operant conditioning

Question 1

what does it mean when something is positive in operant conditioning

Answer 1

when something is given to someone

Question 2

what odes it mean to be negative in operant conditioning

Answer 2

taking something away

Question 3

what are positive reinforcers

Answer 3

when a desirable or pleasant stimulus is given after a desirable behaviour - gift voucher for always being on time

Question 4

what are negative reinforcers

Answer 4

when a negative thing gets taken away after carrying out a desirable behaviour - putting a coat on when outside so you then aren’t cold

Question 5

what are primary reinforcers

Answer 5

basic and biological needs - bottom level of maslow

Question 6

what are secondary reinforcers

Answer 6

things that can be exchanged for primary reinforcers - tokens for food or sweets

Question 7

what is positive punishment

Answer 7

giving someone an unwanted consequence after an undesirable behaviour - setting more homework to children who don’t do their work

Question 8

what is negative punishment

Answer 8

removing a positive thing after an unwanted behaviour has been presented - removing a child’s blanket because their having a tantrum

Question 9

what is continuos reinforcement

Answer 9

reward given everytime after the desired behaviour has been presente

Question 10

what is fixed interval reinforcement

Answer 10

rewards after a set amount of time has passed - 5 min of silent work

Question 11

what is variable interval reinforcement schedules

Answer 11

rewards after an unpredictable amount of time - when you could have your work checked at anytime so you always do well

Question 12

what is a fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 12

behaviour rewards after a fixed amount of times something has happened - free food after buying 10 items

Question 13

what is a variable ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 13

rewards after an unpredictable amount of times you do something - gambling

Question 14

does continuous have fast or slow extinction and response rate

Answer 14

fast extinction slow response

Question 15

what are the extinction and response rates of fixed ratio reinforcement schedules

Answer 15

fast response rate and medium extinction

Question 16

what are the extinction and response rates of fixed interval reinforcement schedules

Answer 16

medium response and medium extinction

Question 17

what are the extinction and response rates of variable rato reinforcement schedules

Answer 17

fast response slow extinction

Question 18

what is the xtinction and response rates of variable interval reinforcement schedules

Answer 18

fast response and slow extinction

Question 19

what is behaviour modification shaping

Answer 19

instead of waiting for the desired behaviour to be exhinbitied - reward every behaviour leading to the target behaviour

Question 20

what is the skinner pigeon study evidence for operant conditioning

Answer 20

skinner rewarded pigeons for actions that neared the desired behaviour such as turning slightly when the desired behaviour was a full circle - also tried different reinforcement schedules which showed variable ratio procured the most persistent behaviour - used positive reinforcement on pigeons

Question 21

what is skinners rat study in relation to operant conditioning

Answer 21

conditioned rats to press a lever to get a treat, not to press a target if a certain light was on and to press a lever to avoid a shock - shows positive reinforcement and punishment and negative reinforcement

Question 22

what was field et al study in relation to operant conditiong

Answer 22

treating young people with behavioural problems with token economy programmes wasn’t effective for everyone so they had to develop special programmes with more frequent rewards for some people

Question 23

what is the issue with animal evidence for operant conditioning

Answer 23

low generalisability as humans are more socially complex and have more developed cerebral cortexes - cannot fully apply results

Question 24

how did skinner box have standardised procedures

Answer 24

food dispenser administered food every 15 seconds and reliability measured results so results could be checked for consistency

Question 25

how can operant conditioning be seen as reductionist

Answer 25

no adequate explanation for individual differences or nature/biological argument

Question 26

how is social learning theory more realistic than operant conditioning

Answer 26

includes cognitive and social learning process - behaviour can be learnt from observations and influences around us not just reinforcement schedules - social learning is more realistic because it looks at both cognitive and social influences which is due to complex social lives and relationships

Question 27

how do they use operant conditioning in systematic desensitisation

Answer 27

uses reinforcement to encourage people to move onto the next stage of their fear heirachy- reinforces relaxation responses

Question 28

how does operant conditioning help children with autism

Answer 28

reinforcement can help to encourage children with autism to develop social and language skills- negative reinforcement can be used for temper tantrums to help them to learn whats right and wrong

Question 29

how does operant ocndioting apply to token economy programmes

Answer 29

secondary reinforcers in response to a desirable behaviour are rewarded that can be exchanged for a primary reinforcer - used in prisons to develop desirable behaviour