Lecture 11 Notes General Operant conditioning works because we learn to repeat things that work It does not matter if you understand how operant conditioning works it will still be effective Summary of Escape and Avoidance Escape when you physically run away from a bad situation Negative reinforcement operant conditioning Dog learns to jump over the wall to escape the shock you negatively reinforce the jump behavior Avoidance learn to escape before the bad situation actually occurs Classical conditioning A light is continually turned on right before shock so light NS is paired with shock UCS the light becomes a CS and the dog jumps over wall UCR and CR Now as soon as the light comes on dog jumps over the wall dog is now avoiding aversive situation shock Since the CS light is continually occurring without the UCS the avoidance behavior should extinguish IT DOESN T The dog should oscillate back and forth between escape and avoidance but IT DOESN T Dog continues to avoid the shock because the situation is more complex than anticipated two process theory Dog first learns to escape with negative reinforcement second the dog learns avoidance with classical conditioning however stress and anxiety level increases when the light comes on from the knowledge that light pain and this stress is aversive so the dog will jump over the wall to end the stress anxiety and thus is negatively reinforced every time it jumps over the wall and avoids the light and thus the stress and anxiety Two process avoidance can be a big problem if people want to extinguish avoidance behavior Phobia try to change the learning history of the individual face the phobia and reward the person when they face the phobia reinforcement you are shaping the behavior bringing the person with the phobia into closer and closer contact with what they are afraid of What if you don t give the dog an escape route the dog will eventually just lay down and take the shock When you repeat this procedure the behavior will be immediate Then if you open the wall so the dog can escape it won t This is called learned helplessness which is a large factor in abusive relationships Learned helplessness organism in aversive circumstance and learns through repeated attempts that it cannot escape it will quit trying Whenever you are nice you are reinforcing Whenever you argue you are punishing Punishment Outline Positive and Negative Side effects Effective punishment Punishment is a very powerful learning tool but is more difficult to apply effectively than reinforcement and can have long term very negative consequences General Positive and Negative Punishment Why it is hard to punish effectively Positive Reinforcement add something aversive Negative Reinforcement remove something good Example yell or hit someone when they do something bad Example if kid does something bad ground them 1 In order for punishment to be maximally effective it must be continuous Otherwise the organism know that if they do something bad they might get away with it so they might as well try Example this means that if you punish a child you have to do it every time you have to hit them or yell at them or remove your affective from them every time 2 Timing the more time between the behavior and the punishment the weaker the training you must catch the organism in the act mitigated somewhat if you can explain the cause effect relationship behavior must be immediately paired with punishment or reinforcement Negative Side Effects of Punishment 1 Organism may become very hostile and aggressive toward non punishers 2 The punished organism may become very passive in the presence of the punisher even ceasing all activity when the punisher is around because the punished individual doesn t understand why they are being punished so they stop all activity just in case 3 Punishment arouses feelings of anxiety and stress short term and long term negative consequences How to Punish Effectively USE VERY MINIMALLY 1 You must punish every time the behavior occurs 2 You need to punish as soon as the behavior occurs 3 If you are going to punish make an alternative available and reinforce it punish the behavior while they are doing it then have them do the right thing and reinforce it or just skip the punishment completely 4 Explain why you are doing the punishment make the cause and effect relationship Summary table for Positive and Negative Reinforcement and Punishment Positive presentation of stimulus Negative removal of stimulus Presentation increase behavior Removal increases behavior apparent Reinforcement Strengthens behavior Intermittent Punishment Weakens Behavior Continuous hard to do Presentation decreases behavior Removal decreases behavior
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