Operant Conditioning. Part I. Basic Principles Of Operant Conditioning

Transcription

1 B.F. Skinner

2 Behavior Analysis The term behavior analysis - coined by B. F. Skinner, founder of behavior analysis. Behavior analysis focuses on behavior as a subject in its own right, rather than as an index or manifestation of something happening at some other level (in the mind, brain, psyche, etc.). Skinner believed that thinking and feeling were covert forms of behavior. Thoughts and feelings do not explain behavior, he wrote, they are more behavior to be explained. Skinner thought that the concept of mind belonged to the philosophers Science should focus on behavior. These ideas form the core of behavior analysis today.

3 Operant Conditioning Part I Basic Principles Of Operant Conditioning

4 Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Rewards And Punishments are also called Reinforcers.

5 Operant Conditioning A reinforcer is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows. Types of Reinforcer Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the display of a behavior. In both of these cases, the behavior decreases

6 Operant Conditioning Punishment is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows. + Positive punishment involves the presentation of an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows. - Negative punishment occurs when an favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs. In both of these cases of punishment, the behavior decreases

7 Perspective And Background Part II Theory

8 Theory The Theory Of Conditioning

9 Theory Imagine a rat in a cage. This is a special cage called, in fact a Skinner box, that has a bar or pedal on one wall when pressed, causes a little mechanism to release a foot pellet into the cage. The rat is bouncing around the cage, doing whatever it is rats do, when he accidentally presses the bar and a food pellet falls into the cage!

10 A behavior followed by a reinforcing stimulus results in an increased probability of that behavior occurring in the future.

11 Theory The food pellet is a positive reinforcer that will make the desired behavior occur again.

12 Theory What if you don t give the rat any more pellets? After a few futile attempts, he stops his bar-pressing behavior. This is called extinction of the operant behavior.

13 Theory A behavior no longer followed by the reinforcing stimulus results in a decreased probability of that behavior occurring in the future.

14 Theory Now, if you were to turn the pellet machine back on, so that pressing the bar again provides the rat with pellets, the behavior of bar-pushing will pop right back into existence, much more quickly than it took for the rat to learn the behavior the first time. This is because the return of the reinforcer takes place in the context of a reinforcement history that goes all the way back to the very first time the rat was reinforced for pushing on the bar!

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16 Theory B.F. Skinner s Theory of Schedules of conditioning

17 Schedule of conditioning In operant conditioning, schedules of reinforcement are important to the learning process. When and how often we reinforce a behavior can have a dramatic impact on the strength and rate of the response. Certain schedules of reinforcement may be more effective in specific situations. There are two types of reinforcement schedules: Continuous Reinforcement, Partial Reinforcement.

18 Continuous Reinforcement In continuous reinforcement Desired behavior is reinforced every single time it occurs. Generally, this schedule is best used during the initial stages of learning in order to create a strong association between the behavior and the response. Once the response if firmly attached, reinforcement is usually switched to a partial reinforcement schedule.

19 Partial Reinforcement In partial reinforcement, Response is reinforced only part of the time. Learned behaviors are acquired more slowly with partial reinforcement, but the response is more resistant to extinction. There are four schedules of partial reinforcement: Fixed-ratio, Variable-ratio, Fixed interval, Variable interval.

20 The Four Schedules Of Partial Reinforcement 1. Fixed-ratio schedules are those where a response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses. This schedule produces a high, steady rate of responding with only a brief pause after the delivery of the reinforcer. 2. Variable-ratio schedules occur when a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses. This schedule creates a high steady rate of responding. Gambling and lottery games are good examples of a reward based on a variable ratio schedule.

21 The Four Schedules Of Partial Reinforcement 3. Fixed-interval schedules - the first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed. This schedule causes high amounts of responding near the end of the interval, but much slower responding immediately after the delivery of the reinforcer. 4. Variable-interval schedules occur when a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed. This schedule produces a slow, steady rate of response.

22 How B.F. Skinner s Contribution Are Utilized In Today s Psychology Part III How B.F. Skinner s Contribution Are Utilized In Today s Psychology

23 How B.F. Skinner s Contribution Utilized In Today s Psychology Applications of Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning has become a very influential area of psychology, because it has successfully provided practical solutions to many problems in human behavior. Operant principles discovered in the laboratory are now being employed to improve teaching techniques so that even slow or unmotivated students can learn faster and better.

24 How B.F. Skinner s Contribution Utilized In Today s Psychology Behavior modification is the application of operant conditioning techniques to modify behavior. It is being used to help people with a wide variety of everyday behavior problems, including obesity, smoking, alcoholism, delinquency, and aggression. For example, people with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa have been helped to gain weight, and animals such as primates have been trained to assist physically disabled individuals by feeding and caring for them. It has been successfully used in child rearing, in school systems, and in mental institutions.