Operant Conditioning Vocabulary
These are some basic words that you need to familiarize yourself with in order to better grasp the materials presented in the section on operant conditioning and in the lecture. These definitions are pulled from various sources in hopes that they will aid in your enlightenment with this material. Please notice that there are multiple definitions for each word. These are provided in hopes that they will help expand your understanding. One definition may help clarify the next! Good luck!
Operant Conditioning
A form of learning in which responses come to be controlled by their consequences
Instrumental conditioning is the same thing as operant conditioning
Shaping
The reinforcement of closer & closer approximations of a desired response
Teaching a desired response by reinforcing a series of successive steps leading to this final response
Extinction
The gradual weaking & disappearance of a response tendency because the response is no longer followed by a reinforcer
Primary Reinforcers
Events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs
Stimuli that increase the probability of a response and whose value does not need to be learned, such as food, water, & sex
Secondary Reinforcers
Events that acquire reinforcing qualities but they're not biologically significant
Stimuli that increase the probability of a response & whose reinforcing properties are learned, such as money & material possessions
Schedule of Reinforcement
Determines which occurrences of a specific response result in the presentation of a reinforcer
The set intervals at which a response is reinforced
Continuous Reinforcement
Occurs when every instance of a designated response is reinforced
Reinforcement in which every response is reinforced
Partial Reinforcement
Occurs when a designated response is reinforced only some of the time
Reinforcement in which some, but not all, responses are reinforced
Fixed Ratio (FR) schedule
The reinforcer is given after a fixed number of nonreinforced responses
A partial schedule of reinforcement in which a subject must make a certain number of responses before being reinforced
Variable Ratio (VR) schedule
The reinforcer is given after a variable number of nonreinforced responses
A schedule of reinforcement in which the subject is reinforced after a variable number of responses
Fixed Interval (FI) schedule
The reinforcer is given for the first response that occurs after a fixed time interval has elapsed
Schedule of reinforcement in which a subject is reinforced for the first response after a specific period of time has elapsed
Variable Interval (VI) schedule
The reinforcer is given for the first response after a variable time interval has elapsed
Reinforcement
Occurs when an event following a response increases an organism's tendency to make that response
Any action or event that increases the probability that a response will be repeated
Punishment
Occurs when an event following a response decreases the tendency to make that response
Any action or event that decreases the likelihood of a response being repeated
Please keep in mind that these definitions are provided to you in addition to the ones that you will find in your textbook. These extra definitions are provided in hopes that multiple phrasings of the same material will help you better understand this material. J
And, as always, please remember that all materials presented here are purely supplemental in nature. They are not intended to supercede or substitute for the information presented in lecture & in the textbook! Thanks again & enjoy.