I attended every class for Psychology 321 and became very familiar with the information. I have written it verbatim and have not paraphrased or used information that is not 100% factual.
Classical (Respondent) Conditioning
- Unconditioned Stimulus
- Stimulus that leads to an automatic response
- Unconditioned Response
- Automatic response to stimulus
- Conditioned (neutral) Stimulus
- Neutral stimulus to be paired with unconditioned stimulus
- Conditioned Response
- Learned response to a previously neutral stimulus
Operant Conditioning
- The consequences of a response will affect the rate at which the response occurs
- Follow behavior with a reward = increase behavior
- Positive Reinforcement
- Also can be called just reinforcement
- Follow behavior with an aversive stimulus = decrease in behavior
- Punishment
- Combined with shaping to teach specific behaviors
- Skinner held that personality is a collection of operant patterns
- I.e., it’s the behaviors we’ve learned through reinforcement
- And the absence of behaviors we’ve learned through punishment
The Skinner Box
- First, the rat explores the environment
- Accidentally triggers the lever, producing food
- Over repeated trials, learns to press the lever to get food
- Food acts as a reinforcer for pressing the lever
- Rats can also be shocked for pressing the lever
- E.g., in stimulus discrimination training
Operant Conditioning
- Examples over camera 9/15
Schedules of Intermittent Reinforcement
- Fixed Interval
- Reinforcer given following a fixed amount of time after response
- Variable Interval
- Reinforcer given after unpredictable amount of time
- Fixed Ratio
- Reinforcer given following a fixed number of responses
- Variable Ratio
- Reinforcer given after unpredictable number of responses
, Psych 321 Notes
- Examples/Graphs over camera 9/15
Shaping
- Development of a new behavior by reinforcement of successive approximations
- Used when a behavior does not exist
- Begins with rewarding responses that will lead to the behavior
- E.g., learning a language, athletic abilities, rehabilitation
Skinner and Superstitious Pigeons
- Power of accidental reinforcement
- Skinner put pigeons in a box
- Every 15 seconds they were given a grain of food
- 6 of the 8 pigeons developed specific behaviors (turning clockwise, pecking at
wall)
Superstitious Behavior
- Persistent behavior that has a coincidental and nonfunctional relationship to the
reinforcement it received.
Applications of Operant Conditioning
- Behavior modification
- Therapy that uses operant conditioning to change behavior
- Punishment
- Less effective than positive reinforcement
- Produces negative emotions
- Doesn’t inform how to behave instead
- Recommendation: If you want to reduce a behavior, replace it with
something else using reinforcement
- Token Economy : Tokens are earned and exchanged for objects or privileges
- Negative Reinforcement
- Reinforcement through removal of an aversive stimulus
- Consequences are not as predictable as positive reinforcement
- Extinction : Fading of non-reinforced conditioned response over time
Questions about Human Nature
- Deterministic
- Emphasis on the influence of nature
- Focused on the past and the present
- Stressed uniqueness
- Equilibrium and growth
- Optimistic
Assessment in Skinner’s Theory
- Functional Analysis : Approach to studying behavior
- Form of behavioral assessment
- Also often includes naturalistic observation
- Basic Process :
, Psych 321 Notes
- Assess the frequency of a behavior
- The situation it occurs in
- And its associated reinforcers
- Includes :
- Direct Observation
- Self-Report
- Physiological measurements
Research on Skinner’s Theory
- Intensive study of Single non-human subjects
- Findings:
- Greater reinforcement during learning =- behavior is more resistant to extinction
- Can shape most forms of behavior
- Instinctive Drift : Substitution of instinctive behaviors for behaviors that
has been reinforced
- Token economy programs can reduce aggressive acts by those with cognitive
impairment and people on the autism spectrum
Reflections on Skinner’s Theory
- Criticisms
- Focuses on overt behavior, ignores internal experiences
- Challenged by cognitive movement
- Cognitive mediational processes
- Largely ignores the influence of biology
- Experiments were simplistic and used non-human animals as subjects
- Contributions
- Shaped the field of psychology
- Relied entirely on objective, replicable observations
- Approach continues to be applied in scientific, clinical, and organizational
settings
Personality Development
- Most important part of the personality = ego
- More than a mediator between id and superego; source of identity, providing
stability and continuity
- Human development is governed by a sequence of eight stages = psychosocial stages of
development
- Inherited forces determine the stages
- Social/environmental factors interact with the biology
Psychosocial Stages of Personality Development
- Stages involve a series of crises
- Crisis : Turning point faced at each developmental stage
- Each stage, the ego will consist primarily of a positive attitude (e.g., trust)
- Will be balanced by some portion of negative attitude (e.g., mistrust)
, Psych 321 Notes
- Basic strengths (virtues) : Motivating characteristics and beliefs (e.g., hope)
- Derived from satisfactory resolution of the crisis at each developmental stage
- Stages are independent; they build on what is previously learned
Basic Weakness
- From unsatisfactory resolution of developmental crises
- Maldevelopment : When the ego consists solely of a single attitude
- Maladaptive : Only the positive attitude
- Leads to neurosis
- Malignant : Only the negative attitude
- Leads to psychosis
- Unsuccessful resolution can still be resolved later in life
- Particularly through psychotherapy
- But also conscious development throughout life
-
Review : Personality Development
- Human development occurs over 8 psychosocial stages of development
- Inherited forces determine the stages
- Social/environmental factors interact with the biology
- Called the epigenetic principle (of maturation)
- Each stage, the ego will consist primarily of a positive attitude that is balanced by
some portion of a negative attitude
- Right balance = basic strength
- Wrong balance = basic weakness (maldevelopment)
- Maladaptive - only the positive attitude
- Malignant - only the negative attitude
First Stage : Trust vs. Mistrust
- Oral-Sensory Stage : Birth to One
- Determined by the baby’s interaction with the mother
- Trust (positive) : Expect consistency from others
- Mistrust (negative) : suspicious, fearful, and anxious
- Basic strength is hope
- Basic weakness :
- Maladaptive = sensory maladjustment (gullibility)
- Malignant = withdrawal (paranoia, depression)
Second Stage : Autonomy vs. Doubt/Shame
- Muscular-anal phase : one to three
- Develop physical and mental abilities, able to do things ourself
- Includes toilet training
- Determined by interactions with our parents
- Autonomy (positive) : learn to exercise independence
- Shame (negative) : self-doubt
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