PY 101 – 012

Monday, February 22, 2016

Week 7 - Day 1 (Reinforcement and Punishment)

Operant conditioning)

Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/_218frp

Chapter 9 -2 Continued

Reinforcement vs. Punishment

  • Reinforcement and punishment have the opposite effects on behavior
    • oo Reinforcement increases a behavior’s probability
      • More likely to occur again
    • oo Punishment decreases its probability
      • Less likely to occur again
  • Both reinforcement and punishment can be positive or negative

  • This designation depends on whether something is given or removed

Reinforcement

  • Reinforcement — positive or negative — increases the likelihood of a behavior
    • oo Positive reinforcement : the administration of a stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated (e.g., a reward)
      • Implies that something was added to the situation (not that it is good)
      • Bookmark added at 02:17 in Audio 1
  • oo Negative reinforcement : the removal of a stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated (e.g., requiring a rat to press a lever to turn off a shock)
    • Says something was removed from the situation (not that it is bad)
    • Enforces the rat to repeat the behavior of pressing a lever by removing the stimulus of the shock.

Punishment

Bookmark added at 04:45 in Audio 1

  • Punishment reduces the probability that a behavior will recur
    • oo Positive punishment : the administration of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring (e.g., receiving a ticket for speeding)
      • It’s not that it is good, but you are given something which decreases behavior
    • oo Negative punishment : the removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring (e.g., putting a child in time out)
      • It’s not that it’s bad, it’s that you have something taken away from you to decrease behavior

      • I.e. bringing mud into the house causes play time to be taken away

    • ooTrying to train dog to go outside and you want your dog to sit at the door to ask to go out. You give it a treat -> positive reinforcement because you want the behavior to occur again and you are adding something to the situation

    • ooMaking a kid write on the board for acting out -> positive punishment. You add something to the situation to decrease likelihood of behavior

    • ooNegative reinforcement -> You want alarm to be taken away, so your turn off behavior increases

    • ooAnother example -> You buy your dog a pinching collar to increase the likelihood of walking slow by removing the undesired pinch

    • ooPositive reinforcement -> Reinforcing putting hand out by adding the stimulus of a noise.

Not all reinforcers are equal

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  • Some things are more reinforcing than others
  •  Primary reinforcers
    • ooStimuli that are inherently reinforcing
    • ooSatisfy biological needs such as hunger or thirst
  •  Secondary reinforcers
    • ooEvents or objects established through classical conditioning that serve as reinforcers but do not satisfy biological needs
    • ooExamples?
      • Money, compliments , grades
      • Smoking
        • You aren’t born needing to smoke, but it’s adapted
      • Potentially any type of addiction
      • Drinking
        • You are trying to loosen up
        • You want the buzz
          • You are also doing it to feel included
      • Money
        • It’s just paper
          • But it buys us stuff
          • Buys security
          • Buys inclusion
          • Almost as strong as a biological need
      • Compliments
        • Not as strong as money
      • Grades
        • Makes you feel good
        • Being successful
          • Leads to money or happiness or security
  • Reinforcer potency
    • ooThe key is the amount of time an organism, when free to do anything, engages in a specific behavior associated with the reinforcer
    • oo Premack principle: Using a more valued activity can reinforce the performance of a less valued activity

Ex clean your room and we’ll do something fun

Not all punishments are equal

  •  Primary punishers
    • ooInherently punishing
    • ooe.g., pain, extreme temperatures
  • S econdary punishers
    • ooEvents or objects established through classical conditioning that serve as punishers but are not inherently punishing
    • ooExamples?
      • Criticism, scolding, grades (bad)
      • Parents scolding you for making bad grades is punishing

How often should reinforcers be given?

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  • Two methods:
    • oo Continuous reinforcement : a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced each time it occurs
    • oo Partial reinforcement : a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced intermittently
  • Partial reinforcement’s effect on conditioning depends on the reinforcement schedule

Ratio and Interval Schedules

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  • Partial reinforcement can be administered according to either the number of behavioral responses or the passage of time
    • oo Ratio schedule : Reinforcement is based on the number of times the behavior occurs
      • Reinforcing every x times that something desired happens
    • oo Interval schedule : Reinforcement is provided after a specific unit of time
  • Ratio reinforcement generally leads to greater responding than does interval reinforcement

Fixed and variable schedules

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  • Partial reinforcement can also be given on a fixed schedule or a variable schedule
    • oo Fixed schedule : Reinforcement is provided after a specific number of occurrences or after a specific amount of time
      • Interval doesn’t change / every 5 minutes / every 5 times
    • oo Variable schedule : Reinforcement is provided at different rates or at different times

      • Interval changes: every f(x) minutes / every f(x) times

      • Why do you think variable ratio has the strongest effect?
      • VR is the most effective because you feel responsible for the reward. AKA, if I just work hard enough by pulling the lever enough times, I’ll be rewarded with a jack pot.

Shaping

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  • Sometimes animals take a long time to perform the precise desired action
    • ooWhat can be done?
  •  Shaping
    • ooAn operant-conditioning technique that consists of reinforcing behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired behavior
    • oo Successive approximations : any behavior that even slightly resembles the desired behavior
  •  Shaping Crash

Behavioral Persistence

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  • Continuous reinforcement is highly effective for teaching a behavior
    • ooIf the reinforcement is stopped, however, the behavior extinguishes quickly
      • If you are paid to clean your room and you stop getting paid, you are not likely to do it.
  • Partial-reinforcement extinction effect: Behavior is more persistent under partial reinforcement than under continuous reinforcement
    • oo Variable-ratio schedule : persistent behavior that only sometimes results in reward
    • ooCan this explain why gambling is so addictive?

Behavior Modification

  •  Behavior modification
    • ooThe use of operant-conditioning techniques to eliminate unwanted behaviors and replace them with desirable ones
  • Token economies operate on the principle of secondary reinforcement. Tokens are earned for completing tasks and lost for bad behavior. Tokens can later be traded for objects or privileges
    • ooTokens have no innate value, but can be traded for desired things
    • ooYou win points playing a game
  •  Example
    • ooCan you spot the error?

«Audio 1.mp4»

Audio recording started: 12:01 PM Monday, February 22, 2016

Vocab

Reinforcement increases a behavior’s probability
Punishment Decreases a behavior’s probability
Positive reinforcement the administration of a stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated (e.g., a reward)
Negative reinforcement the administration of a stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated (e.g., a reward)
Positive punishment the administration of a stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated (e.g., a reward)
Negative punishment the administration of a stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated (e.g., a reward)
Primary reinforcers Stimuli that are inherently reinforcing (usually biological necessities)
Secondary reinforcers Aren’t inherently reinforcing (established through conditioning)
Premack principle Using a more valued activity can reinforce the performance of a less valued activity
Primary punishers Inherently punishing (Ex. Pain)
Secondary punishers Using a more valued activity can reinforce the performance of a less valued activity (criticism, scolding, grades)
Continuous reinforcement a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced each time it occurs
Partial reinforcement a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced intermittently
Ratio schedule Reinforcement is based on the number of times the behavior occurs
Interval schedule Reinforcement is provided after a specific unit of time
Fixed schedule Reinforcement is provided after a specific number of occurrences or after a specific amount of time
Variable schedule Reinforcement is provided at different rates or at different times
Shaping An operant-conditioning technique that consists of reinforcing behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired behavior
Successive approximations any behavior that even slightly resembles the desired behavior
Variable-ratio schedule persistent behavior that only sometimes results in reward
Behavior modification The use of operant-conditioning techniques to eliminate unwanted behaviors and replace them with desirable ones