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Escape & Avoidance

Learning, Lecture 16

Mark Berg

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Negative Reinforcement

  • Removal of an aversive stimulus following a response
  • Then leads to an increase in the strength of that response
  • Wave away wasps → wasp flies away → repeat next time

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Negative Reinforcement

  • Associated with:
  • 1. Escape behavior
      • Performance of the behavior terminates the aversive stimulus
  • 2. Avoidance behavior
      • Performance of the behavior prevents the aversive stimulus from occurring

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Escape

  • Escape from rain by running indoors after it starts

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Avoid

  • Avoid the rain completely by getting inside before the storm starts

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Shuttle Avoidance Procedure

  • Animal has to shuttle back and forth to avoid an aversive stimulus

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Negative Reinforcement

  • Crossing the barrier is negatively reinforced by the removal of shock

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Avoidance

  • Escape behavior is generally easier to understand
  • Researchers have focused on avoidance
  • Motivation behind avoidance is less obvious
  • How can moving from one no-shock area to another no-shock area function as a reinforcer?

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Two-Process Theory of Avoidance

  • Two processes are make up the avoidance response
  • Classical conditioning of the fear response to the CS
  • Operant conditioning that negatively reinforces moving away from the CS by reducing the fear

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Avoidance and Phobias

  • Many phobias are based on a classically conditioned fear response
  • Individual avoids the feared stimulus
  • Fear response fails to go through extinction
  • Is the lab situation the same?

Nick White

41 Hours

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Avoidance and Phobias

  • Laboratory equivalent by Stampfl

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OCD

  • Obsessive compulsive disorder
  • Involves an active avoidance response
  • Do vs Not Do
  • Two process theory of avoidance has helped with treatment of OCD

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OCD Treatment

  • ERP
  • Exposure and response prevention
  • Prolonged exposure to the anxiety arousing event
  • All the while not allowing performance of the anxiety reducing behavior
  • Combines graduated exposure of systematic desensitization along with flooding therapy

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OCD Treatment

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OCD Treatment

  • First visualized then carried out in-vivo
  • Long exposures, 90 minutes or more
  • Practice at home
  • Avoid any compulsive behavior patterns
  • Once OCD behavior has been eliminated normal behavior is re-established
  • Most people with OCD cannot remember ever having gone through a particular conditioning event
  • Selective sensitization → phobia
    • Also OCD