●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Researchers dislike verbal observations on mental states
“If you can't see it you can't talk about it” John B. Watson
Watson created the theory that unobserved was bad
Watsonals created the School of Behaviorism which followed the thought that, if it has
coherent thought, it can learn
Behaviorism was the dominant research technique in US in the 1960s
Huge influence on psychology
Watson established the theory after learning about Ivan Pavlov’s experiments
Ivan established CC (Classical Conditioning) which is training a coherent being to do
something when a certain condition is fulfilled
○ Pavlov's dog being the most noted example
○ Ex: Training an animal to do something by giving it treats
○ Four Components must exist to create true CC
■ Unconditioned Stimulus
● The stimuli that causes the response to reflexively happen
■ Unconditioned Response
● Any response that happens in the result of being shown a stimulus
or stimuli (reflexively)
■ Conditioned Stimulus
● The stimuli being used to tempt a response
■ Conditioned Response
● Learned response of being shown the conditioned stimuli
Acquisition
○ Gaining the conditioned response from the conditioned stimulus or stimuli
Extinction
○ Loss of the training
■ Can be forcefully achieved by presenting CS without US
Spontaneous Recovery
○ Gaining back what was lost from extinction after a while
Second Order Conditioning
○ When a subject associates the US with another (unintended) CS
It can happen in nature often
○ Squirrel associates the leaves turning brown with acorns and the extinction effect
+ spontaneous recovery affect the squirrel after having realized to associate
brown leaves with acorns on the ground
■ Generalization, makes a CR response when the stimuli is not the exact
same occur
■ Stimulus Discrimination is when the coherent being can differentiate
between 2 different stimuli that of which are both similar
Operant Conditioning pioneered by 1950s researchers and of which examples are
below:
○ Stimulus
○ Response
○ Consequence
1
●
●
●
○ Ex: B.F. Skinner
Principles of OC
○ Positive Reinforcement
○ Negative Reinforcement
○ Positive Punishment
○ Negative Punishment
○ These are not used in a sense of good or bad, but in a mathematical meaning
■ A negative would be to lose something
● Ex: No treat if it is done wrong
■ A positive would be to gain something
● Ex: Treat if done correctly
Some good Ex:
○ For example, if you study for this class and do well, and as a consequence of
your excellent performance, your parents buy you a car, your parents’ buying you
a car is positive reinforcement for you performing well in the class.
○ If you have a headache and take an ibuprofen, and, as a consequence, your
headache goes away, the disappearance of your headache is negative
reinforcement for your ibuprofen-taking behavior.
○ If you yell at your roommate and your roommate curses at you, your roommate’s
cursing is positive punishment for your yelling behavior.
○ If you get caught breaking the speed limit and lose your license, you losing your
license is negative punishment for your speeding.
■ Note, copy pasted from the text, not my own ideas
Reinforcement Schedules
○ Continuous
■ Giving a reward for the desired response
■ Faster and Shallower
○ Partial reinforcement schedule
■ Giving rewards occasionally for the desired response
■ Slower but Longer Lasting Learning
■ Two basic types
● Ratio Schedules
○ Reward is given after a certain ratio between two variables
is reached
● Interval Schedules
○ Reward is given after a correct response and a certain
amount of time passes
● Four types of schedules total
○ Variable
■ An average number of questions answered
correctly or an average amount of time has passed
would warrant a reward
■ Variable ratio
■ Variable interval
2
○
●
Fixed
■ Reward is given after a fixed amount of time or a
fixed amount of questions answered (don't have to
be correct, just answered)
■ Fixed interval
■ Fixed ratio
Ratio to interval
○ Ratio is faster
○ Comparing Fixed to Variable
■ Variable is faster
● Fastest is a Variable Ratio schedule
3