Psych 1X03 C01 Professor Kim & Professor Cheal 05/09/12

Module 1: Introduction
4 different types of instrumental conditioning develop simple and complex behaviours This module will explore generalization, partial reinforcement schedules & applications

The Discriminative Stimulus Important to know contingency between response & reinforcement and when it is valid SD Response Reinforcement Discriminative stimulus signals when contingency between particular response & reinforcement is on o Child environment of parents home = SD for response of vegetable eating behaviour; reinforced with dessert as reward S Response o

Module 2: Generalization and Discrimination

Reinforcement

S = cue which indicates when contingent relationship is NOT valid

Child environment of grandparents becomes S because no dessert after eating veggies Lab experiment : pigeon learns to peck keyhole to get food o Above keyhole, theres a green signal light & speaker to make click sounds o When green light is on, contingent relationship is valid pecking response leads to food reward o When click sound is on, contingent relationship isnt valid pecking response does not lead to food reward Green light = SD Clicking sound = S Generalization In classical conditioning, CR elicited by CS that subject was trained with AND cues similar to original CS o Range of responding can be seen on a CS generalization gradient In instrumental conditioning, similar thing happens with SD o Pigeon example bird will learn to respond with pecking keyhole when green light is on, but will also respond with pecking to lights of similar wavelength to original SD Range responding to lights can be captured on a SD Generalization Gradient

1 of 7

Psych 1X03 C01 Professor Kim & Professor Cheal 05/09/12

o o

SD (Adult) Response (Politeness) Reinforcement (Praise) Presence of parents = SD When child is polite, her parents praise her and give her attention This SD can be generalized girl polite in presence of all adults/authority figures to get same outcome, but not as strong as when with parents When figure becomes more different from original SD (parents), polite behaviour correspondingly decreases Parents & babysitter have different opinion about girls behaviour

Discrimination & Extinction Extinction girls polite behaviour always rewarded by parents. One day parents are too busy & stopped paying attention & polite behaviour goes unnoticed. causes extinction process; may lead girl to stop responding with polite behaviour Discrimination girl is polite in presence of authority figures. She goes by her self to relatives, but they have no children so her polite behaviour is taken for granted o This extinction process may lead her to limit her polite behaviour response to presence of original SD (parents) SD & S-Delta Lab experimenter can manipulate variables like SD, S-delta, & presentation of reinforcers o Training with SD and S-delta = better discrimination measured by testing many stimuli along SD generalization gradient SD reinforced behaviour 2 of 7

Psych 1X03 C01 Professor Kim & Professor Cheal 05/09/12 S-Delta not reinforced behaviour

Commonly confused difference between CS & SD o Classical conditioning CS paired with US therefore elicits same response Response automatic/involuntary Instrumental conditioning SD paired with response-reinforcer outcome, but SD does not reflexively elicit respond SD sets condition for response signal when respond-reinforcer outcome relationship is valid Therefore, in instrumental conditioning, response is voluntary

o -

Instrumental conditioning involves voluntary responses, while classical conditioning involves involuntary responses Both show generalization of the stimulus that elicits a response Extinction of the learned response can occur in both if the cue (CS/SD) is repeatedly presented alone

Module 3: Schedules of Reinforcement

Continual vs. Partial Reinforcement Continuous reinforcement: response leads to reinforcer in every trial In real world, continuous reinforcement is rare Contingent relationship is reinforced on partial reinforcement schedule Ratio Vs. Interval Partial reinforcement schedules reinforcement delivery determined by total work or time Ratio schedule of reinforcement based on # of responses made by subject ; determines when reinforcement is given o Pigeon on FR -1 schedule rewarded with food for each pecking o Pigeon on FR-10 schedule rewarded with food every 10 th pecking response Contrast ratio schedule with the interval schedule of reinforcement Interval schedule of reinforcement based on time since last response that was reinforced o Pigeon on FI-1 min schedule = rewarded with food for 1 st pecking response after 1 min period (over 1 hr, pigeon could earn 60 pellets) o Pigeon on FI-10 min schedule = rewarded with food for 1 st pecking response after 10 min period (over 1 hr, potential to earn just 6 pellets) o Fixed Vs. Variable 3 of 7

Psych 1X03 C01 Professor Kim & Professor Cheal 05/09/12 Both ratio and interval schedules can be either fixed or variable o Previous cases were fixed conditions VR-10 schedule pigeon must peck an average of 10x to get reward o changes across trials; 1st trial, need to peck 12 times, 8 on the next, then 6, 14 o Overall rate of reinforcement = 10 pecks VI-10 min schedule 1st response after average of 10 min will be reinforced o Changes across trials; reinforced following 5 min of last reinforcement, then 15 min, then 10. o Overall rate of reinforcement average 10 min must pass before pecking reinforced

Four Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio: tailor is paid $500 for every 3 suits he makes Fixed Interval: factory worker paid $15 an hr Variable Ratio: car salesmen sells car to 10-20 people out of every 100 Variable Interval: a fisherman catches a fish every 5-10 min

Fixed Ratio Pigeons peck 3x to get reward supported by as high as FR-100 schedules o There is a limit to how high schedule can be if too high, subject will stop responding = ratio strain o Only few examples of fixed ratio schedules in humans Manufacturer may pay set amount for every 3 shirts sewn (FR-3 Schedule) Cumulative record o Horizontal lines signal lack of response o Flick up indicates response is made Those placed on fixed-ratio schedule display pause and run pattern o After reinforcement, pause with inactivity then begin next run of responding Why is this the case? Ex. Pigeon receives reward after pecking 20 times (FR-20 schedule) 4 of 7

Psych 1X03 C01 Professor Kim & Professor Cheal 05/09/12 If not hungry, lack motivation to work hard. Therefore theres a pause before next round of 20 pecks (like procrastination)

Variable Ratio Reinforcement delivered after random # of responses (around a mean) o Playing slot machine some random # of plays, get rewards (usually very low mean payouts) Supports constant and high response rates Slot machine payout is random, but reward will come if you continue to play Slope of variable ratio schedules cumulative record reflects set average # of responses required before reinforcement is delivered o VR-10 schedule has steeper slope than VR-40 schedule Fixed Interval Reinforcement delivered following 1st response after set interval of time o Ex. ELM quizzes in the course study behaviour increases before quiz. Immediately after quiz, most likely will end study behaviour for a period Produces cumulative record with characteristic scallop o After reinforcement = period where responding drops, then slowly increases just before reinforcement scheduled to be delivered

Variable Interval Rewards delivered after 1st response, after a variable interval time around characteristic mean Receive reinforcement @ any time no idea how often VI responds @ steady rate ensuring that it will not miss opportunity of reinforcement VI with more frequent reinforcement will support higher response rates (VI-2 min schedule) 5 of 7

Psych 1X03 C01 Professor Kim & Professor Cheal 05/09/12

Extinction & Schedules Partial reinforcement schedules differ from continuous reinforcement schedules with respect to extinction o Instrumental conditioning for behaviours learned on partial reinforcement schedule = stronger than those trained on continuous reinforcement schedule PRF learned behaviours = more resistant to extinction than CRF learned behaviours o CRF when reinforcement stops, learner will decrease responding PRF when reinforcement stops, not immediately aware of abrupt change Best to train behaviours using PRF rather than CRF if youre interested in having behaviour maintained over long period o Child reinforced all the time for good behaviour is more likely to stop if reinforcement ends, than child periodically reinforced for good behaviour o

Longer variable ratio schedules show faster rate of response and are more resistant to extinction

Tutorial Notes Wednesday May 9th

Differences between Classical and Instrumental conditioning Classical Conditioning learning contingency between one stimulus and another Contingency between stimulus 1 & stimulus 2 Type of behavior : unconscious/involuntary Example: Dog, bell & salivating example from lecture o CS = Bell o CR= Salivating o US = food o UR = salivating Instrumental Conditioning Learning contingency between a behavior and its consequences Contingency between behavior and consequence Type of behavior: voluntary Example: teaching dog a trick, reward would be a treat 4 Types of Reinforcement Present Positive Reinforcer = increase in behavior reward training Child get desert for eating all veggies Remove Negative Reinforcer = increase in behavior escape training 6 of 7

Psych 1X03 C01 Professor Kim & Professor Cheal 05/09/12 Chore = mowing lawn every week. If child gets A, he doesnt have to mow lawn Present Negative Reinforcer Punishment training Scold dog for jumping on guest (negative addition of loud angry voice) Remove Positive Reinforcer Omission training Child has a time out because of bad behavior Big Bang Theory Video Clip Positive Reinforcement chocolate to encourage good behavior Negative Reinforcer water spray for undesirable behavior Shaping Professor raise cat when he brought the ball. Praised was given if the cat dropped the ball. Professor then rolled the ball away, once it was dropped, and praised cat if he brought the ball back to her. SD (Professor) Response = Reinforcement S (Professors partner) Response NO Reinforcement Generalization something similar to SD stimulus will produce same response Discrimination: someone/something different from stimulus wont produce same response Extinction reinforcement is no longer paired with response that response may be extinct CS SD CS: once contingency is formed, it is capable of eliciting response (CR) SD: sets occasion & response remains voluntary Continuous Reinforcement: Reinforced every trail Partial Reinforcement: (More likely in real world) 1. Ratio Fixed Ratio: gold star after reading every 2 chapters o Brief break in graph before next response Variable Ratio: gold star after # of chapters read; average number o Cant predict when reward will occur, therefore continue to produce behavior for it to reoccur 2. Interval Fixed Interval o Course that has quiz every 3 weeks o Scalloped graph: behavior is low after reinforcement & right before reinforcement it becomes high Variable Interval o Pop quiz on average every 2 weeks o Positively sloping line; must always be ready for reinforcement 7 of 7

Psych 1X03 C01 Professor Kim & Professor Cheal 05/09/12 Depending on amount of reinforcement, behavior might change too small, may not be worth the effort (Jack pot tickets)

8 of 7