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operant conditioning
quiz
Question | Answer |
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operant chamber | a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking. |
reinforcement | in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. |
shaping | an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. |
discriminative stimulus | a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement). |
positive reinforcement | increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response. |
Negative reinforcement | increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. |
primary reinforcers | an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need. |
Conditioned reinforcers | a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer. |
reinforcement schedules | a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced. |
continuous reinforcement | reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. |
partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedules | reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement. |
Fixed-ratio schedules | a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses |
Variable-ratio schedules | a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. |
Fixed-interval schedules | a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. |
Variable-interval schedules | a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals. |
punishment | an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows. |