Understanding Operant Conditioning

This document delves into the concept of operant conditioning, a type of learning where behaviors are strengthened or weakened based on their consequences. It covers various aspects like fixed-ratio and variable-ratio schedules, fixed-interval and variable-interval schedules, positive and negative reinforcement, escape and avoidance learning, punishment, latent learning, instinctive drift, and observational learning. The document explains how these principles influence behavior and provides examples to illustrate each concept.

Classical/Pavlovian Conditioning
- A type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity
to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another
stimulus
- Ivan Pavlov
 Responsible for turning psychology from research
focusing on subjective accounts of experience,
introspection, to a more objective, rigorous, scientific
approach
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
- A stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without
previous conditioning
unconditioned response (UCR)
- An unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that
occurs without previous conditioning
conditioned stimulus (CS)
- A previously neutral stimulus that has, through
conditioning, acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned
response
conditioned response (CR)
- A learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs
because of previous conditioning

a trial in classical conditioning consists of any presentation
of a stimulus or pair of stimuli. Psychologists are interested
in how many trials are required to establish a particular
conditioned bond
Conditioned fears are less likely to develop when events seem
escapable and controllable, and when people have a history of
nontraumatic encounters in similar situations. People who are
relatively low in anxiety probably acquire conditioned fears
less readily than those who are highly anxious
Evaluating Conditioning
- Changes in the liking of a stimulus that result from pairing
that stimulus with other positive or negative stimuli
When the drug is administered repeatedly in the context of the
usual pre-drug cues, these cues elicit a CCR that reduces the
drug effect. As the drug is administered more and more often,
and the CCR grows in strength, the reduction of the drug
effect becomes more pronounced. In addition, when the drug
user is in the company of the cues associated with drug use
but is not administering the drug itself, withdrawal symptoms
may be produced
Compensatory CS
- The ‘ritual’ itself cancel out some of anticipated effects

of drug use, while progressively getting stronger,
increasing tolerance
- Can serve as a trigger relapses even if the drug is not
present (backfire)
- If drugs are taken in new ways or in new settings, the usual
compensatory CRs may not occur, increasing the risk of an
overdose
Acquisition
- Initial stage of learning
- Depends on stimulus contiguity. Stimuli are contiguous if
they occur together in time and space
Extinction
- Gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned
response tendency
Spontaneous Recovery
- Reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of
no exposure to the conditioned stimulus
Renewal Effect
- If a response is extinguished in a different environment
than it was acquired, the extinguished response will
reappear if the animal is returned to the original
environment where acquisition took place
Extinction suppresses a conditioned response rather than
erasing a learned association
Stimulus Generalization
- Occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a
specific stimulus responds in the same way to new stimuli
that are like the original stimulus
Panic stems from overgeneralization
Stimulus Discrimination
- Occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a
specific stimulus does not respond in the same way to new
stimuli that are like the original stimulus
Higher Order Conditioning
- When a conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an

unconditioned stimulus
Robert Rescorla
- Through his work he introduced a cognitive element—
predictions/expectations—into the models of learning
- Behaviorist
Preparedness
- Involves a species-specific predisposition to be conditioned
in certain ways and not others
evolved module for fear learning
1. Preferentially activated by stimuli related to survival
threats in evolutionary history
2. Automatically activated by these stimuli,
3. Relatively resistant to conscious efforts to suppress the
resulting fears
4. Dependent on neural circuitry running through the amygdala
Operant/instrumental conditioning
- B. F. Skinner
- A form of learning in which responses come to be controlled
by their consequences
Thorndike’s Law of Effect
- Built from operant/instrumental conditioning
- If a response in the presence of a stimulus leads to
satisfying effects, the association between the stimulus and
the response is strengthened (reinforcement)
Primary reinforcers
- Events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy
biological needs
Secondary/Conditioned Reinforcers
- Events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being
associated with primary reinforcers
PROCESS AND DEFINITION DESCRIPTION IN
CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
DESCRIPTION IN OPERANT
CONDITIONING
Acquisition: The initial stage of
learning
CS and UCS are paired,
gradually resulting in
Responding gradually increases because
of reinforcement, possibly through

PROCESS AND DEFINITION DESCRIPTION IN
CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
DESCRIPTION IN OPERANT
CONDITIONING
CR. shaping (consists of the reinforcement of
closer and closer approximations of a
desired response)
Extinction: The gradual
weakening and disappearance of a
conditioned response tendency
CS is presented alone
until it no longer elicits
CR.
Responding gradually slows and stops
after reinforcement is terminated.
Stimulus generalization: An
organism’s responding to stimuli
other than the original stimulus
used in conditioning
CR is elicited by new
stimulus that
resembles original CS.
Responding increases in the presence of
new stimulus that resembles
discriminative stimulus.
Stimulus discrimination: An
organism’s response to stimuli
that are similar to the original
stimulus used in conditioning
CR is not elicited by
new stimulus that
resembles original CS.
Responding does not increase in the lack
of presence of new stimulus that
resembles the original discriminative
stimulus.
Resistance to extinction
- Occurs when an organism continues to make a response after
delivery of the reinforcer has been terminated
- The result of extinction is that organisms learn not to make
a specific response in a specific context, as opposed to all
contexts
schedule of reinforcement
- Determines which occurrences of a specific response result
in the presentation of a reinforcer
- Continuous reinforcement occurs when every instance of a
designated response is reinforced
 Experimenters often use continuous reinforcement to
shape and establish a new response before moving on to
more realistic schedules involving intermittent
reinforcement
- Intermittent, or partial, reinforcement occurs when a
designated response is reinforced only some of the time
fixed ratio (FR) schedule
- The reinforcer is given after a fixed number of
nonreinforced responses

variable-ratio (VR) schedule (loot boxes)
- The reinforcer is given after a variable number of
nonreinforced responses
fixed interval (FI) schedule
- The reinforcer is given for the first response that occurs
after a fixed time interval has elapsed
variable-interval (VI) schedule
- The reinforcer is given for the first response after a
variable time interval has elapsed
Positive reinforcement occurs when a response is strengthened
because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding
stimulus
Negative reinforcement occurs when a response is strengthened
because it is followed by the removal of an aversive
(unpleasant) stimulus
escape learning
- An organism acquires a response that decreases or ends some
aversive stimulation
- Conditioned in a shuttle box
avoidance learning
- An organism acquires a response that prevents some aversive
stimulation from occurring
It’s hard to get rid of phobias for two reasons. First,
responses that allow you to avoid a phobic stimulus earn
negative reinforcement each time they are made—so the
avoidance behaviour is strengthened and continues. Second,
these avoidance responses prevent any opportunity to
extinguish the phobic conditioned response because you’re
never exposed to the conditioned stimulus
Punishment
- Occurs when an event following a response weakens the
tendency to make that response
- May also involve the removal of a rewarding stimulus
- Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an aversive
stimulus, thereby strengthening a response. Punishment, on
the other hand, involves the presentation of an aversive

stimulus, thereby weakening a response
latent learning
- Learning that is not apparent from behaviour when it first
occurs
- Edward Tolman
Instinctive Drift
- Occurs when an animal’s innate response tendencies interfere
with conditioning processes
- The Brelands (students of Skinner)
Reinforcement is not automatic when favourable consequences
follow a response. People actively reason out the
relationships between responses and the outcomes that follow.
When a response is followed by a desirable outcome, the
response is more likely to be strengthened if the person
thinks that the response caused the outcome
Observational Learning
- Occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by the
observation of others
- Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura
- Identified four key processes that are crucial in
observational learning
- like Skinner, Bandura asserts that reinforcement is a
critical determinant of behaviour. However, Bandura
maintains that reinforcement influences performance rather
than learning
1. Attention
a) To learn through observation, you must pay attention to
another person’s behaviour and its consequences.
2. Retention
a) You may not have occasion to use an observed response
for weeks, months, or even years. Hence, you must store
in your memory a mental representation of what you have
witnessed.
3. Reproduction

a) Enacting a modelled response depends on your ability to
reproduce the response by converting your stored mental
images into overt behaviour. This may not be easy for
some responses. For example, most people cannot execute
a breathtaking windmill dunk after watching Steve Nash
do it in a basketball game.
4. Motivation
a) Finally, you are unlikely to reproduce an observed
response unless you are motivated to do so. Your
motivation depends on whether you encounter a situation
in which you believe that the response is likely to pay
off for you
Mirror Neurons
- Neurons that are activated by performing an action or by
seeing another monkey or person perform the same action
- Humans also have mirror neuron circuits, which have been
found in both the frontal lobe and the parietal lobe