Respondent Conditioning
Ch 21
Conditioning
• Operant conditioning or instrumental
conditioning
• Pavlovian or respondent conditioning
B.F. Skinner
Ivan Pavlov
Does respondent conditioning
play a role in magazine training?
• Remember operant level
• What did rat do when pellet dropped?
Terms
•
•
•
•
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS or US)
Unconditioned response (UCR or UR)
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Conditioned response (CR)
US
• A stimulus that produces the unconditioned
response without previous pairing with
another stimulus
UR
• An unlearned response elicited by the
presentation of an US.
CS
• A stimulus that acquires its eliciting
properties through previous pairing with
another stimulus.
CR
• A learned response elicited by the
presentation of a conditioned stimulus.
Unconditioned Stimulus
UCS
(food pellet)
An UCS elicits behavior without any
learning history with regard to that
stimulus.
Unconditioned Response
UCS
(food pellet)
UCR
(salivation)
An UCR is a reflex response elicited
by an UCS. The food pellet elicits
salivation.
Respondent Conditioning
UCS
(food pellet)
pairing
UCR
(salivation)
neutral stimulus
(click of pellet
dispenser)
Following repeated pairings of the
UCS and a neutral stimulus...
Respondent Conditioning
CS
(click of pellet
dispenser)
CR
(salivation)
…the neutral stimulus, when
presented alone, elicits the CR. The
neutral stimulus is now a CS (no
longer neutral) because of the
conditioning history.
Respondent Conditioning
• No aspect of the procedure depends on the
organism’s behavior. Rat did not have to
“do” anything.
• Procedure consists of presentation of stimuli
– Presented according to a prearranged temporal
plan
• No response contingency (dependency)
Respondent Conditioning
UCS
(food pellet)
pairing
?
(salivation)
? stimulus
(click of pellet
dispenser)
Following repeated pairings of the
UCS and a ______ stimulus...
Respondent Conditioning
?
(click of pellet
dispenser)
?
(salivation)
…the neutral stimulus, when
presented alone, elicits the ___. The
neutral stimulus is now a ___ (no
longer neutral) because of the
conditioning history.
Respondent Conditioning
CS
(click of pellet
dispenser)
CR
(salivation)
…the neutral stimulus, when
presented alone, elicits the CR. The
neutral stimulus is now a CS (no
longer neutral) because of the
conditioning history.
Operant Conditioning
Behavior (Response)
Peck disk
SR+
Grain hopper access
Operant Conditioning
Behavior (Response)
Peck disk
SR+
Grain hopper access
ESSENTIAL that the reinforcer presentation depends on
the organism’s response.
In operant conditioning, it is the
occurrence of a response that
causes reinforcement to be
delivered.
(Reinforcement is contingent
upon the response)
In respondent conditioning, the
conditioned and unconditioned
stimuli are presented without
regard to the animal’s behavior.
(no contingency)
In operant conditioning, must
detect response in order to know
when to deliver reinforcement
In respondent conditioning, must
detect response to know whether
conditioning is taking place
Essential features of each
procedure?
Special exercise helps highlight
essential features:
-operantly condition vasoconstriction
-respondently condition the lever press
Operantly condition peripheral
vasoconstriction
• Efforts to operantly condition smooth
muscle systems have not been very
successful
• Procedure can be applied to any response
system
Respondently condition the lever
press
• No lever-pressing reflex in the rat’s lever
pressing repertoire…
• No reinforcement for lever pressing
Respondent vs. Operant Conditioning
Feature
Respondent
conditioning
Stimuli precede
response
Operant
conditioning
Consequences
follow response
Response
occurrence
Parts of organism
involved
Non response
necessary
Glands & smooth
muscles
Response is
necessary
Striped muscles
Response control
Involuntary
Voluntary
Procedure
Phobias?
• Long lasting, intense, irrational fear.
• Fear is produced by previously neutral
stimuli.
What is fear?
• “Fears” darkness: Darkness is
– a learned aversive stimulus and
– a conditioned eliciting stimulus
• Responses – physiological and
emotional – are conditioned
responses to the eliciting stimulus.
Watson & Rayner
pairing
UCS
UCR
(Striking iron bar)
(fear response)
neutral stimulus
(White rat)
Following repeated pairings of the
UCS and a neutral stimulus...
Watson & Rayner
CS
(White rat)
CR
(fear response)
…the neutral stimulus, when
presented alone, elicits the CR. The
neutral stimulus is now a CS (no
longer neutral) because of the
conditioning history.
Higher Order Conditioning
• Establishing a conditioned stimulus by
pairing a neutral stimulus with an already
established conditioned stimulus.
Watson & Rayner
pairing
CS
CR
(white rat)
(fear response)
neutral stimulus
(Santa’s beard)
Following repeated pairings of the
CS and a neutral stimulus...
Watson & Rayner
CS
(White rat)
CR
(fear response)
CS
(Santa’s beard)
…the neutral stimulus, when presented alone,
elicits the CR. The neutral stimulus is now a CS
(no longer neutral) because of the conditioning
history.
Respondent Extinction
• Present the conditioned stimulus without
pairing it with the unconditioned stimulus
or with an already established conditioned
stimulus, and the conditioned stimulus will
lose its eliciting power.
Operant treatment of phobias
• Differential reinforcement
• Reinforced practice – reinforce
approaching aversive and fear-evoking
stimuli
• Also involves respondent extinction
(repeated presentations of the CS without
the UCS)
Systematic Desensitization
• Combining relaxation with a hierarchy of
fear-producing stimuli arranged from the
least to the most frightening
– Can be in vivo or with imagination
Systematic Desensitization
• Develop hierarchy of fears
• Complete relaxation training
• Begin systematic desensitization
Hierarchy of Fears
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Thinking about basement
On basement stairs
Standing in basement
Notice spider webs in basement
See a dead spider 5 ft away
See a live spider 5 ft away
Etc
Etc
Ect
Ect
Ect
Ect
Spider crawling on hand
Relaxation Training
• Tense, then relax muscle groups
• Imagery – warm sun, calm ocean
• Practice
After mastery of relaxation…
• After training, begin Systematic
Desensitization
• Raise finger during presentation of items
from hierarchy if tension occurs and lower
finger when there is a return to a relaxed
state
• Repeat until relaxation is maintained
throughout hierarchy