Transcript OperantConditioning

Operant
Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
 Learning from the consequences of a
behavior. (Example: feeding a stray
cat/dog) What happens?
 B.F. Skinner most associated with this
term, he believed that most people’s
behavior was influenced by reward and
punishment
Skinner’s Box
 Experiment where Skinner designed a box
where there was a cup and a bar on the wall.
Skinner would place a rat in the box and
eventually through repeated trials the rat
learned that if it touched the bar food would fall
into the cup for it to eat. Food in the experiment
was a reinforcer or a stimulus that increases
the chances that the behavior will be repeated
Reinforcers
 Primary reinforcer is one that is naturally
rewarding in itself, like food water or
sleep
 Secondary reinforcer is one that does not
have value in itself but when linked with a
primary reinforcer through classical can
acquire value (like money)
4 Schedules of
reinforcement
 1) Fixed ratio schedule: being paid for
every ten pizzas made, being allowed 5
fouls in a basketball game, being allowed
3 strikes, 3 strikes in a baseball game
 2) Variable ratio schedule- playing slot
machines or being paid on commission
or shaking the magic 8 ball
4 Schedules of
reinforcement
 3) Fixed interval schedule- getting paid
every other Friday, or in my case every
15th of the month
 4) Variable interval schedule- pop quiz in
my class…. You never know when it will
happen but you know it will and it will
vary
Autism
 What causes it?
 A specific case of autism is not known,
however current research links autism to
biological and neurological differences in
the brain. Some families show a genetic
pattern or tendency to have the disorder,
and thus some psychologists speculate
that it probably involves several genes in
combination
Autism
 How is it diagnosed?
 Children though to have it need to be
observed by neurologists, psychologists,
speech and language therapists and
other professionals. This is needed
because the diagnosis is sometimes
difficult.
Autism
 What is it ?
 It is a complex developmental disability that most
commonly is found within the first 3 years of a child’s
life.
 1 in 500 people have it
 4 times more prevalent in boys than girls
 Persons with Autism may exhibit repeated body
movements like hand flapping, rocking, etc.
 Half a million people in America today have Autism
Autism
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Is there a cure?
Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943 first described Autism
Since then much has been learned about the disorder
As of now there is no cure
However some symptoms lessen as the individual
ages.
 Some individuals with autism may also have other
disorders which affect functioning of the brain. They
include epilepsy, mental retardation, Down syndrome,
Fragile X syndrome, Landau-Kleffner syndrome or
Tourette’s Syndrome
Individual Work
 Pick up a worksheet over the different
types of variable schedules we learned
about today and turn it by the end of the
day next time we are in class