AP PSYCHOLOGY UNIT VI Part Two: Operant Conditioning: Reward and Punishment

Operant Conditioning  We learn to associate a response  and its consequence (what comes after)

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning Classical ConditioningOperant Conditioning Behavior is determined by what PRECEDES it. Behavior is determined by anticipation of what FOLLOWS it. InvoluntaryVoluntary Dog salivates after a tone. Dog sits in anticipation of getting a treat.

Operant vs Classical Conditioning

SOUTH TEACH: Explain (3) differences between Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning 30 seconds…

Operant Conditioning  Operant Conditioning  type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment  Law of Effect  Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

Operant Conditioning  B.F. Skinner ( )  elaborated Thorndike’s Law of Effect  developed behavioral technology  Skinner box

Operant Chamber  Skinner Box  chamber with a bar or key that an animal manipulates to obtain a food or water reinforcer  contains devices to record responses

SKINNER BOX BF Skinner – “radical behavioralist” Wanted to demonstrate that uniquely human behaviors were the product of conditioning. Starved 8 pigeons. Then rewarded them with food every 15 s, no matter what they did.

Results: 6 of 8 bird developed superstitions Turning counter-clockwise in a circle Thrusting head toward a specific corner of cage “tossing” an imaginary ball with its head Head bobbing with accompanying steps (2 birds) “fake” pecking

Operant Conditioning  Reinforcer  any event that strengthens the behavior it follows  Shaping  operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer approximations of a desired goal 

REINFORCEMENT

Principles of Reinforcement  We are rewarded (reinforced) by something we need or something we want related to what we need  1. Primary Reinforcer  innately reinforcing stimulus  i.e., satisfies a biological need  2. Conditioned/ Secondary Reinforcer  stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with primary reinforcer With your partners or trio, create examples of: 1)Primary reinforcer 2) Secondary reinforcer And relate each to a behavior

Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous Reinforcement  reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement  reinforcing a response only part of the time  results in slower acquisition  greater resistance to extinction **gambling** How often should we reward behaviors? The frequency of reinforcement are called the schedules.

Reinforcement Schedules Fixed ratio – set number ($1 every 3 hands) Variable Ratio – unpredictable number of responses ($1/? of times) Fixed interval – set amount of time ($1/per hour of play) Variable interval – unpredictable amount of time ($1/ ? amount of time)

Schedules of Reinforcement  Fixed Ratio (FR)  reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses  faster you respond the more rewards you get  different ratios  very high rate of responding  like piecework pay  With your table, come up with one school-based example.

Schedules of Reinforcement  Variable Ratio (VR)  reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses  average ratios  like gambling, fishing  very hard to extinguish because of unpredictability  With your table, come up with one school-based example.

Schedules of Reinforcement  Fixed Interval (FI)  reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed  response occurs more frequently as the anticipated time for reward draws near  With your table, come up with one school-based example.

Schedules of Reinforcement  Variable Interval (VI)  reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals  produces slow steady responding  Like random employee bonuses  With your table, come up with one school-based example.

REINFORCEMENT: INCREASES BEHAVIOR PUNISHMENT: DECREASES BEHAVIOR OPERANT CONDITIONING With your partners or trio, create an examples of a school-related reinforcer and school-related punishment and connect them to behaviors

Punishment  Punishment  aversive event that decreases the behavior that it follows  powerful controller of unwanted behavior With your table, share three examples of punishment that a boyfriend or girlfriend might use to decrease unwanted behavior in his/her partner

Choose one example shared by another table and identify whether it was positive or negative punishment

Problems with Punishment it models aggression as a way to solve problems breeds anger in the recipient doesn’t provide an alternative behavior. Therefore, the behavior only goes away when the punisher is around.

AP PSYCHOLOGY UNIT VI Learning: Part III- Observational Learning (and other learning that can exist without reward or punishment…)

Observational Learning  Observational Learning  learning by observing others  Modeling  process of observing and imitating a specific behavior Albert Bandura – Bobo doll experiment 5PopIA 5PopIA

Three different groups of children watched different endings

Modeling Prosocial Behavior– positive and constructive behavior Antisocial Behavior– negative, unproductive or destructive behavior With your table, come up with an example of each that has been modeled for you this week

Observational Learning  Mirror Neurons  frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so  may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy

Cognition and Operant Conditioning  Cognitive Map  mental representation of the layout of one’s environment *after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it When/how might this be useful?  Latent Learning  learning that occurs, but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it  * Example?

Cognition and Operant Conditioning  Overjustification Effect  the effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do  the person may now see the reward, rather than intrinsic interest, as the motivation for performing the task  Where might we see this happen in the workplace?

Cognition and Operant Conditioning  Intrinsic Motivation  Desire to perform a behavior for its own sake and to be effective  Extrinsic Motivation  Desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishments

Critique of Behavioralism Deemphasizes the role of internal thoughts and feelings in behavior; Presents humans as lacking free will Ignores biological predispositions: Experiments with humans and animals both indicate that biological predispositions influence conditioning. a. Animal training b. Human societies built on behavioralist principles.