1. Skinner and reinforcement
Operant Conditioning
Skinner and reinforcement

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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.

5. Spontaneous Behavior
Voluntary action
Example: Scratching your head

6. Stimulus
Something that causes a response, can be positive or negative; verbal, non-verbal, or tangible

7. 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”

8. 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…..

9. Scheduled Reinforcement
Elaps of time when you will reward behavior
A continuous schedule would be rewarding behavior every time it occurs-learning is faster but not self sustaining over time
A 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 learning
Example: 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..

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

11. 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 second
Subject will stop responding after reinforcement
Variable: Reinforcement time is not predetermined and is unknown
You are rewarded for doing the best behavior when it occurs learning is best under these conditions
Unannounced tests- you will learn to always be studying because the test could come whenever.

12. Shaping Reinforcements used to sculpt a desired behavior
Example: 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

13. 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

14. 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).

15. 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).

16. Operant Conditioning: Punishment
PUNISHMENT = decreasing a behavior by administering an aversive stimulus following a behavior OR by removing a positive stimulus

17. 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)

18. 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

19. 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).

20. 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

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

22. Extinction of Punishment Procedures
EXTINCTION = decreasing a behavior by not rewarding it
Extinction of PositivePunishment following acquisition:
– Do Not Present the Aversive Stimulus when
the response occurs

23. As in Reinforcement, with Punishment Procedures:
One can distinguish between Intrinsic and
Extrinsic 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 separate
event that is punishing
for 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

24. As in Reinforcement, with Punishment 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

25. 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)

26. Problems or Side Effects of Punishment
Aversive (pain producing) stimuli have been
shown 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

27. Summary Punishment is most effective when it is
immediate, firm, consistent, delivered in a
variety 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