How is Punishment & Reinforcement being used to treat severely autistic and/or violent children?

See CNN video clip from Anderson Cooper 360.

Do you think they should be using these conditioning methods on these kids?

Primary Versus Secondary Reinforcement

Primary Reinforcement

• Something that is naturally satisfying
• Examples: food, warmth, water, etc.
• The item is reinforcing in and of itself
• If on a deserted island, these are what you’d want!

Conditioned/Secondary Reinforcement

• Something that a person has Learned to value or finds rewarding because it is paired or associated with a primary reinforcer
• Money is a good example.
• So are grades and signs of respect & approval.

Immediate Versus Delayed Reinforcement

Immediate Reinforcers

• Immediate reinforcers – behaviors that immediately precedes the reinforcer becomes more likely to occur
• (This true when training animals. Can’t wait for a long time before reinforcing or the animal won’t know what behavior you are reinforcing)

​

Delayed Reinforcers

• Also called Delayed Gratification – forgoing a small immediate reinforcement for a greater reinforcement later.
• Humans do this with paychecks, grades.
• When do we not do this?
• Stay up late to watch TV when next day we’re tired
• Smoke for satisfaction now when later it will kill us

Immediate/Delayed Reinforcement

​

• Immediate reinforcement is more effective than delayed reinforcement for initial learning
• Delayed Reinforcement is more resistant to extinction.
• Ability to delay gratification predicts higher achievement

Schedules of Reinforcement

Continuous reinforcement

• A schedule of reinforcement in which a reward follows every correct response
• Learning occurs rapidly
• But the behavior will extinguish quickly once the reinforcement stops.
• Once that reliable pop machine eats your money twice in a row, you stop putting money into it.

Partial Reinforcement

• A schedule of reinforcement in which a reward follows only some correct responses
• Learning of behavior will take longer
• But will be more resistant to extinction
• Includes the following types:
• Fixed-interval and variable interval
• Fixed-ratio and variable-ratio

Discriminative Stimuli

• An environmental stimulus that triggers you to do a certain behavior that will have a consequence.
• In the presence of a specific environmental stimulus (discriminative stimuli) we emit a particular behavior (the operant) which is followed by a consequence (reinforcement or punishment)
• Example: A ringing phone is a discriminative stimulus that sets a particular response of picking it up and speaking in it

​

Extinction

• In operant conditioning, the loss of a conditioned behavior when consequences no longer follow it.
• The subject no longer responds since the reinforcement or punishment has stopped.

I won’t be checking it though

Thoughts from Skinner:

• Skinner believed from the moment of birth, the environment shapes and determines your behavior through reinforcing or punishing consequences. – You don’t really have Free Will
• “B.F. Skinner Interview” (4 min) – Discusses Schedules of Reinforcement & Free Will
• Video #9 from Worth’s Digital Media Archive for Psychology.

​

A person does not act upon the world, the world acts upon him.

Parts of Operant Conditioning�

Some Reinforcement Procedures:�Shaping

Shaping Principles

• Shaping nonverbal animals can show what they perceive. Train an animal to discriminate between classes of events or objects.
• After being trained to discriminate between flowers, people, cars, and chairs, a pigeon can usually identify in which of these categories a new pictured object belongs

Skinner attached some horizontal stripes to the wall which he then used to gauge the dog's responses of lifting its head higher and higher. Then, he simply set about shaping a jumping response by flashing the strobe (and simultaneously taking a picture), followed by giving a meat treat, each time the dog satisfied the criterion for reinforcement. The result of this process is shown below, as it was in LOOK magazine, in terms of the pictures taken at different points in the shaping process. Within 20 minutes, Skinner had Agnes "running up the wall"

​

For the second shaping demonstration, Skinner trained Agnes to press the pedal and pop the top on the wastebasket. Again, the photographer's flash served as the conditioned reinforcer, and each step in the process was photographed. The results are shown below.

​

Classical Conditioning vs.� Operant Conditioning