Introductory psychologyLesson 2 of 5 in the course Behaviourist and cognitive learning theories

Operant Conditioning: Consequences, Schedules, and Stimulus Control

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

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Summary

This lesson introduces operant conditioning and explains how it differs from classical conditioning. It also traces the foundational contributions of Edward Thorndike and B. F. Skinner.

Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is learning in which the future frequency or duration of a voluntary behavior changes because of its consequences. A consequence may involve adding or removing a stimulus.

All flashcards

What is the law of effect?
Thorndike’s principle that satisfying consequences tend to strengthen behavior, while unpleasant consequences tend to weaken it.
What is a Skinner box?
A controlled chamber for studying operant responses and how consequences affect their rates.
What do positive and negative mean in operant conditioning?
Positive means adding a stimulus; negative means removing one.
What is a three-term contingency?
The relationship among a discriminative stimulus, a response, and its consequence.
What is shaping?
Building a target behavior by reinforcing successive approximations.

Quiz questions

  1. What defines negative reinforcement?Answer: A behavior becomes more likely because it removes or ends an aversive stimulus.
  2. On a variable-ratio schedule, what determines when reinforcement is delivered?Answer: An unpredictable number of responses must occur.
  3. What happens during extinction of a previously reinforced behavior?Answer: The behavior no longer produces the reinforcement that previously followed it.
  4. What does a discriminative stimulus signal?Answer: That a response may produce a particular consequence in the current circumstances.
  5. In autoshaping, what may a pigeon learn to do when a key light predicts food, even if pecking is unnecessary?Answer: Peck the illuminated key.

Based on the Wikipedia article Operant conditioning, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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