1. Respondent and Operant Conditioning Together
Chapter 15
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2. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Respondent Conditioning
If a neutral stimulus is followed closely in time by an unconditioned stimulus (US), which elicits and unconditioned response (UR), then the previously neutral stimulus will also elicit UR in the future
Operant Conditioning
The modification of behavior by its consequences
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3. Respondent and Operant Conditioning
Experiences often include both respondent and operant conditioning occurring together
Complete behavioral explanations sometimes require consideration of both
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4. Example of Respondent and Operant Conditioning Interacting
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5. Example of Respondent and Operant Conditioning Interacting
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6. Respondent and Operant Component of Emotions
Four important areas:
Reaction one feels during the experience of emotion
The way the emotion is outwardly expressed or disguised
Becoming aware of emotions and describing emotions
Causes of emotions
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7. The Respondent Component of Emotions
Reflexive reaction of body
Digestive system
Circulatory system
Respiratory system
Controlled by autonomic nervous system
Fight or flight
Relaxation
Nearly every organ or gland controlled by the autonomic nervous system is susceptible to respondent conditioning
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8. The Case of “Little Albert”: Watson & Rayner (1920)
Conditioned emotional responses
Conducted experiment with 11-month-old infant, Albert
Used respondent procedures to condition fear response
Presented Albert with object (white rat, etc.)
Albert plays with it, unafraid
Demonstrated that striking steel bar with a hammer, produced a fear response
Struck steel bar with hammer while Albert played with a white rat
Albert became conditioned to fear the rat
Albert also showed generalization to other objects (e.g., white fur coat) not used in conditioning
Watson did not extinguish the fear response in Albert (Albert left the hospital)
Mary Carver Jones (1924) showed that a fear response in a child similar to Albert can be eliminated through by gradual exposure to the feared object (a form of extinction)
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9. Operant Components of Emotion: Actions, Descriptions, and Awareness
Displays of emotion depend on learning history – operant conditioning at play
Labeling of emotions may be inaccurate if we don’t know:
Emotion causing events
Inner feelings
Relevant operant behaviors
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10. Some Causes of Emotions
Happiness
Presentation of reinforcers
Anger
Withholding of reinforcers
Anxiety
Presentation of aversive stimuli
Relief
Withdrawal of aversive stimuli
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11. Respondent and Operant Components of Thinking
Imagery – Respondent
Thinking can produce brain reactions of sensations
Body reactions
Self-Talk – Operant
Much of thinking is verbal
At 5–6 years, begin subvocal speech (talk silently to self)
Learn what is appropriate to say and what isn’t
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12. Private Thoughts and Feelings
Principles and procedures of operant and respondent conditioning apply to private behavior
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