Operant Conditioning: Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism

Objectives Respondents and operants The basics of operant learning Effects of different schedules of reinforcement The nature and uses of punishment Possible origins of superstition What is meant by terms like fading, generalization, discrimination, aversive control, and rat

Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism: An Overview Basic assumptions –Human behavior follows certain laws –Causes of behavior are outside the person Operant conditioning The experimental analysis of behavior

Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism: An Overview Respondent and Operant Learning –Respondent: response elicited by a stimulus –Operant: response simply emitted by an organism Prevalence of Operant Behavior Charles Darwin’s Influence

Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism: An Overview Pavlov’s Harness and Skinner’s Box

Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism: An Overview Operant Learning –Discriminative stimulus Not S-R Learning

Positive and Negative Reinforcement Positive reinforcement –Satisfying consequence(contingency) of a behavior Negative reinforcement –Elimination or prevention of annoying outcome

Punishment Two types of punishment –Positive punishment occurs when a positive contingency is removed –Negative punishment is where a negative contingency follows a behavior Punishment versus negative Reinforcement

Illustration of Reinforcement and Punishment Positive Reinforcement (Reward) Negative Reinforcement (Relief) Presentation Punishment (Castigation) Removal Punishment (Penalty)

Primary and Secondary Reinforcers Primary reinforcers –Events that are reinforcing without any learning having taken place Secondary reinforcers –Events that are not reinforcing to begin with but become reinforcing as a result of being paired with other reinforcers Generalized reinforcer –Learned reinforcer that appears to reinforce any of a wide variety of behaviors

Continuous or Intermittent Reinforcement Interval or Ratio Schedules Fixed or Random Schedules Superstitious Schedules

Effects of Different Reinforcement Schedules Cumulative Recording

Effects of Different Reinforcement Schedules Effects of Schedules on Acquisition Effects on Extinction

Effects of Different Reinforcement Schedules Spontaneous Recovery Extinction and Forgetting –Extinction: outcome is a relatively rapid cessation of the responses in question –Forgetting: much slower process that also results in the cessation of a response

Effects of Different Reinforcement Schedules Effects on Rate of Responding

Shaping and Chaining Shaping is the technique used to train animals to perform acts that are not ordinarily in their repertoire Method involving the differential reinforcement of successive approximations Chaining is the linking of sequences of responses Chains in Shaping –Differentially reinforcing certain responses leading to the final and complete sequence of responses Shaping in Human Learning

Fading, Generalization, and Discrimination Fading: a process that involves both generalization and discrimination Generalization: making similar responses in different situations Discrimination: making different responses in similar but discriminably different situations

Relevance to Human Learning Generalization and Discrimination

Applications of Operant Conditioning Instructional Applications of Positive Contingencies The premack principle –Behavior modification

Applications of Aversive Consequences The case against punishment Less objectionable forms of punishment –Time out –Response cost –Reprimands The case for punishment Negative reinforcement

Other Applications: Behavior Management Positive reinforcement and punishment Counterconditioning –Psychotherapy Extincition Extinction using noncontingent reinforcement

Skinner’s Position: An Appraisal Master builder of psychology His system is a well-defined, highly researched, clear and understandable one. Some Philosophical Objections –Operant conditioning does not explain symbolic processes –His attempts to explain language through reinforcement theory is not satisfying –He negleted the role of biology in learning

Summary Skinners’ radical behaviorism Operant learning Reinforcement and schedules –Extinction and forgetting Applications of operant conditioning