vicarious reinforcement

Examples of vicarious reinforcement in the following topics:

• Bandura and Observational Learning

  • This experiment demonstrated that children can learn merely by observing the behavior of a social model, and that observing reinforcement of the model's behavior could affect whether or not a behavior was emulated.
  • If you saw that the model was reinforced for her behavior, you will be more motivated to copy her; this is known as vicarious reinforcement.
  • On the other hand, if you observed the model being punished, you would be less motivated to copy her; this is called vicarious punishment.
  • Motivation can also come from external reinforcement, such as rewards promised by an experimenter.

• Reinforcement Principles

• Reinforcement and Punishment

  • Both reinforcement and punishment can be positive or negative.
  • A primary reinforcer, also called an unconditioned reinforcer, is a stimulus that has innate reinforcing qualities.
  • These kinds of reinforcers are not learned.
  • Some primary reinforcers, such as drugs and alcohol, merely mimic the effects of other reinforcers.
  • A secondary reinforcer, also called a conditioned reinforcer, has no inherent value and only has reinforcing qualities when linked or paired with a primary reinforcer.

• Schedules of Reinforcement

  • Reinforcement schedules determine how and when a behavior will be followed by a reinforcer.
  • Fixed refers to when the number of responses between reinforcements, or the amount of time between reinforcements, is set and unchanging.
  • Interval means the schedule is based on the time between reinforcements, and ratio means the schedule is based on the number of responses between reinforcements.
  • Extinction of a reinforced behavior occurs at some point after reinforcement stops, and the speed at which this happens depends on the reinforcement schedule.
  • The four reinforcement schedules yield different response patterns.

• Shaping

  • Shaping is a method of operant conditioning by which successive approximations of a target behavior are reinforced.
  • Then reinforce the response that more closely resembles the target behavior.
  • You will no longer reinforce the previously reinforced response.
  • Next, begin to reinforce the response that even more closely resembles the target behavior.
  • Continue to reinforce closer and closer approximations of the target behavior.

• Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning

  • Operant conditioning, a theory of behaviorism, states that behaviors are learned by the reinforcement of consequences over time.
  • He also believed that this learned association could end, or become extinct, if the reinforcement or punishment was removed.
  • His experiments used shaping, reinforcement, and reinforcement schedules in order to prove the importance of the relationship that animals form between behaviors and results.
  • This is accomplished through reinforcement, or reward, of the segments of the target behavior, and can be tested using a large variety of actions and rewards.
  • The experiments were taken a step further to include different schedules of reinforcement that become more complicated as the trials continued.

• Unconscious Perception and Influences on Behavior

  • Subliminal advertising was first created by James Vicary in 1957, a market researcher, when he inserted the words "Eat Popcorn" and "Drink Coca-Cola" into a movie to study the impact it would have on movie concession sales.

• Behavioral Psychology

  • The strengthening of a response occurs through reinforcement.
  • Skinner described two types of reinforcement: positive reinforcement, which is the introduction of a positive consequence such as food, pleasurable activities, or attention from others, and negative reinforcement, which is the removal of a negative consequence such as pain or a loud noise.
  • Skinner saw human behavior as shaped by trial and error through reinforcement and punishment, without any reference to inner conflicts or perceptions.
  • Some behavior therapies employ Skinner's theories of operant conditioning: by not reinforcing certain behaviors, these behaviors can be extinguished.
  • This later gave rise to applied behavior analysis (ABA), in which operant conditioning techniques are used to reinforce positive behaviors and punish unwanted behaviors.

• Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Skinner

  • He also believed that this learned association could end, or become extinct, if the reinforcement or punishment was removed.
  • Skinner's most famous research studies were simple reinforcement experiments conducted on lab rats and domestic pigeons, which demonstrated the most basic principles of operant conditioning.
  • In these boxes he would present his subjects with positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or aversive stimuli in various timing intervals (or "schedules") that were designed to produce or inhibit specific target behaviors.
  • The process by which one could arrange the contingencies of reinforcement responsible for producing a certain behavior then came to be called operant conditioning.
  • Instead of rewarding only the target, or desired, behavior, the process of shaping involves the reinforcement of successive approximations of the target behavior.

• Incentive Theory of Motivation and Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

  • If extrinsic incentives are used to stimulate behaviors that an individual already finds motivating (even without external reinforcement), intrinsic motivation for that behavior may decrease over time.
  • Other studies suggest that intrinsic motivation may not be so vulnerable to the effects of extrinsic reinforcements, and in fact, reinforcements such as verbal praise might actually increase intrinsic motivation (Arnold, 1976; Cameron & Pierce, 1994).
  • Several factors may influence this: for one, physical reinforcements (such as money) have been shown to have more negative effects on intrinsic motivation than do verbal reinforcements (such as praise).
  • For example, praise might have less effect on behavior for people with high self-esteem because they would not have the same need for approval that would make external praise reinforcing.