CLASSICAL VS OPERANT CONDITIONING
Summary
TLDRThis video explains the difference between classical and operant conditioning, two key learning theories in psychology. Classical conditioning, discovered by Ivan Pavlov, involves associating a neutral stimulus with an involuntary response, as demonstrated by Pavlov's dogs salivating to a bell. Operant conditioning, developed by B.F. Skinner, involves linking voluntary behavior with consequences such as reinforcers and punishers. Skinner's experiments with rats showcase positive and negative reinforcement and punishment. The video also covers how different reinforcement schedules affect the learning and extinction rates of behaviors, highlighting the complexities of learning through conditioning.
Takeaways
- 📚 Learning is defined as a long-lasting change in behavior due to experience.
- 🐶 Classical conditioning, described by Ivan Pavlov, is the association of a stimulus with an involuntary response.
- 🔔 Pavlov's experiment showed that dogs could learn to associate a bell (neutral stimulus) with food, resulting in salivation (conditioned response).
- ⚖️ Operant conditioning, introduced by B.F. Skinner, involves associating voluntary behavior with consequences like reinforcement or punishment.
- 🍫 Reinforcers (positive or negative) increase the likelihood of a behavior reoccurring, while punishers reduce or suppress it.
- 🐁 Skinner demonstrated positive reinforcement using a rat pressing a lever to receive food, reinforcing the behavior.
- ⚡ Negative reinforcement was shown by the rat learning to turn off or avoid an electric current, reinforcing the escape behavior.
- 🚫 Punishment weakens behavior by associating it with aversive outcomes, though punished behaviors may resurface once the punishment is removed.
- 🎰 Different reinforcement schedules (continuous, fixed ratio, variable ratio, etc.) affect how quickly behaviors are learned and extinguished.
- 💡 Variable ratio and variable interval reinforcement schedules result in faster response rates and slower extinction, similar to gambling behaviors.
Q & A
What is learning according to psychologists?
-Learning is defined as a long-lasting change in behavior as a result of experience.
Who first described classical conditioning and what is it?
-Classical conditioning was first described by Ivan Pavlov and it is the association of a stimulus with an involuntary response.
What is an example of an unconditioned response in Pavlov's experiment?
-In Pavlov's experiment, dogs salivating in response to seeing or smelling food is an example of an unconditioned response.
What did Pavlov discover about neutral stimuli in relation to reflexes?
-Pavlov discovered that a neutral stimulus presented before a reflex causes an association, leading to classical conditioning.
What is the difference between a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response?
-A conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that, after association, triggers a response, while a conditioned response is the learned reaction to that stimulus.
Who first described operant conditioning and what does it involve?
-Operant conditioning was first described by B.F. Skinner and involves the association of a voluntary behavior with its consequence.
What are the three types of environmental responses or operands that can follow a behavior according to Skinner?
-The three types of environmental responses are reinforcers, punishers, and neutral operants.
How does positive reinforcement work in operant conditioning?
-Positive reinforcement increases the probability of a behavior recurring by providing a reward after the behavior occurs.
What is the difference between escape learning and avoidance learning in operant conditioning?
-Escape learning occurs when an organism learns to remove an unpleasant stimulus, while avoidance learning is when it learns to prevent an unpleasant stimulus from occurring.
How does punishment affect behavior in operant conditioning?
-Punishment weakens a behavior by linking it to an aversive consequence, either through the addition or removal of a stimulus.
What happens to a learned behavior in operant conditioning if the reinforcement is no longer provided?
-If reinforcement is no longer provided, the behavior will eventually be extinguished, meaning the organism will stop performing the behavior.
What are the different reinforcement schedules that can affect the response and extinction rates?
-The different reinforcement schedules include continuous, fixed ratio, fixed interval, variable ratio, and variable interval.
Outlines
🧠 Understanding Learning and Behavior Change
Learning is defined as a long-lasting change in behavior resulting from experience. Both classical and operant conditioning are fundamental mechanisms that lead to learning. The key difference lies in how they operate: classical conditioning involves associating an involuntary response with a stimulus, while operant conditioning associates voluntary behavior with consequences. This introduction sets the stage for explaining these learning processes in detail.
🔔 Classical Conditioning Explained by Pavlov
Classical conditioning, described by Ivan Pavlov, is based on associating a stimulus with an involuntary response. Pavlov’s famous experiment with dogs illustrated how a neutral stimulus (a bell) could become a conditioned stimulus that triggered a learned response (salivating), even without the unconditioned stimulus (food). This process highlighted how behaviors can be influenced through repeated associations between stimuli.
🐀 Operant Conditioning and Skinner's Findings
Operant conditioning, developed by B.F. Skinner, involves the association between voluntary behaviors and their consequences. Skinner identified three types of responses: reinforcers (which increase behavior), punishers (which decrease behavior), and neutral operants (which do neither). His experiments with rats showed how behavior can be shaped through rewards and punishments, depending on the environmental feedback.
🍫 Reinforcement: Positive and Negative
Positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior by providing a pleasant reward, while negative reinforcement encourages behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus. Skinner’s rat experiments demonstrated how animals could learn to either press a lever to receive food (positive reinforcement) or avoid discomfort from an electric current by pressing a lever (negative reinforcement). These findings revealed how learning could occur through both reward and avoidance.
⚡ Punishment and Its Role in Learning
Punishment, unlike reinforcement, reduces the likelihood of a behavior by linking it to unpleasant consequences. It can involve adding a negative stimulus or removing a positive one. However, punishment only suppresses unwanted behaviors temporarily, without guiding towards a preferred behavior. Skinner’s experiments showed that while punished behaviors may stop for a while, they tend to reappear if the punishment ceases.
📉 Extinction of Learned Behaviors
When reinforcement is no longer provided, learned behaviors eventually fade—a process known as extinction. In operant conditioning, if the desired result (e.g., a food pellet) is no longer given, the behavior (e.g., pressing a lever) will gradually stop. Skinner observed that animals learn at different rates and that extinction occurs based on how often a behavior is rewarded.
🔄 Reinforcement Schedules: Response and Extinction Rates
Different reinforcement schedules affect how quickly and strongly behaviors are learned and extinguished. Continuous reinforcement leads to fast learning but also fast extinction. Fixed-ratio schedules result in fast learning but moderate extinction, while variable-ratio schedules (like gambling) create behaviors that are harder to extinguish. Understanding these schedules helps explain the persistence or disappearance of learned behaviors.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Learning
💡Classical Conditioning
💡Operant Conditioning
💡Reinforcement
💡Punishment
💡Conditioned Stimulus
💡Unconditioned Response
💡Extinction
💡Positive Reinforcement
💡Variable Ratio Reinforcement
Highlights
Psychologists define learning as a long-lasting change in behavior as a result of experience.
Classical and operant conditioning both lead to learning but have different mechanisms.
Classical conditioning is the association of a stimulus with an involuntary response.
Ivan Pavlov first described classical conditioning and its focus on involuntary automatic behaviors.
Pavlov's experiment with dogs and a bell demonstrated how neutral stimuli can become conditioned stimuli.
Operant conditioning, described by BF Skinner, involves the association of a voluntary behavior with the consequence.
Skinner identified three types of environmental responses: reinforcers, punishers, and neutral operants.
Reinforcers increase the probability of a behavior recurring, while punishers decrease it.
Positive reinforcement is demonstrated by a rat learning to press a lever for food pellets.
Negative reinforcement involves removing unpleasant stimuli, as shown in Skinner's electric current experiment.
Punishment weakens a behavior by linking it to an aversive consequence.
Punished behavior is not forgotten but suppressed, and may return if the punishment is no longer present.
Different reinforcement schedules affect the rate at which behavior repeats and how soon it stops.
Continuous reinforcement results in a slow response rate and fast extinction.
Fixed ratio reinforcement offers fast response and medium extinction rates.
Fixed interval reinforcement provides medium response and extinction rates.
Variable ratio reinforcement leads to fast response rates and slow extinction.
Variable interval reinforcement also results in fast response rates and slow extinction.
The video encourages viewers to like, subscribe, and support the creator through Patreon.
Viewers are invited to leave comments for topics they'd like the creator to cover.
Transcripts
psychologists define learning as a
long-lasting change in behavior as a
result of experience classical and
operant conditioning both lead to
learning so what's the difference
between them classical conditioning was
first described by Ivan Pavlov and is
the association of a stimulus with an
involuntary response it focuses on
involuntary automatic behaviors Pavlov
noticed that a neutral stimulus before a
reflex causes an association he
conducted an experiment in which he rang
a bell before presenting dogs with food
when dogs see or smell food they
salivate even though it is not a learned
behavior rather they're salivating is an
unconditioned response to seeing food
which is an unconditioned stimulus of
course a dog would not normally salivate
in response to a random stimulus like a
bell ringing since such an event is a
neutral stimulus
however Pavlov found that if he always
rang a bell before presenting dogs with
food then they eventually began to
salivate as soon as they heard the Bell
even when there was no food around at
this point the Bell had become a
conditioned stimulus and the dogs
salivating to it sound was a conditioned
response operant conditioning first
described by BF Skinner is the
Association of a voluntary behavior with
the consequence
Skinner found three types of
environmental responses or operands that
can follow a behavior reinforcers
Punishers and neutral operants
reinforcers increase the probability of
a behavior recurring Punishers decrease
the probability or extinguish the
behavior and neutral operants do neither
to demonstrate positive reinforcement
Skinner put a rat in a box with a lever
on accidentally bumping the lever the
rat discovered that it would receive a
food pellet with this positive
reinforcement the rat learned to keep
pressing the lever negative reinforcers
remove unpleasant stimuli to demonstrate
negative reinforcers Skinner put a rat
in a box which had a mild electric
current that caused the rat discomfort
on wandering around the box the rat
randomly hit a lever to turn the current
off when exposed to the electric current
in the box the rat learned to always
press the lever something called escaped
learning
similarly Skinner eventually also taught
the rat to flip a switch that prevented
the electric current from being turned
on in the first place something called
avoidance learning punishment weakens a
behavior by linking it to an aversive
consequence just like reinforcement it
can occur through the addition or
removal of a stimulus for example if a
rat receives an electric shock when it
pushes a button it will avoid that
button or if you're an unfortunate
raccoon that decides to wash his cotton
candy before eating it only to watch it
dissolve before your very eyes that is
punishment through the removal of a
positive stimulus
it should be noted that punished
behavior is not forgotten but is
suppressed
if a punishment is no longer present the
behavior returns also unlike
reinforcement it does not guide towards
the desired behavior but only suppresses
undesired behavior
there have been further experiments done
with rats in the Skinner box after a rat
has received operant learning and has
learned to press a lever to receive a
food pellet what happens if the lever is
pressed but no food pellet is received
at first the rat will keep pressing the
lever but eventually it will stop and
the behavior will be extinguished
why press this thing without payment
however a rat can learn or unlearn a
behavior at different rates with
different schedules of reinforcement
this has been termed the response rate
the rate at which behavior repeats and
the extinction rate how soon the
behavior stops
let's see what happens with five
different reinforcement schedules with
continuous reinforcement the response
rate is slow an extinction is fast
with a fixed ratio reinforcement
schedule where positive reinforcement is
offered after a fixed number of
repetitions of a behavior the response
rate is fast and extinction is medium
for a fixed interval reinforcement
schedule where positive reinforcement is
provided as long as a quota is fulfilled
within a given time schedule the
response and extinction rates are medium
for a variable ratio reinforcement
schedule where positive reinforcement is
given after an unpredictable number of
repetitions the response rate was fast
and extinction was slow this is the
equivalent of gambling for a variable
interval reinforcement schedule where a
reward is given if a quota is fulfilled
within an unpredictable amount of time
the response rate is again fast an
extinction is slow if you liked this
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