7.3 - Operant Conditioning Flashcards Preview

Psych 101 > 7.3 - Operant Conditioning > Flashcards

Flashcards in 7.3 - Operant Conditioning Deck (31)
Loading flashcards...
1
Q

Edward Thorndike

A

Focused on instrumental behaviours; created a puzzle box to show the Law of Effect

2
Q

Law of Effect

A

The principle that behaviours that are followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” tend to be repeated, and those that produce an “unpleasant state of affairs” are less likely to be repeated.

3
Q

Operant Conditioning

A

A type of learning in which the consequences of an organism’s behaviour determine whether it will repeat that behaviour in the future.

4
Q

Operant Behaviour

A

Behaviour that an organism produces that has some impact on the environment; coined by BF Skinner

5
Q

Reinforcer

A

Any stimulus or event that increases the likelihood of the behaviour that led to it.

6
Q

Punisher

A

Any stimulus or event that decreases the likelihood of the behaviour that led to it.

7
Q

What’s the difference between Primary and Secondary Reinforcers

A

Primary - Satisfy biological needs (food, comfort, shelter, warmth)

Secondary - Are linked/associated with Primary Reinforcers (verbal approval, trophies, money)

8
Q

Overjustification Effect

A

Circumstances when external awards can undermine the intrinsic satisfaction of performing a behaviour

9
Q

What does “positive” mean in the context of operant conditioning?

A

It means “adding” something; a stimulus or punishment

10
Q

Immediate vs. Delayed Reinforcement / Punishment

A

Reinforcers lose effectiveness as time passes

Delaying reinforcement renders it almost completely ineffective

11
Q

Discriminative Stimulus

A

a type of stimulus that is used consistently to gain a specific response and that increases the possibility that the desired response will occur

12
Q

What is “Stimulus Control”

A

Develops when a particular response occurs only when an appropriate discriminative stimulus ( a stimulus that indicates that a response will be reinforced) is present.

13
Q

Extinction

A

As in Classical Conditioning, this happens when reinforcements with operant behaviour stop.

14
Q

Interval Schedules

A

Based on time intervals between reinforcements

15
Q

Ratio Schedules

A

Based on the ratio of responses to reinforcements

16
Q

Fixed-Interval Schedule (FI)

A

An operant conditioning principle whereby reinforcers are presented at fixed time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made.

17
Q

Variable-Interval Schedule (VI)

A

An operant conditioning principle whereby behaviour is reinforced on the basis of an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement.

(Takes the longest time to learn)

18
Q

Fixed-Ratio Schedule (FR)

A

An operant conditioning principle whereby reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made.

19
Q

Variable-Ratio Schedule (VR)

A

An operant conditioning principle whereby the delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses.

20
Q

Intermittent Reinforcement

A

An operant conditioning principle whereby only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement.

21
Q

Shaping

A

Learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desired behaviour

22
Q

Superstitious Behaviour

A

Rare or odd behaviours may be repeated if they are accidentally reinforced, which may lead to mistaken beliefs regarding causal relationships

23
Q

Intermittent Reinforcement Effect

A

The fact that operant behaviours that are maintained under intermittent reinforcement schedules resist extinction better than those maintained under continuous reinforcement.

24
Q

Latent Learning

A

A process in which something is learned, but it is not manifested as a behavioural change until sometime in the future. Not demonstrated immediately

25
Q

Cognitive Map

A

Mental representation of the physical features of the environment

Tolman’s mice

26
Q

Edward Tolman

A

Saw operant conditioning as a means-ends relationship.

He provided evidence of a rats cognitive map/mental picture of a maze.

27
Q

What is a mouse’s process for finding food efficiently?

  • consider evolutionary foraging method of finding food
A

Mice won’t repeat/revisit the places they’ve found food in the past.

28
Q

Where are the pleasure centres of the brain located?

A

Nucleus accumbens

Hypothalamus

Medial forebrain bundle

29
Q

Which parts of the brain deliver rewards through stimulation?

A

Medial forebrain bundle

Hypothalamus

Hippocampus

30
Q

What do dopamine neurons play an important role in?

A

Generating the “reward prediction error”

31
Q

Instrumental Behaviours

A

Behaviour that requires an organism to do something, solve a problem, or otherwise manipulate elements of its environment

Decks in Psych 101 Class (46):