Behaviorism Essay, Research Paper

Behaviorism Notes and other Words Learning — A relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs through experience. Classical Conditioning — Responding Operand Conditioning — Acting Observational Conditioning — Observing Classical Conditioning — A neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus and acquires the capacity to elicit a similar response. -The organism as responding to the environment (fails to capture active nature of the organism and its influence on the environment. ) -Explains involuntary responses - Pavlov -Reflexes — Automatic stimulus-response connections. -Unconditional Stimulus (US) — A stimulus that provides a response without prior learning. -Unconditional Response — (UP) — An unlearned response that is automatically elected by the US -Conditioned Stimulus (CS) — Previous neutral stimulus that eventually elicits the condition response after being associated with the unconditioned stimulus. -Conditioned Response (CR) — Learned response to CS that occurs after CS-US paring. (Pavlov, 1927) -(DeCola & Fanselow, 1995) — The interval between the CS & US is one of the most important aspects of classical conditioning - Congruity — Degree of association of the stimuli. -(Kimble, 1961) — Conditioned responses developed when the interval between the CS and US is very short, as in a matter of seconds. In many instances, optimal spacing is a fraction of a second. -Generalization – The tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the original stimulus to produce a response that is similar to the conditioned response. -Discrimination — The process of learning to respond to certain stimuli and not to respond to others. -Extinction — The weakening of the conditioned response in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus -Spontaneous Recovery — The process by which a condition response can recur after a time delay without further conditioning. -Stimulus Substitution — Pavlov’s theory of how classical conditioning works; the nervous system is structured in such a way that the CS and the US bond together and eventually the CS substituted for the US. -Information Theory — Contemporary explanation of why classical condition works; key to understand classical conditioning focuses on the information an organism gets from the situation. -(E. C. Tolman, 1932) — The organism used the CS as a sign or expectation that a US will follow. -Phobias — Irrational fears -Counterconditioning — A procedure for weakening a CR by associating the fear-provoking stimulus with a new response incompatible with the fear. - (Mary Cover Jones, 1924) — Eliminated fear in 3 year old. -Some behaviors associated with health problems or mental disorders can involved classical conditioning. -Operant Conditioning -Form of learning in which the consequences of behavior produce changes in the probability of the behavior’s occurrence. -The behavior operates on the environments, and the environment in turn operates on the behavior. -Explains voluntary actions -Stimuli that govern behavior follow the behavior (as oppose to Classical C.) -E. L. Thorndike -Experimented with power of consequences in determining voluntary behavior -Law of Effect — Behaviors followed by positive outcomes are strengthen, whereas behaviors followed by negative outcomes are weakened. – S-R Theory —Thorndike’s view – The correct stimulus-response association strengths and the incorrect association weakens because of the consequences of the organism’s actions – Organism’s behavior is due to a connection between a stimulus and a response. -B. F. Skinner – Developed concept of operant conditioning (1938) -Pigeon-guided missile – Walden Two (1948) -Presented idea of scientifically managed society -Utopian society through behavioral control -Our behavior is controlled by environmental forces is to ignore science and reality -Skinner box -A device in a box would deliver food pellets into a tray at random. After a rate became accustomed to the box, Skinner installed a lever and observed the rat’s behavior. As the hungry rat explored the box, it occasionally pressed the ever and a food pellet would be dispenses. -Reinforcement (reward) — A consequence that increases the probability that a behavior will occur -Positive Reinforcement — The frequency of a response increases because it is followed by a stimulus -Negative Reinforcement — The frequency of a response increases because the response is either removes a stimulus or involves avoiding the stimulus. -Punishment — A consequence that decreases the probability that a behavior will occur. -Time Interval - Learning more efficient when the interval between response and reinforcement is a few seconds rather than minutes or hours. -(Holland, 1996) — Learning is more efficient under immediate rather than delayed consequences. -Shaping and Chaining -Shaping — The process of rewarding approximations of desired behavior. -Chaining — Technique used to reach a complex sequence, or chain or behaviors. The procedure begins by shaping the final response in the sequence. Then you work backward until a chain of behaviors is learned. -Primary and Secondary Reinforcement -Positive reinforcement -Primary Reinforcement — Involves the use of reinforces that are innately satisfying, that is they do not take any learning on the organism’s part to make them pleasurable. -Secondary Reinforcement — Acquires its positive value through experience; secondary reinforces are learned or conditioned reinforces. -Token Rein forcer — Money -Schedules of Reinforcement -Partial Reinforcement- Responses are not reinforced each time they occur -Schedules of reinforcement — "Timetables" that determine when a response will be reinforced. -Fixed-Ratio Schedule — Reinforces a behavior after a set number of responses. -Variable-Ratio Schedule — A timetable in which responses are rewarded an average number of time, but on an unpredictable basis. -Fixed-Interval Schedule — Reinforces the first appropriated response after a fixed amount of time has elapsed. -Variable-Interval Schedule — A timetable in which a response is reinforced after a variable amount of time has elapsed. -The closer the schedule is to continuous reinforcement, the faster the individual learns. However, once behavior is learned, the intermittent schedules can be effective n maintaining behavior. -(Skinner, 961) — Rate of behavior varies from one schedule to the next -Fixed-ratio schedule produced a high rate of behavior with a pause occurring between the reinforce and the behavior -Variable-ration schedule elicits a high rate of behavior when the pause after the reinforcement is eliminated…. This schedule usually elicits the highest response rate of all four schedules. -Interval schedules produce behavior at a lower rate than ratio schedules -Extinction — A previously reinforced response is no longer reinforced and there is decreased tendency to perform the response. -Generalization —Giving the same response to similar stimuli. -Discrimination — The tendency to respond only to those stimuli that are correlated with reinforcement. -Discriminative Stimuli — Signal that a response will be reinforced -Applied behavior analysis (behavior modification) — Application of operant condition principles to change human behavior. Observational Learning — (aka imitation or modeling) Learning that occurs when a person observes and imitates someone’s behavior. -(Bandura (1965) — Bobo dolls Cognitive Factors in Learning -S-O-R Model — A model of learning that gives some importance to cognitive factors -S=stimuls -O=organism, "black box" -R=response -Cognitive map — An organism’s mental representation of the structure of physical space. -Insight learning — A form of problem solving in which the organism develops a sudden insight or understanding of a problem’s solution -Preparedness — Species-specific biological predisposition to learn in certain way but not in others -Instinctive Drift — Tendency of animals to revert to instinctive behavior that interferes with learning. -Taste aversion —if an organism ingests a substance that poisons but does not kill it, the organism often develops considerable distaste for that substance.