Behavioral Psychology 03 12 2011 Behavioral Modification Assignment Pick behavior Observe that behavior 1 week Design a program Observe the effect Implement that program 1 week Classical Conditioning History Stimulus response naturally Stimulus learned response Ivan Pavlov o Pavlov s Dogs experiment Typically no salivation UCS food UCR salivation CS bell CR salivation In real life CC is most prevalent in advertising o Bacardi Sex o Bacardi Operant Conditioning History Thorndike Law of Effect o Consequences effect how we behave Cat experiment Dogs salivating when neutral substance is presented NS bell B F Skinner o Father of operant conditioning o no such thing as insight o Pigeon Experiment Pigeon getting bird food Taught how to push box taught how to get food Kohler o Researched apes in cage o Hung bananas really high in a tree but too high for monkeys to reach Focus on the effects of consequences on behavior Consequences determined by function Discriminative stimulus Sd any stimulus that signals that a response will be reinforced or punished o Sd behavior Consequence follows Reinforcement an outcome that increases the frequency of a response it o Positive reinforcement stimulus presented immediately after a response and increases the frequency of that response o Negative reinforcement removing stimulus following a response resulting in an increased frequency of that response think of it as avoidance or escape Ex coming to class late because you know you ll miss the assignments given to the class i e you get out of doing the work by coming late so you re going to want to come late more often Punishment the immediate presentation of an aversive condition following a response resulting in a decreased frequency of that response o Positive punishment the presentation of aversive stimulus following a response resulting in a decreased frequency of that response Adding a negative comment adding sarcastic joke adding something bad o Negative punishment the prevention of a reinforcer following a response that results in a decreased frequency of that response Taking away something positive Applications of Operant Conditioning o Shaping conditioning a target behavior by progressively reinforcing behaviors that come closer and closer to the target o Activity o Animal training in zoos many zoos train animals using operant conditioning so that they can receive veterinary treatment o Token economies systems for reinforcing appropriate behavior and eliminating inappropriate behavior Used commonly with children and people with disabilities or mental illnesses People are rewarded with secondary reinforcers tokens chips points etc for appropriate behaviors Able to trade these in for primary reinforcers food toys activities etc Relevant Terms Acquisition when the response behavior is established Extinction when the response behavior slowly disappears for classical after the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS for operant after the reinforcement is removed o Extinction burst when you stop reinforcing something people get pissed rewarding me What the hell I m doing what you want and you re not Spontaneous recovery a seemingly extinct CR reappears if the CS is presented again classical and a response reappears after it has been extinguished no longer being reinforced operant Stimulus generalization responding to a stimulus that is similar to the original CS classical or the original Sd operant Stimulus discrimination not responding to a stimulus that is too different from the original CS classical or the original Sd operant Two process theory phobias phobias are often established and maintained through both classical and operant conditioning A neutral stimulus dog is paired with UCS dog bite and elicits the CR fear The reason this pairing is not extinguished after many years is through operant conditioning negative reinforcement because the person avoids the stimulus that causes the fear We can use operant conditioning together to treat phobias in a therapy called Systematic Desensitization The patient learns realaxation techniques to replace the fear Schedules of Reinforcement Fixed ratio FR deliver reinforcement after n number of responses o Ex after the rat presses the lever 5 times it gets water Fixed interval FI deliver reinforcement for the first response after a specified amount of time has passed o Ex worker in a toy factory will receive a pay check every Friday if at least one toy is completed Variable ratio VR deliver reinforcement after a specific number of responses on average it is an average of the pre determined number of responses so actual number each time will vary randomly o Ex gambling Variable interval VI deliver reinforcement for the first response after an average length of time passes it is an average of the pre determined length of time so actual length each time will vary randomly o Ex give your dog a treat for performing a trick sometime within 7 minute interval then 4 minute interval the 20 min interval as long as average is 10 minutes