Warm Up
 How is a conditioned stimulus different
than an unconditioned stimulus?
 True or False: An originally neutral
stimulus must be paired with an
unconditioned stimulus in order to elicit
the intended response
Test Next Wednesday (10/23)
 It will cover ONLY classical and operant conditioning, and
social learning
 We will review in class Tuesday
 ALSO- Tutoring after school Tuesday 2:15-2:45
Operant Conditioning
 B.F. Skinner
 learning from consequences of behavior
 Reinforcement or Punishment
Skinner’s Experiment
 Pavlov is to the dog experiment, as Skinner is
to the rat experiment
 Rats had to press a bar in order to receive the
food (reinforcement)
Reinforcement
 Stimulus or event that increases the likelihood that
a response will be repeated
 Can be POSITIVE or NEGATIVE
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-63ysqT5nu0
Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
 Takes away an unpleasant stimulus
 Escape Conditioning-remove or terminate
unpleasant stimulus
 Avoidance Conditioning- prevent the
occurrence of an unpleasant stimulus; often
has a warning signal
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHhcidCoGAE
Primary vs. Secondary Reinforcer
 Primary- satisfies a biological need
(hunger/thirst/sleep)
 Secondary-paired with a primary
reinforcer through classical conditioning
and has acquired value (Almost any
stimulus)
Schedules of Reinforcement
 Behavior Reinforced EVERY timeContinuous Schedule
 Behaviors Reinforced with intervalsPartial Schedule
Quick Write
 Which do you think is more effective?
Partial Schedule
 253-254
 Pull out the 4 types of partial
reinforcement and describe each (in your
notes!)
Shaping
Desired behavior is “modeled”
by first rewarding any act
similar to desired behavior and
then requiring closer acts
before giving a reward
Shaping
 For example, to teach a child to write his
or her first name, you initially give praise
for writing the first letter correctly. After
the child has mastered that first step,
letter-by-letter you give praise until the
entire name is correctly written.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iox5BVm5-qk
Response Chains
 Learned reactions that follow one another
in sequence
 Simple skills make harder tasks possible
 Ride a training bike, have parent guide
you, ride a real bike
Punishment
 Opposite of negative reinforcement
 Behavior is decreased
Negative Punishment
 When a child "talks back" to his/her
mother, the child may lose the privilege of
watching her favorite television program.
Therefore, the loss of viewing privileges
will act as a negative punisher and
decrease the likelihood of the child talking
back in the future.
Positive Punishment
If you stroke a cat's fur in a manner
that the cat finds unpleasant, the
cat may attempt to bite you.
Therefore, the presentation of the
cat's bite will act as a positive
punisher and decrease the likelihood
that you will stroke the cat in that
same manner in the future.
Disadvantages of Punishment
 257-259
 What are the problems with punishment?
Please identify and add to your notes
 THEN WE ARE DONE WITH NOTES- YOU MADE IT!
Operant Conditioning in your Life