Instrumental Conditioning Also called Operant Conditioning

Pavlovian Conditioning = Stimulus learning Instrumental Conditioning = Response learning Instrumental behavior = behavior that occurs because it was previously instrumental in producing certain consequences Also called ‘goal-directed’ behavior

Early work in this area done by Thorndike (late 1800s)  put cats in puzzle boxes  the cats had to manipulate a latch to open the door, escape and get food  initially the cats would thrash about randomly until they accidentally opened the door  then the latency to escape and get food would decrease over successive trials

The behavior, or response, is instrumental in, or responsible for, the outcome (i.e., escaping and getting food). Thus, this type of learning became known as ‘instrumental conditioning’

Thorndike interpreted the results of his experiment as reflecting the learning of an S-R association Thorndike believed the cats learned an association between the stimuli inside the puzzle box and the escape response The consequence of the successful response – escaping the box – strengthened the association between the box stimuli and that response On the basis of his work, Thorndike formulated the law of effect

Law of effect  this law states that if a response in the presence of a stimulus is followed by a satisfying event, the association between the stimulus (S) and the response (R) is strengthened  if the response is followed by an annoying event, the S-R association is weakened  according to the law of effect, animals learn an association between the response and the stimuli present at the time of the response – the consequence of the response is not one of the elements in the association  the satisfying or annoying consequence simply serves to strengthen or weaken the association between the response and the stimulus situation

Modern approaches to the study of Instrumental Conditioning Discrete-Trial Procedures  involves a single response performed only at a certain time  rat is put in start arm and runs to goal arm where it receives food  only single action (or response sequence) and reward is given  then rat removed from the apparatus  after ITI the animal is placed in the start arm again for another trial  each response is a discrete action. The speed and onset of the behavior is determined by the subject. The experimenter determines when the subject may begin the action (usually by putting the rat in the start arm)

Modern approaches to the study of Instrumental Conditioning Free-Operant Procedures  more like what you will do in the lab with bar-pressing  here the experimenter decides which behavior is correct but the subject determines when the behavior will be executed  your rats will be put in an operant chamber and allowed to respond at their own pace  subjects can make the response and receive reward more than once  an operant response (such as a bar-press) is defined in terms of the effect that it has on the environment – the critical thing is not the muscles involved in the behavior but the way in which the behavior ‘operates’ on the environment

Cumulative Recorder

Cumulative Record  way of presenting data in free-operant procedures  one response builds on the previous response Response Measures  with discrete-trial procedures can measure speed, and latency to make the response  with free-operant procedures can measure rate of responding (#BP/min)

Studies can also combine elements of both discrete-trial and free-operant procedures For ex., L tells subject when to respond and the subject can then respond at its own pace Responses are freely emitted by the subject, but some control by the experimenter

Magazine Training and Shaping  in order for instrumental conditioning to occur, the subject must make the desired response prior to receiving the reward  how do we train rats to make the response (i.e., bar-press)?  the preliminary phase is called magazine training the food-delivery device is called the food magazine when food is delivered the device makes a noise after enough pairings of this noise with food delivery, the rat will go to the food cup when it hears the noise

Magazine Training and Shaping  after magazine training, the animal is ready to learn the instrumental response  we ‘teach’ the response through a process called response shaping  shaping involves: reinforcement of successive approximations to the required response and nonreinforcement of earlier response forms

Instrumental Conditioning Procedures There are 4 basic types of instrumental conditioning These 4 types are categorized according to: 1. Nature of the outcome controlled by the behavior a. Appetitive stimulus – pleasant outcome (food) b. Aversive stimulus – unpleasant outcome (shock) 2. Relationship or contingency between the response and the outcome a. Positive contingency – R produces O b. Negative contingency – R eliminates/prevents O

Instrumental Conditioning Procedures

1. Positive reinforcement – also called reward training response produces an appetitive outcome that is not as likely to occur otherwise positive contingency between the response and an appetitive stimulus example, rat bar-press for food result: response increases

Instrumental Conditioning Procedures 2. Punishment positive contingency between the response and an aversive stimulus if the subject performs the response, it receives the aversive outcome if the subject does not perform the response, it does not receive the aversive outcome example, shock a rat whenever it makes a BP or mother scold child for playing in the street result: response decreases

Instrumental Conditioning Procedures 3. Negative reinforcement negative contingency between the response and an aversive stimulus the response terminates or prevents the delivery of an aversive stimulus example, put a rat in a box and give him continuous shocks. The rat could jump over a barrier to turn off or escape the shock. this is called an escape procedure subjects can also avoid an aversive stimulus that is scheduled to occur

Instrumental Conditioning Procedures 3. Negative reinforcement (Escape/Avoidance) example, students can study before an exam to avoid getting a bad grade example, a rat may be scheduled to receive a shock at the end of a warning stimulus. If he makes a certain response (BP or jump over a barrier) before the warning stimulus is over, he avoids getting shocked result: response increases

Instrumental Conditioning Procedures 4. Omission Training negative contingency between the response and an appetitive stimulus the response prevents the delivery of a pleasant event if the subject does not make the response, the reward is delivered example, a child is told to go to his room when he does something bad example, suspending someone’s driver’s license for impaired driving result: response decreases

Instrumental Conditioning Procedures 4. Omission Training usually with omission training, the subject can receive the reward for engaging in other behaviors sometimes referred to as DRO Differential Reinforcement of Other behaviors