Chapter 10: LearningPSY 200/203Virginia Union University

Operant Conditioning

Apply your understanding of the four categories of Reinforcement & Punishment to creating 4 unique scenarios that all center on one of the common themes listed below1. School2. Money3. Car

Positive Reinforcement

Positive Punishment

Negative Reinforcement

Negative Punishment

Response Increased Response Decreased

Stimulus Presented

Stimulus Removed

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems Your father gives you a credit card at

the end of your first year in college because you did so well. As a result, your grades continue to get better in your second year.

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems Your father gives you a credit card at

the end of your first year in college because you did so well. As a result, your grades continue to get better in your second year.

Positive Reinforcement!

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems Your car has a red, flashing light that

blinks annoyingly if you start the car without buckling the seat belt. You become less likely to start the car without buckling the seat belt.

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems Your car has a red, flashing light that

blinks annoyingly if you start the car without buckling the seat belt. You become less likely to start the car without buckling the seat belt.

Positive Punishment

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems A professor has a policy of

exempting students from the final exam if they maintain perfect attendance during the quarter. His students’ attendance increases dramatically.

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems A professor has a policy of

exempting students from the final exam if they maintain perfect attendance during the quarter. His students’ attendance increases dramatically.

Negative Reinforcement

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems The child has his crayons taken away

for fighting with his sister.

Operant Conditioning Practice Problems The child has his crayons taken away

for fighting with his sister.

Negative Punishment

Operant Conditioning Partial Reinforcement Schedules

Fixed-ratio (FR) Schedule▪ Reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses▪ Schedule produces a high, steady rate of responding

with only a brief pause after the delivery of the reinforcer

▪ Examples: ▪ Rat on a 10-to-1 fixed ratio schedule receives 1 food pellet per 10

bar presses▪ Frequent buyer punch cards

▪ Other Examples?

Operant Conditioning Partial Reinforcement Schedules

Variable-ratio (VR) Schedule▪ Reinforcement occurs after an average number of

responses, which varies from trial to trial▪ Schedule creates a high, steady rate of responding

▪ Examples:▪ Rat on a variable ratio 20 schedule might have to press the

bar 25X on the 1st trial & 15X on the 2nd trial – the ratio works out to a predetermined average

▪ Gambling▪ Other Examples?

Operant Conditioning Partial Reinforcement Schedules

Fixed-interval (FI) schedule▪ Reinforcement delivered after a preset time interval has

elapsed▪ Schedule causes high amounts of responding near the end of

the interval, but much slower responding following the delivery of the reinforcer

▪ Examples:▪ Rat on a 2 minute FI schedule would receive food pellets 2 minutes

after the first bar press, independent of the number of additional bar presses

▪ Paychecks▪ Other Examples?

Operant Conditioning Partial Reinforcement Schedules

Variable-interval (VI) schedule▪ Reinforcement occurs for the first response emitted after an

average amount of time has elapsed, but the interval varies from trial to trial

▪ Produces slow, steady rate of responding

▪ Examples:▪ Rat on a VI-30 second schedule might be reinforced for the 1st bar

press after 10 seconds for the 1st trial, after 50 seconds for the 2nd trial, and after 30 seconds for the 3rd trial – time elapsed works out to a predetermined average amount of time

▪ Whining kids▪ Other Examples?

Partial Reinforcement Schedule Practice Problems

Cognitive Aspects of Operant Conditioning

=

=

=

No Response

+

NS

NS UCS UCR

CS CR

Cognitive Aspects of Operant Conditioning Step 1: Classical Conditioning

Dogs classically conditioned to fear the sound of a tone

Dogs in harnesses during classical conditioning, unable to escape

Step 2: Operant Conditioning Dogs placed in a shuttlebox divided in half with

a low barrier that, one side of the box is electrified, dog can escape shock by jumping over barrier

Dogs from step 1 did not try to jump over barrier, why?

Cognitive Aspects of Operant Conditioning Martin Seligman & Learned Helplessness

Dogs had learned that the shocks were inescapable, learned they were helpless, didn’t try to escape

Learned Helplessness▪ Phenomenon in which exposure to inescapable and

uncontrollable aversive events produces passive behavior

Other examples of learned helplessness▪ Political process: People are becoming discouraged with the

political process and not turning out to vote because nothing gets done.

▪ Weight loss programs: There are so many weight loss programs that are ineffective that they discourage people.

▪ Studying for class: Students with poor study skills or are using ineffective strategies start to give up on their classes and resign themselves to poor grades.

Observational Learning Human learning can also occur indirectly,

by watching what others do and imitating them

Observational learning Learning that takes place through observing

the actions of others

Albert Bandura Bandura credited with observational learning

▪ Believed that observation learning was the result of cognitive processes that are actively judgmental and constructive

Bobo Doll

Observational Learning Bobo Doll Study

4 year olds separated into groups and shown 3 different versions of a video ▪ Version 1: adult playing aggressively with Bobo Doll

reinforced with snacks & candy after▪ Version 2: adult playing aggressively with Bobo doll punished

with scolding & spanking after▪ Version 3: adult playing aggressively with Bobo doll receives

no consequences Child’s play behavior reflected the version of the video

they viewed Children then reinforced for imitating what they saw Suggests that reinforcement is not essential for learning

to occur, but the expectation of reinforcement affects the performance of what has been learned

Observational Learning Bandura’s 4 cognitive processes that determine

whether imitation will occur1. AttentionYou must be paying attention to the other person’s actions2. RememberYou must remember the other person’s behavior3. ReproduceYou must be capable of reproducing what you’ve observed4. MotivationYou must be motivated to imitate the behavior