Introductory psychologyLesson 3 of 4 in the course Learning

Operant Conditioning: Consequences, Schedules, and Latent Learning

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 3 fill-in sentences · English

Save course
Lesson progress
0 / 5

Your progress is kept in this browser only.Sign up to save it

Summary

This lesson introduces operant conditioning and explains how consequences influence behavior. It also compares operant conditioning with classical conditioning and introduces the law of effect.

Classical conditioning occurs when an organism learns an association between stimuli. A stimulus that initially does not trigger a particular response is paired with a stimulus that naturally does. Eventually, the previously neutral stimulus can trigger a learned response. For example, a tone repeatedly paired with food may eventually cause a dog to salivate.

All flashcards

Operant conditioning
Learning in which consequences change how likely a behavior is to occur again.
Classical conditioning
Learning that links stimuli, often so a previously neutral stimulus elicits a response.
Extinction
The decline of a previously reinforced behavior when reinforcement stops.
Secondary reinforcer
A stimulus that gains reinforcing value through association with valued outcomes.
Cognitive map
A mental representation of spatial layout that can support navigation.

Quiz questions

  1. A seatbelt alarm stops when a driver buckles up, making buckling more likely in the future. What type of consequence is this?Answer: Negative reinforcement: an unpleasant stimulus is removed, increasing behavior.
  2. Why did researchers use an operant conditioning chamber, often called a Skinner box?Answer: It provided a controlled setting to observe and record behavior and its consequences.
  3. Why can behavior reinforced on a variable-ratio schedule be especially resistant to extinction?Answer: An unpredictable reward may still follow the next response, sustaining behavior.
  4. What does the shaping procedure involve when teaching a complex behavior?Answer: Reinforcing successive approximations that gradually approach the target behavior.
  5. What is a cognitive map?Answer: A mental representation of an environment's layout.

Based on Psychology 2e by Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

More in Introductory psychology

All Introductory psychology lessons
Introductory psychologyEmotion: Components, Theories, Brain Systems, and Expression5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Introductory psychologyObservational Learning: Modeling, Vicarious Consequences, and Social Influence5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Introductory psychologyStress, Immunity, Cardiovascular Risk, Asthma, and Headaches5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Introductory psychologyHumanistic Psychology: Maslow’s Needs and Rogers’s Self-Concept5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Introductory psychologyTrait Models: Allport, Cattell, Eysenck, the Big Five, and HEXACO5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Introductory psychologyLearning, Social-Cognitive, and Situational Accounts of Personality5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →