OPERANT CONDITIONING
Unit 6
Sensitivity to Punishment & Rewards
Punishment Score=
 Add all of your Yes responses for each ODD
number
High punishment
 You’ll have a range from 0-24 score you are likely
vulnerable to
anxiety
Reward Score=
 Add all of your Yes responses for each EVEN
High reward score
number
you are likely
vulnerable to
 You’ll have a range from 0-24
impulsivity
Objective 4:
Applications of Classical Conditioning
 John Watson and Baby Albert
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=FMnhyGozLyE
Little Albert
Objective 5:
Operant Conditioning
 Classical Conditioning
 behavior that occurs as an
automatic response to some
stimulus (you have no control)
 Operant conditioning
 Associate your own actions with
consequences (you have control
over behavior)
What determines
your behavior?
When does this happen?
Do you care about future consequences?
-reverse
#s3,4,5,9,10,11,&12
- Total all 12
- Range from 12-60
- Higher numbers indicate greater
concern for future consequences
- Optimistic, hopeful, recycle,
internal locus of control,
concern for health, don’t smoke
- Lower numbers tend to be very
passionate about things
currently going on in life
- Tend to live in the here-and-now
http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=x3S0xS2hdi4
Marshmallow Test
1. How would you classically condition a preschool child who is afraid
of dogs to enjoy playing with a neighbor’s friendly dog? Be sure to
identify the US-UR-CS-CR along with your explanation.
2. Mr. Bryne can’t understand why scolding his 7th grade students for
disruptive classroom behaviors makes them more unruly. Explain Mr.
Bryne’s predicament in terms of operant conditioning principles. Also,
show how he could use operant conditioning to (a) reduce disruptive
behaviors and (b) increase cooperative behaviors.
3. Explain how drug addiction is negative reinforcement.
4. Some people with alcohol dependence report that just the smell of
alcohol creates a powerful sense of well-being, increasing their desire
to drink the alcohol. Explain this in reaction using a classical
conditioning model, and describe one possible way to decrease the
reaction. Use the following in your response:
US
UR
CS
CR
Extinction
1.
2.
3.
Another term for negative reinforcement: correction, reprimand, punishment
When you supply negative reinforcement it usually results in: weakening a behavior /
strengthening
Whata behavior
are the basic types of reinforcers?
Do people look forward to negative reinforcement: yes / no
 Reinforcer
 Anything that strengthens the behavior it follows
 Positive reinforcement – adds a positive to continue
your behavior
 Negative reinforcement – removes a negative
 Not punishment
 Removes a punishing event / gets rid of something annoying
Which type of reinforcement
A mother gives her son praise for doing homework +
2. Taking aspirin to relieve headache 3. Putting mittens on because it is cold 4. The little boy receives $5.00 for every A he earns on his report card. +
5. Giving in to a whining child 6. Fanning oneself to escape the heat 7. Leaving a movie theater if the movie is bad 8. Smoking in order to relieve anxiety
9. A father gives his daughter candy for cleaning up toys. +
10. Feigning stomachache to avoid school 11. Putting up umbrellas to escape the rain 12. You get yelled at for having your music too loud by your mom who
usually ignores you so you can continue +
1.
 Punishment
 Stops the behavior
Negative Reinforcement encourages behavior.
When something unpleasant stops, the behavior that
caused it to stop is reinforced
Skinner’s Experiments
Punishment
 Negatives of using punishment
 Punished behavior is suppressed not
forgotten
 Punishment teaches discrimination
 did child learn not to curse or just not to curse in house?
 Punishment can teach fear
 Physical punishment may increase
aggression
Punishment tells you what not to do; reinforcement tells you
what to do
Schedules of Reinforcement
1. Continuous Reinforcment
 reward after every behavior
2. Schedules of Reinforcment
 4 types of partial schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
 Operant Chamber (Skinner Box)
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
 Ratio (2)
 dependent on the behavior itself; a
 Interval (2)
 involves a TIME element; time
certain number of responses are
must pass before reinforcement
needed before reinforcement will
will occur
occur
 FIXED –INTERVAL
 FIXED –RATIO
 reinforce 1st response after set
 reinforce behavior after set # of
time…produces stop-start
responses
behavior (more as reward draws
near)
 VARIABLE-RATIO
 reinforce behavior after
unpredictable # of
responses…slot machine
 VARIABLE-INTERVAL
 reinforce 1st response after
varying time intervals
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
slot machine
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Reinforcement Schedules
Reinforcement Schedules:
Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
VR
FR
VI
FI
VI
VR
FI
8. FR
9. VR
10. VI
11. FR
12. FI
1. How would you classically condition a preschool child who is afraid
of dogs to enjoy playing with a neighbor’s friendly dog? Be sure to
identify the US-UR-CS-CR along with your explanation.
2. Mr. Bryne can’t understand why scolding his 7th grade students for
disruptive classroom behaviors makes them more unruly. Explain Mr.
Bryne’s predicament in terms of operant conditioning principles. Also,
show how he could use operant conditioning to (a) reduce disruptive
behaviors and (b) increase cooperative behaviors.
3. Explain how drug addiction is negative reinforcement.
4. Some people with alcohol dependence report that just the smell of
alcohol creates a powerful sense of well-being, increasing their desire
to drink the alcohol. Explain this in reaction using a classical
conditioning model, and describe one possible way to decrease the
reaction. Use the following in your response:
US
UR
CS
CR
Extinction
Sensitivity to Punishment & Reward
Questionnaire
Are some of us more sensitive to punishment?
Are some of us more sensitive to reward?
Sensitivity to Punishment
 Assign 1 point for each yes answer for odd #s
 0-24 range
Sensitivity to Reward
 Assign 1 point for each yes answer for even #s
High punish. Score vulnerable to anxiety. High reward score =
impulsivity.