|
|
| (7 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| | Conditioning is a training technique that takes one of two forms: Classical/Pavlovian conditioning or Operant/Instrumental conditioning. | | Conditioning is a training technique that takes one of two forms: Classical/Pavlovian conditioning or Operant/Instrumental conditioning. |
| | | | |
| − | == Classical Conditioning ==
| + | Classical and operant conditioning are two important concepts central to behavioral psychology. While both result in learning, the processes are quite different. In order to understand how each of these behavior modification techniques can be used, it is also essential to understand how classical conditioning and operant conditioning differ from one another.[http://psychology.about.com/bio/Kendra-Van-Wagner-17268.htm] |
| | | | |
| − | Classical conditioning (also Pavlovian conditioning or respondent conditioning) is a kind of learning that occurs when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US). Usually, the CS is a neutral stimulus (e.g., the sound of a tuning fork), the US is biologically potent (e.g., the taste of food) and the unconditioned response (UR) to the US is an unlearned reflex response (e.g., salivation). After pairing is repeated (some learning may occur already after only one pairing), the organism exhibits a conditioned response (CR) to the CS when the CS is presented alone. The CR is usually similar to the UR (see below), but unlike the UR, it must be acquired through experience and is relatively impermanent. | + | '''Classical Conditioning''' |
| | | | |
| − | Classical conditioning differs from operant or instrumental conditioning, in which a behavior is strengthened or weakened, depending on its consequences (i.e., reward or punishment).
| + | *First described by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist |
| − | A classic experiment by Pavlov exemplifies the standard procedure used in classical conditioning. First Pavlov observed the UR (salivation) produced when meat powder (US) was placed in the dog's mouth. He then rang a bell (CS) before giving the meat powder. After some repetitions of this pairing of bell and meat the dog salivated to the bell alone, demonstrating what Pavlov called a "conditional" response, now commonly termed "conditioned response" or CR.
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | It is often thought that the conditioned response is a replica of the unconditioned response, but Pavlov noted that saliva produced by the CS differs in composition from what is produced by the US. In fact, the CR may be any new response to the previously neutral CS that can be clearly linked to experience with the conditional relationship of CS and US. It was also thought that repeated pairings are necessary for conditioning to emerge, however many CRs can be learned with a single trial as in fear conditioning and taste aversion learning.
| + | *Involves placing a neutral signal before a reflex |
| | | | |
| − | === Forward Conditioning ===
| + | *Focuses on involuntary, automatic behaviors |
| − | Learning is fastest in forward conditioning. During forward conditioning, the onset of the CS precedes the onset of the US in order to signal that the US will follow. Two common forms of forward conditioning are delay and trace conditioning.
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | *Delay conditioning: In delay conditioning the CS is presented and is overlapped by the presentation of the US. The difference between trace conditioning and delay conditioning is that in the delayed procedure the CS and US overlap.
| + | '''Operant Conditioning''' |
| | | | |
| − | *Trace conditioning: During trace conditioning the CS and US do not overlap. Instead, the CS begins and ends before the US is presented. The stimulus-free period is called the trace interval. It may also be called the conditioning interval. For example: If you sound a buzzer for 5 seconds and then, a second later, puff air into a person’s eye, the person will blink. After several pairings of the buzzer and puff the person will blink at the sound of the buzzer alone. | + | *First described by B. F. Skinner, an American psychologist |
| | | | |
| − | [[File:Classical Conditioning.svg.png|424px|thumb|left|Classical Conditioning]]
| + | *Involves applying reinforcement or punishment after a behavior |
| | | | |
| − | === Simultaneous conditioning ===
| + | *Focuses on strengthening or weakening voluntary behaviors |
| | | | |
| − | Classical conditioning procedures and effects | + | == The Differences Between Classical and Operant Conditioning == |
| − | During simultaneous conditioning, the CS and US are presented and terminated at the same time.
| + | |
| − | For example: If you ring a bell and blow a puff of air into a person’s eye at the same moment, you have accomplished to coincide the CS and US.
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | === Second-order and higher-order conditioning ===
| + | One of the simplest ways to remember the differences between classical and operant conditioning is to focus on whether the behavior is involuntary or voluntary. Classical conditioning involves making an association between an involuntary response and a stimulus, while operant conditioning is about making an association between a voluntary behavior and a consequence. |
| | | | |
| − | This form of conditioning follows a two-step procedure. First a neutral stimulus (“CS1”) comes to signal a US through forward conditioning. Then a second neutral stimulus (“CS2”) is paired with the first (CS1) and comes to yield its own conditioned response. For example: a bell might be paired with food until the bell elicits salivation. If a light is then paired with the bell, then the light may come to elicit salivation as well. The bell is the CS1 and the food is the US. The light becomes the CS2 once it is paired with the CS1
| + | In operant conditioning, the learner is also rewarded with incentives, while classical conditioning involves no such enticements. Also remember that classical conditioning is passive on the part of the learner, while operant conditioning requires the learner to actively participate and perform some type of action in order to be rewarded or punished. |
| | + | == How Classical Conditioning Works == |
| | | | |
| − | === Backward conditioning ===
| + | Even if you are not a psychology student, you have probably at least heard about Pavlov's dogs. In his famous experiment, Ivan Pavlov noticed dogs began to salivate in response to a tone after the sound had been repeatedly paired with the presentation of food. Pavlov quickly realized that this was a learned response and set out to further investigate the conditioning process. |
| | | | |
| − | Backward conditioning occurs when a CS immediately follows a US. Unlike the usual conditioning procedure, in which the CS precedes the US, the conditioned response given to the CS tends to be inhibitory. This presumably happens because the CS serves as a signal that the US has ended, rather than as a signal that the US is about to appear. For example, a puff of air directed at a person's eye could be followed by the sound of a buzzer.
| + | Classical conditioning involves pairing a previously neutral stimulus (such as the sound of a bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (the taste of food). This unconditioned stimulus naturally and automatically triggers salivating as a response to the food, which is known as the unconditioned response. After associating the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, the sound of the bell alone will start to evoke salivating as a response. The sound of the bell is now known as the conditioned stimulus and salivating in response to the bell is known as the conditioned response. |
| | | | |
| − | === Temporal conditioning === | + | === Some key concepts in classical conditioning === |
| | | | |
| − | Temporal conditioning is when a US is presented at regular intervals, for instance every 10 minutes. Conditioning is said to have occurred when the CR tends to occur shortly before each US. This suggests that animals have a biological clock that can serve as a CS. This method has also been used to study timing ability in animals. (see Animal cognition).
| + | *Acquisition |
| | | | |
| − | === Zero contingency procedure ===
| + | Acquisition is the initial stage of learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthened. For example, imagine that you are conditioning a dog to salivate in response to the sound of a bell. You repeatedly pair the presentation of food with the sound of the bell. You can say the response has been acquired as soon as the dog begins to salivate in response to the bell tone. Once the response has been acquired, you can gradually reinforce the salivation response to make sure the behavior is well learned. |
| | | | |
| − | In this procedure, the CS is paired with the US, but the US also occurs at other times. If this occurs, it is predicted that the US is likely to happen in the absence of the CS. In other words, the CS does not "predict" the US. In this case, conditioning fails and the CS does not come to elicit a CR. This finding - that prediction rather than CS-US pairing is the key to conditioning - greatly influenced subsequent conditioning research and theory.
| + | *Extinction |
| | | | |
| − | === Extinction ===
| + | Extinction is when the occurrences of a conditioned response decrease or disappear. In classical conditioning, this happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus. For example, if the smell of food (the unconditioned stimulus) had been paired with the sound of a whistle (the conditioned stimulus), it would eventually come to evoke the conditioned response of hunger. However, if the unconditioned stimulus (the smell of food) were no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus (the whistle), eventually the conditioned response (hunger) would disappear. |
| | | | |
| − | In the extinction procedure, the CS is presented repeatedly in the absence of a US. This is done after a CS has been conditioned by one of the methods above. When this is done the CR frequency eventually returns to pre-training levels. However, spontaneous recovery (and other related phenomena, see "Recovery from extinction" below) show that extinction does not completely eliminate the effects of the prior conditioning. Spontaneous recovery is when there is a sudden appearance of the (CR) after extinction occurs.
| + | * Spontaneous Recovery |
| | | | |
| − | == Instrumental Conditioning ==
| + | Spontaneous Recovery is the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response. If the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated, extinction will occur very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery. |
| | | | |
| − | Operant conditioning (or instrumental conditioning) is a type of learning in which an individual's behavior is modified by its antecedents and consequences. Instrumental conditioning was first discovered and published by Jerzy Konorski and was also referred to as Type II reflexes. Mechanisms of instrumental conditioning suggest that the behavior may change in form, frequency, or strength. The expressions "operant behavior" and "respondent behavior" were popularized by B. F. Skinner who worked on reproduction of Konorski's experiments. The former refers to "an item of behavior that is initially spontaneous, rather than a response to a prior stimulus, but whose consequences may reinforce or inhibit recurrence of that behavior".
| + | *Stimulus Generalization |
| | | | |
| − | Operant conditioning is distinguished from classical conditioning (or respondent conditioning) in that operant conditioning deals with the reinforcement and punishment to change behavior. Operant behavior operates on the environment and is maintained by conditioning of reflexive (reflex) behaviors which are also elicited by antecedent conditions, while classical conditioning is maintained by its antecedents and consequences. Behaviors conditioned through a classical conditioning procedure are not maintained by consequences. They both, however, form the core of behavior analysis and have grown into professional practices.
| + | Stimulus Generalization is the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned. For example, if a child has been conditioned to fear a stuffed white rabbit, the child will exhibit fear of objects similar to the conditioned stimulus. |
| | | | |
| − | === Consequences that shape behavior: Reinforcement, punishment, and extinction ===
| + | *Discrimination |
| | | | |
| − | Reinforcement and punishment are the core tools of operant conditioning. It is important to realise that some terminology in operant conditioning is used in a way that is different to everyday use.
| + | Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus. For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned stimulus, discrimination would involve being able to tell the difference between the bell tone and other similar sounds. |
| | | | |
| − | *Positive means a stimulus is delivered following a response
| + | == How Operant Conditioning Works == |
| − | *Negative means a stimulus is withdrawn following a response
| + | |
| − | *Reinforcement is a consequence that causes a behavior to occur with greater frequency.
| + | |
| − | *Punishment is a consequence that causes a behavior to occur with less frequency.
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | ''There are an additional fifth and sixth procedures''
| + | Operant (or instrumental) conditioning focuses on using either reinforcement or punishment to increase or decrease a behavior. Through this process, an association is formed between the behavior and the consequences for that behavior. For example, imagine that a trainer is trying to teach a dog to fetch a ball. When the dog successful chases and picks up the ball, the dog receives praise as a reward. When the animal fails to retrieve the ball, the trainer withholds the praise. Eventually, the dog forms an association between his behavior of fetching the ball and receiving the desired reward. |
| | | | |
| − | *Antecedent stimuli (Precede): Occurs before a behavior happens.
| + | === Some key concepts in operant conditioning === |
| − | *Extinction is caused by the lack of any consequence following a behavior. When a behavior is inconsequential (i.e., producing neither favorable nor unfavorable consequences) it will occur less frequently. When a previously reinforced behavior is no longer reinforced with either positive or negative reinforcement, it leads to a decline (extinction) in that behavior.
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | This creates a total of five basic consequences -
| + | *Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of reinforcers: |
| | | | |
| − | *Positive reinforcement (Reinforcement): Occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by a stimulus that is appetitive or rewarding, increasing the frequency of that behavior. In the Skinner box experiment, a stimulus such as food or a sugar solution can be delivered when the rat engages in a target behavior, such as pressing a lever. This procedure is usually called simply reinforcement. | + | **Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by the addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward. |
| | | | |
| − | *Negative reinforcement (Escape): Occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, thereby increasing that behavior's frequency. In the Skinner box experiment, negative reinforcement can be a loud noise continuously sounding inside the rat's cage until it engages in the target behavior, such as pressing a lever, upon which the loud noise is removed. | + | **Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the display of a behavior. In these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of something considered unpleasant. |
| | + | In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases. |
| | | | |
| − | *Positive punishment (Punishment) (also called "Punishment by contingent stimulation"): Occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by a stimulus, such as introducing a shock or loud noise, resulting in a decrease in that behavior. Positive punishment is sometimes a confusing term, as it denotes the "addition" of a stimulus or increase in the intensity of a stimulus that is aversive (such as spanking or an electric shock). This procedure is usually called simply punishment. | + | *Punishment, on the other hand, is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of punishment: |
| | | | |
| − | *Negative punishment (Penalty) (also called "Punishment by contingent withdrawal"): Occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by the removal of a stimulus, such as taking away a child's toy following an undesired behavior, resulting in a decrease in that behavior. | + | **Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment by application, involves the presentation of an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows. |
| | | | |
| − | *Extinction: Occurs when a behavior (response) that had previously been reinforced is no longer effective. For example, a rat is first given food many times for lever presses. Then, in "extinction", no food is given. Typically the rat continues to press more and more slowly and eventually stops, at which time lever pressing is said to be "extinguished." | + | **Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs when an favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs. |
| − | It is important to note that actors are not spoken of as being reinforced, punished, or extinguished; it is the actions that are reinforced, punished, or extinguished. Additionally, reinforcement, punishment, and extinction are not terms whose use is restricted to the laboratory. Naturally occurring consequences can also be said to reinforce, punish, or extinguish behavior and are not always delivered by people.
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | === Some other common terms and procedures ===
| |
| | | | |
| − | Escape and Avoidance In escape learning, a behavior terminates an (aversive) stimulus. For example, shielding one's eyes from sunlight terminates the (aversive) stimulation of bright light in one's eyes. In avoidance learning, the behavior precedes and prevents an (aversive) stimulus, for example putting on sun glasses before going outdoors. Because, in avoidance, the stimulation does not occur, avoidance behavior seems to have no means of reinforcement. Indeed this non-occurrence of the stimulus has been a problem for reinforcement theory, which has been dealt with in various ways. See section on avoidance learning below.
| + | [[Category:Slave Training]] |
| − | Noncontingent reinforcement refers to delivery of reinforcing stimuli regardless of the organism's behavior. Noncontingent reinforcement may be used in an attempt to reduce an undesired target behavior by reinforcing multiple alternative responses while extinguishing the target response. As no measured behavior is identified as being strengthened, there is controversy surrounding the use of the term noncontingent "reinforcement".
| + | |
| − | Schedules of reinforcement Schedules of reinforcement are rules that control the delivery of reinforcement. The rules specify either the time that reinforcement is to be made available, or the number of responses to be made, or both.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | *Fixed interval schedule: Reinforcement occurs following the first response after a fixed time has elapsed after the previous reinforcement.
| + | |
| − | *Variable interval schedule: Reinforcement occurs following the first response after a variable time has elapsed from the previous reinforcement.
| + | |
| − | *Fixed ratio schedule: Reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses have been emitted since the previous reinforcement.
| + | |
| − | *Variable ratio schedule: Reinforcement occurs after a variable number of responses have been emitted since the previous reinforcement.
| + | |
| − | *Continuous reinforcement: Reinforcement occurs after each response.
| + | |
| − | Discrimination, generalization and context. Most behavior is under stimulus control. Several *aspects of this may be distinguished:
| + | |
| − | **"Discrimination" typically occurs when a response is reinforced only in the presence of a specific stimulus. For example, a pigeon might be fed for pecking at a red light and not at a green light; in consequence, it pecks at red and stops pecking at green. Many complex combinations of stimuli and other conditions have been studied; for example an organism might be reinforced on an interval schedule in the presence of one stimulus and on a ratio schedule in the presence of another.
| + | |
| − | **"Generalization" is the tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to a previously trained discriminative stimulus. For example, having been trained to peck at "red" a pigeon might also peck at "pink", though usually less strongly.
| + | |
| − | **"Context" refers to stimuli that are continuously present in a situation, like the walls, tables, chairs, etc. in a room, or the interior of an operant conditioning chamber. Context stimuli may come to control behavior as do discriminative stimuli, though usually more weakly. Behaviors learned in one context may be absent, or altered, in another. This may cause difficulties for behavioral therapy, because behaviors learned in the therapeutic setting may fail to occur elsewhere.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | === Operant conditioning to change human behavior ===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Researchers have found the following protocol to be effective when they use the tools of operant conditioning to modify human behavior:
| + | |
| − | State goal (aims for the study) That is, clarify exactly what changes are to be brought about. For example, "reduce weight by 30 pounds."
| + | |
| − | Monitor behavior (log conditions) Keep track of behavior so that one can see whether the desired effects are occurring. For example, keep a chart of daily weights.
| + | |
| − | Reinforce desired behavior (give reward for proper behavior) For example, congratulate the individual on weight losses. With humans, a record of behavior may serve as a reinforcement. For example, when a participant sees a pattern of weight loss, this may reinforce continuance in a behavioral weight-loss program. A more general plan is the token economy, an exchange system in which tokens are given as rewards for desired behaviors. Tokens may later be exchanged for a desired prize or rewards such as power, prestige, goods or services.
| + | |
| − | Reduce incentives to perform undesirable behavior For example, remove candy and fatty snacks from kitchen shelves.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | === Factors that alter the effectiveness of consequences ===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | When using consequences to modify a response, the effectiveness of a consequence can be increased or decreased by various factors. These factors can apply to either reinforcing or punishing consequences.
| + | |
| − | Satiation/Deprivation: The effectiveness of a consequence will be reduced if the individual's "appetite" for that source of stimulation has been satisfied. Inversely, the effectiveness of a consequence will increase as the individual becomes deprived of that stimulus. If someone is not hungry, food will not be an effective reinforcer for behavior. Satiation is generally only a potential problem with primary reinforcers, those that do not need to be learned such as food and water.
| + | |
| − | Immediacy: After a response, how immediately a consequence is then felt determines the effectiveness of the consequence. More immediate feedback will be more effective than less immediate feedback. If someone's license plate is caught by a traffic camera for speeding and they receive a speeding ticket in the mail a week later, this consequence will not be very effective against speeding. But if someone is speeding and is caught in the act by an officer who pulls them over, then their speeding behavior is more likely to be affected.
| + | |
| − | Contingency: If a consequence does not contingently (reliably, or consistently) follow the target response, its effectiveness upon the response is reduced. But if a consequence follows the response consistently after successive instances, its ability to modify the response is increased. The schedule of reinforcement, when consistent, leads to faster learning. When the schedule is variable the learning is slower. Extinction is more difficult when learning occurs during intermittent reinforcement and more easily extinguished when learning occurs during a highly consistent schedule.
| + | |
| − | Size: This is a "cost-benefit" determinant of whether a consequence will be effective. If the size, or amount, of the consequence is large enough to be worth the effort, the consequence will be more effective upon the behavior. An unusually large lottery jackpot, for example, might be enough to get someone to buy a one-dollar lottery ticket (or even buying multiple tickets). But if a lottery jackpot is small, the same person might not feel it to be worth the effort of driving out and finding a place to buy a ticket. In this example, it's also useful to note that "effort" is a punishing consequence. How these opposing expected consequences (reinforcing and punishing) balance out will determine whether the behavior is performed or not.
| + | |
| − | Most of these factors exist for biological reasons. The biological purpose of the Principle of Satiation is to maintain the organism's homeostasis. When an organism has been deprived of sugar, for example, the effectiveness of the taste of sugar as a reinforcer is high. However, as the organism reaches or exceeds their optimum blood-sugar levels, the taste of sugar becomes less effective, perhaps even aversive.
| + | |
| − | The Principles of Immediacy and Contingency exist for neurochemical reasons. When an organism experiences a reinforcing stimulus, dopamine pathways in the brain are activated. This network of pathways "releases a short pulse of dopamine onto many dendrites, thus broadcasting a rather global reinforcement signal to postsynaptic neurons." This results in the plasticity of these synapses allowing recently activated synapses to increase their sensitivity to efferent signals, hence increasing the probability of occurrence for the recent responses preceding the reinforcement. These responses are, statistically, the most likely to have been the behavior responsible for successfully achieving reinforcement. But when the application of reinforcement is either less immediate or less contingent (less consistent), the ability of dopamine to act upon the appropriate synapses is reduced.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | === Operant variability ===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Operant variability is what allows a response to adapt to new situations. Operant behavior is distinguished from reflexes in that its response topography (the form of the response) is subject to slight variations from one performance to another. These slight variations can include small differences in the specific motions involved, differences in the amount of force applied, and small changes in the timing of the response. If a subject's history of reinforcement is consistent, such variations will remain stable because the same successful variations are more likely to be reinforced than less successful variations. However, behavioral variability can also be altered when subjected to certain controlling variables.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | === Avoidance learning ===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In avoidance learning an organism's behavior is reinforced by the termination or prevention of an (assumed aversive) stimulus. There are two kinds of commonly used experimental settings: discriminated and free-operant avoidance learning.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | === Discriminated avoidance learning ===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In discriminated avoidance learning, a novel stimulus such as a light or a tone is followed by an aversive stimulus such as a shock (CS-US, similar to classical conditioning). During the first trials (called escape-trials) the animal usually experiences both the CS (Conditioned Stimulus) and the US (Unconditioned Stimulus), showing the operant response to terminate the aversive US. During later trials, the animal will learn to perform the response during the presentation of the CS thus preventing the aversive US from occurring. Such trials are called "avoidance trials."
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | === Free-operant avoidance learning ===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In this experimental session, no discrete stimulus is used to signal the occurrence of the aversive stimulus. Rather, the aversive stimulus (mostly shocks) are presented without explicit warning stimuli. There are two crucial time intervals determining the rate of avoidance learning. This first one is called the S-S-interval (shock-shock-interval). This is the amount of time which passes during successive presentations of the shock (unless the operant response is performed). The other one is called the R-S-interval (response-shock-interval) which specifies the length of the time interval following an operant response during which no shocks will be delivered. Note that each time the organism performs the operant response, the R-S-interval without shocks begins anew.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | === Two-process theory of avoidance ===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | This theory was originally proposed in order to explain discriminated avoidance learning, in which an organism learns to avoid an aversive stimulus by escaping from a signal for that stimulus. The theory assumes that two processes take place:
| + | |
| − | a) Classical conditioning of fear.
| + | |
| − | During the first trials of the training, the organism experiences the pairing of a CS with an aversive US. The theory assumes that during these trials an association develops between the CS and the US through classical conditioning and, because of the aversive nature of the US, the CS comes to elicit a conditioned emotional reaction (CER) – "fear."
| + | |
| − | b) Reinforcement of the operant response by fear-reduction.
| + | |
| − | As a result of the first process, the CS now signals fear; this unpleasant emotional reaction serves to motivate operant responses, and those responses that terminate the CS are reinforced by fear termination. Although, after this training, the organism no longer experiences the aversive US, the term "avoidance" may be something of a misnomer, because the theory does not say that the organism "avoids" the US in the sense of anticipating it, but rather that the organism "escapes" an aversive internal state that is caused by the CS.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | === Four term contingency ===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Applied behavior analysis, which is the name of the discipline directly descended from Skinner's work, holds that behavior is explained in four terms: conditioned stimulus (SC), a discriminative stimulus (Sd), a response (R), and a reinforcing stimulus (Srein or Sr for reinforcers, sometimes Save for aversive stimuli).===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | === Operant hoarding ===
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Operant hoarding is a referring to the choice made by a rat, on a compound schedule called a multiple schedule, that maximizes its rate of reinforcement in an operant conditioning context. More specifically, rats were shown to have allowed food pellets to accumulate in a food tray by continuing to press a lever on a continuous reinforcement schedule instead of retrieving those pellets. Retrieval of the pellets always instituted a one-minute period of extinction during which no additional food pellets were available but those that had been accumulated earlier could be consumed. This finding appears to contradict the usual finding that rats behave impulsively in situations in which there is a choice between a smaller food object right away and a larger food object after some delay. See schedules of reinforcement.
| + | |
Conditioning is a training technique that takes one of two forms: Classical/Pavlovian conditioning or Operant/Instrumental conditioning.
Classical and operant conditioning are two important concepts central to behavioral psychology. While both result in learning, the processes are quite different. In order to understand how each of these behavior modification techniques can be used, it is also essential to understand how classical conditioning and operant conditioning differ from one another.[1]
One of the simplest ways to remember the differences between classical and operant conditioning is to focus on whether the behavior is involuntary or voluntary. Classical conditioning involves making an association between an involuntary response and a stimulus, while operant conditioning is about making an association between a voluntary behavior and a consequence.
In operant conditioning, the learner is also rewarded with incentives, while classical conditioning involves no such enticements. Also remember that classical conditioning is passive on the part of the learner, while operant conditioning requires the learner to actively participate and perform some type of action in order to be rewarded or punished.
Even if you are not a psychology student, you have probably at least heard about Pavlov's dogs. In his famous experiment, Ivan Pavlov noticed dogs began to salivate in response to a tone after the sound had been repeatedly paired with the presentation of food. Pavlov quickly realized that this was a learned response and set out to further investigate the conditioning process.
Classical conditioning involves pairing a previously neutral stimulus (such as the sound of a bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (the taste of food). This unconditioned stimulus naturally and automatically triggers salivating as a response to the food, which is known as the unconditioned response. After associating the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, the sound of the bell alone will start to evoke salivating as a response. The sound of the bell is now known as the conditioned stimulus and salivating in response to the bell is known as the conditioned response.
Acquisition is the initial stage of learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthened. For example, imagine that you are conditioning a dog to salivate in response to the sound of a bell. You repeatedly pair the presentation of food with the sound of the bell. You can say the response has been acquired as soon as the dog begins to salivate in response to the bell tone. Once the response has been acquired, you can gradually reinforce the salivation response to make sure the behavior is well learned.
Extinction is when the occurrences of a conditioned response decrease or disappear. In classical conditioning, this happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus. For example, if the smell of food (the unconditioned stimulus) had been paired with the sound of a whistle (the conditioned stimulus), it would eventually come to evoke the conditioned response of hunger. However, if the unconditioned stimulus (the smell of food) were no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus (the whistle), eventually the conditioned response (hunger) would disappear.
Spontaneous Recovery is the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response. If the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated, extinction will occur very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery.
Stimulus Generalization is the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned. For example, if a child has been conditioned to fear a stuffed white rabbit, the child will exhibit fear of objects similar to the conditioned stimulus.
Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus. For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned stimulus, discrimination would involve being able to tell the difference between the bell tone and other similar sounds.
Operant (or instrumental) conditioning focuses on using either reinforcement or punishment to increase or decrease a behavior. Through this process, an association is formed between the behavior and the consequences for that behavior. For example, imagine that a trainer is trying to teach a dog to fetch a ball. When the dog successful chases and picks up the ball, the dog receives praise as a reward. When the animal fails to retrieve the ball, the trainer withholds the praise. Eventually, the dog forms an association between his behavior of fetching the ball and receiving the desired reward.