PSYCH 1X03 notes: W3 Test
Questions with Complete Solutions
What is instrumental conditioning? - Answer Another form of associative learning where
behaviors are initiated by (and controlled by) organisms. E.g. Cats meow and owners let them
in, you pay vending machines for snacks. The learning of a contingency between behavior and
consequence
What's the difference between instrumental and classical conditioning? - Answer Classical
conditioning involves forming new involuntary responsive but instrumental conditioning forms
new voluntary behaviors for individuals with specific goals. Instead of intellect, it's just a change
in probabilities of various possible responses
What's Thorndike's experiment? How's it different from human behavior? - Answer He
placed hungry cats in a box and the cats would randomly claw around until they find a string
that they dangle, which opens the door to food. This will happen repeatedly until there's
gradual improvement and less time (each time) for the correct response
Humans solve it differently-- once the string's discovered, time would significantly reduce
What's Thorndike's law of effect? - Answer A response followed by a satisfying effect is
strengthened and likely to occur again, while v.v. The stamped in/out responses are proportional
to the consequences
What's "step-in" and "stamped-out"? - Answer Target responses are "step-in" and irrelevant
responses are "stamped out"
Describe Skinner's operant behaviour - Answer Skinner popularized the Law of Effect and
made instrumental conditioning the forefront of learning theory
- In classical conditioning, the association is between two stimuli (CS and US)
- Pavlov's dogs had no control over when the CS/US appeared
- In instrumental conditioning (a.k.a operant conditioning), the association is between a
stimulus and behavioural response
- The subject directly causes the satisfying/unsatisfying consequences
What's an operant? - Answer Describe the voluntary actions that operate on the
environment to produce change leading to a specific consequence
What's a reinforcer? - Answer An objective descriptor of behaviour for the reward following
a response, implying no assumptions about judgments are being made in the mind of the
, responding individual. It's anything that increases the probability of response being emitted
again
What are two types of reinforcers? - Answer - Primary reinforcers: Have intrinsic values (e.g.
access to food, water, mate)
- Secondary reinforcers: Reinforced through previous learning. E.g. - Money in society is strange
but it can obtain natural reinforcers (e.g. food)
- E.g. Grades, air miles, gold stars, consequences all influence you, but depending on the
association with other primary reinforcers
What's skinner's box? - Answer Skinner's box (a.k.a operant chamber): Used for
experimental study of operant conditioning, the box has a lever/mechanism that the animal can
respond to produce a reinforcer (e.g. Food)
Unlike Thorndike's puzzle boxes, Skinner's boxes had advantages:
Trials are shorter
There's no constraints in responding
After completing a response and experiencing its effect, the animal remains in the box and is
free to respond repeatedly
How do you graph responses? - Answer The response rate is automatically recorded with
this device. The output of this device is analyzed to assess learning. Long paper with a pen
Upward slope = response made, horizontal line = no response
How are classical and instrumental learning similar? - Answer Classical and instrumental
learning are parallel because the "unlearning/extinction" of the response is layered on the
previously learned response. Instrumental learning also shows spontaneous recovery and faster
reacquisition.
The conditional stimulus (CS+) informs what WILL happen but the stimulus (S+) informs what
COULD happen IF you behave a certain way
The conditional stimulus (CS-) informs what WON'T happen and the stimulus (S-) informs that a
response reinforcer isn't currently vaid
What's a discriminative stimuli? - Answer Environmental cues present during instrumental
conditioning which signal organisms when they've given a correct response
In Skinner's experiment, what's the key light? - Answer Instead of a lever, this illuminated
plastic circle in the wall of the chamber was "pecked on". If it's green, pecking gives food, and if
it's red, there's no effect
S+: Positive discriminative stimulus (e.g green light)
Questions with Complete Solutions
What is instrumental conditioning? - Answer Another form of associative learning where
behaviors are initiated by (and controlled by) organisms. E.g. Cats meow and owners let them
in, you pay vending machines for snacks. The learning of a contingency between behavior and
consequence
What's the difference between instrumental and classical conditioning? - Answer Classical
conditioning involves forming new involuntary responsive but instrumental conditioning forms
new voluntary behaviors for individuals with specific goals. Instead of intellect, it's just a change
in probabilities of various possible responses
What's Thorndike's experiment? How's it different from human behavior? - Answer He
placed hungry cats in a box and the cats would randomly claw around until they find a string
that they dangle, which opens the door to food. This will happen repeatedly until there's
gradual improvement and less time (each time) for the correct response
Humans solve it differently-- once the string's discovered, time would significantly reduce
What's Thorndike's law of effect? - Answer A response followed by a satisfying effect is
strengthened and likely to occur again, while v.v. The stamped in/out responses are proportional
to the consequences
What's "step-in" and "stamped-out"? - Answer Target responses are "step-in" and irrelevant
responses are "stamped out"
Describe Skinner's operant behaviour - Answer Skinner popularized the Law of Effect and
made instrumental conditioning the forefront of learning theory
- In classical conditioning, the association is between two stimuli (CS and US)
- Pavlov's dogs had no control over when the CS/US appeared
- In instrumental conditioning (a.k.a operant conditioning), the association is between a
stimulus and behavioural response
- The subject directly causes the satisfying/unsatisfying consequences
What's an operant? - Answer Describe the voluntary actions that operate on the
environment to produce change leading to a specific consequence
What's a reinforcer? - Answer An objective descriptor of behaviour for the reward following
a response, implying no assumptions about judgments are being made in the mind of the
, responding individual. It's anything that increases the probability of response being emitted
again
What are two types of reinforcers? - Answer - Primary reinforcers: Have intrinsic values (e.g.
access to food, water, mate)
- Secondary reinforcers: Reinforced through previous learning. E.g. - Money in society is strange
but it can obtain natural reinforcers (e.g. food)
- E.g. Grades, air miles, gold stars, consequences all influence you, but depending on the
association with other primary reinforcers
What's skinner's box? - Answer Skinner's box (a.k.a operant chamber): Used for
experimental study of operant conditioning, the box has a lever/mechanism that the animal can
respond to produce a reinforcer (e.g. Food)
Unlike Thorndike's puzzle boxes, Skinner's boxes had advantages:
Trials are shorter
There's no constraints in responding
After completing a response and experiencing its effect, the animal remains in the box and is
free to respond repeatedly
How do you graph responses? - Answer The response rate is automatically recorded with
this device. The output of this device is analyzed to assess learning. Long paper with a pen
Upward slope = response made, horizontal line = no response
How are classical and instrumental learning similar? - Answer Classical and instrumental
learning are parallel because the "unlearning/extinction" of the response is layered on the
previously learned response. Instrumental learning also shows spontaneous recovery and faster
reacquisition.
The conditional stimulus (CS+) informs what WILL happen but the stimulus (S+) informs what
COULD happen IF you behave a certain way
The conditional stimulus (CS-) informs what WON'T happen and the stimulus (S-) informs that a
response reinforcer isn't currently vaid
What's a discriminative stimuli? - Answer Environmental cues present during instrumental
conditioning which signal organisms when they've given a correct response
In Skinner's experiment, what's the key light? - Answer Instead of a lever, this illuminated
plastic circle in the wall of the chamber was "pecked on". If it's green, pecking gives food, and if
it's red, there's no effect
S+: Positive discriminative stimulus (e.g green light)
