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PSYC 281- Principles of Behaviour
Chapter 1: Introduction
Definitions ● Applied behaviour analysis : A technology of behaviour in which basic principles of behaviour are applied to real-world issues. ● behaviour : Any activity of an organism that can be observed or somehow measured. ● behaviour analysis (or experimental analysis of behaviour) : The behavioural science that grew out of Skinner’s philosophy of radical behaviourism. ● behaviourism : A natural science approach to psychology that traditionally focuses on the study of environmental influences on observable behaviour. ● British empiricism : A philosophical school of thought, of which John Locke was a member, maintaining that almost all knowledge is a function of experience. ● Cognitive behaviourism : A brand of behaviourism that utilizes intervening variables, usually in the form of hypothesized cognitive processes, to help explain behaviour. Sometimes called “purposive behaviourism.” ● Cognitive map : The mental representation of one’s spatial surroundings. ● Countercontrol : The deliberate manipulation of environmental events to alter their impact on our behaviour. ● Empiricism : In psychology, the assumption that behaviour patterns are mostly learned rather than inherited. Also known as the nurture perspective (or, more rarely, as nurturism). ● Evolutionary adaptation : An inherited trait (physical or behavioural) that has been shaped through natural selection. ● Functionalism : An approach to psychology holding that the mind evolved to help us adapt to the world around us, and that the focus of psychology should be the study of those adaptive processes. ● Introspection : The attempt to accurately describe one’s conscious thoughts, emotions, and sensory experiences. ● Latent learning : Learning that occurs in the absence of any observable demonstration of learning and only becomes apparent under a different set of conditions. ● Law of contiguity : A law of association holding that events that occur in close proximity to each other in time or space are readily associated with each other. ● Law of contrast : A law of association holding that events that are opposite from each other are readily associated. ● Law of frequency : A law of association holding that the more frequently two items occur together, the more strongly they are associated.
● Law of parsimony : The assumption that simpler explanations for a phenomenon are generally preferable to more complex explanations. ● Law of similarity : A law of association holding that events that are similar to each other are readily associated. ● Learning : A relatively permanent change in behaviour that results from some type of experience. ● Methodological behaviourism : A brand of behaviourism asserting that, for methodological reasons, psychologists should study only those behaviours that can be directly observed. ● Mind–body dualism : Descartes’ philosophical assumption that some human behaviours are bodily reflexes that are automatically elicited by external stimulation, while other behaviours are freely chosen and controlled by the mind. ● Nativism : The assumption that a person’s characteristics are largely inborn. Also known as the nature perspective. ● Natural selection : The evolutionary principle according to which organisms that are better able to adapt to environmental pressures are more likely to survive and reproduce than those that cannot adapt. ● Neobehaviourism : A brand of behaviourism that utilizes intervening variables, in the form of hypothesized physiological processes, to help explain behaviour. ● Radical behaviourism : A brand of behaviourism that emphasizes the influence of the environment on overt behaviour, rejects the use of internal events to explain behaviour, and views thoughts and feelings as behaviours that themselves need to be explained. ● Reciprocal determinism : The assumption that environmental events, observable behaviour, and “person variables” (including internal events) reciprocally influence each other. ● Social learning theory : A brand of behaviourism that strongly emphasizes the importance of observational learning and cognitive variables in explaining human behaviour. It has more recently been referred to as “social-cognitive theory.” ● S-R theory : The theory that learning involves the establishment of a connection between a specific stimulus (S) and a specifi c response (R). ● Structuralism : An approach to psychology holding that it is possible to determine the structure of the mind by identifying the basic elements that compose it. Aristotle: Empiricism and the Laws of Association (between 384 and 322 B.C.) ● Knowledge is acquired through experience. ● Aristotle vs. Plato, nativism vs. empiricism, nature vs. nurture. ● Nativist (nature): assumes a person’s ability and behavioural tendency are inborn. Empiricist (nurture): assumes a person’s ability and tendency are learned.
● Law of parsimony: simpler explanations are preferred over complex explanations. Watson’s Methodological behaviourism ● Behaviours that can only be directly observed. ● Learning involves a connection between an environmental event (stimulus) and a specific behaviour (response). ● S-R Theory ● Humans inherit only a few fundamental reflexes and three basic emotions (love, rage, and fear). Hull’s Neobehaviourism ● Clark Hull (1884-1952) ● Did not like that Watson rejected unobservable events. ● Intervening variables: intervene between a cause and an effect. ● S-R theory Tolman’s Cognitive behaviourism ● Edward Tolman (1886-1959) ● Disagreed with Hull and wanted to look at behaviour on a larger level. ● Overall pattern of behaviour directed toward particular outcomes. ● Cognitive map: mental representation of one’s spatial surroundings. ● Distinction between learning and performance.
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory ● Broad behaviour patterns and emphasizes the distinction between learning and performance. ● Internal events, ex. expectations, have a primary role in learning. ● Does not dismiss introspection. ● Cognitive-behavioural approach that emphasizes the importance of observational learning and cognitive variables. ● Reciprocal determinism: environmental events, observable behaviour and person variables have influence on each other. Skinner’s Radical behaviourism ● Radical behaviourism: emphasizes the influence of the environment on overt behaviour, rejects the use of internal events to explain behaviour, and views thoughts and feelings as behaviours that themselves need to be explained. ● It does not completely reject internal events, only rejects them in explanations of behaviour. Skinner’s View of Internal Events ● Internal events were covert or private behaviours that are subject to the same laws of learning as overt or publicly observable behaviours.
Skinner’s View of Genetic Factors ● behaviour was fundamentally the result of the interaction between genes and the environment. ● Operant conditioning has a resemblance to the evolutionary principle of natural selection. ● behaviours that lead to favourable outcomes are more likely to be repeated. ● Operant conditioning is more concerned with the evolution of learned behaviour patterns within an individual. behaviour Analysis and Applied behaviour Analysis ● Radical behaviourism is the philosophical aspect of Skinner’s approach, consisting of assumptions. ● behaviour Analysis (experimental analysis of behaviour) is the science that grew out of radical behaviourism. ● Applied behaviour analysis is a technology of behaviour that basic principles of behaviour are applied to real-world issues.
Chapter 2: Research Methods
Definitions ● Appetitive stimulus : An event that an organism will seek out. ● Aversive stimulus : An event that an organism will avoid. ● Baseline : The normal frequency of a behaviour before some intervention. ● Case study approach : A descriptive research approach that involves intensive examination of one or a few individuals. ● Changing-criterion design : A type of single-subject design in which the effect of the treatment is demonstrated by how closely the behaviour matches a criterion that is systematically altered. ● Comparative design : A type of control group design in which different species constitute one of the independent variables. ● Contingency : A predictive relationship between two events such that the occurrence of one event predicts the probable occurrence of the other. ● Control group design : A type of experiment in which, at its simplest, subjects are randomly assigned to either an experimental (or treatment) group or a control group; subjects assigned to the experimental group are exposed to a certain manipulation or treatment, while those assigned to the control group are not. ● Covert behaviour : behaviour that can be subjectively perceived only by the person performing the behaviour. Thoughts and feelings are covert behaviours. ● Cumulative recorder : A device that measures total number of responses over time and provides a graphic depiction of the rate of behaviour. ● Dependent variable : That aspect of an experiment that is allowed to freely vary to determine if it is affected by changes in the independent variable.
● Deprivation : The prolonged absence of an event that tends to increase the appetitiveness of that event. ● Descriptive research : Research that focuses on describing the behaviour and the situation within which it occurs. ● Duration : The length of time that an individual repeatedly or continuously performs a certain behaviour. ● Establishing operation : A procedure that affects the appetitiveness or aversiveness of a stimulus. ● Functional relationship : The relationship between changes in an independent variable and changes in a dependent variable; a cause-and-effect relationship. ● Independent variable : That aspect of an experiment that is made to systematically vary across the different conditions in an experiment. ● Intensity : The force or magnitude of a behaviour. ● Interval recording : The measurement of whether or not a behaviour occurs within a series of continuous intervals. (The number of times that it occurs within each interval is irrelevant.) ● Latency : The length of time required for a behaviour to begin. ● Multiple-baseline design : A type of single-subject design in which a treatment is instituted at successive points in time for two or more persons, settings, or behaviours. ● Naturalistic observation : A descriptive research approach that involves the systematic observation and recording of behaviour in its natural environment. ● Overt behaviour : behaviour that has the potential for being directly observed by an individual other than the one performing the behaviour. ● Rate of response : The frequency with which a response occurs in a certain period of time. ● Response : A particular instance of a behaviour. ● Reversal design : A type of single-subject design that involves repeated alternations between a baseline period and a treatment period. ● Satiation : The prolonged exposure to (or consumption of ) an event that tends to decrease the appetitiveness of that event. ● Simple-comparison design : A type of single-subject design in which behaviour in a baseline condition is compared to behaviour in a treatment condition. ● Single-subject design : A research design that requires only one or a few subjects in order to conduct an entire experiment. ● Spatial contiguity : The extent to which events are situated close to each other in space. ● Speed : The amount of time required to perform a complete episode of a behaviour from start to finish. ● Stimulus : Any event that can potentially influence behaviour. (The plural for stimulus is stimuli.)
● Should be unambiguous, clearly defined. Recording Methods ● Rate of Response ○ Frequency of a response occurs in a certain period of time. ○ Defined start and finish. ○ Sensitive measure. ○ Highly favoured. ○ A cumulative recorder is a device that measures the total number of response over time. Steeper the line, higher rate of response. ● Intensity ○ Force or magnitude of behaviour. ● Duration ○ Length of time that an individual repeatedly performs a behaviour. ● Speed ○ How quickly or slowly a behaviour occurs. ● Latency ○ Length of time required for a behaviour to begin. ● Interval Recording ○ Whether or not a behaviour occurs within a series of continuous intervals. ○ Does not have to record every single response. ● Time-Sample Recording ○ Whether or not a behaviour occurs within a series of discontinuous intervals (spaced out) ● Topography ○ The physical form of behaviour. ● Number of Errors ○ Behaviours that can be categorized as right or wrong through number of errors. Research Designs ● Descriptive research: describing behaviour and the situation it occurs in. No manipulation. ○ Naturalistic Observation ■ Systematic observing and recording behaviour in natural environment. ○ Case Studies ■ Intensive examination of one or a few individuals. ■ Natural settings or structured setting. ● Experimental research: discover functional relationships between environmental events and behaviours. ○ Control Group Designs
■ Individuals are randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. ■ Comparative design ■ Require large numbers of subjects. ■ Focus on the average performance of the groups. ■ Results are only interpreted at the end of the experiment. ■ Subjects can differ in more than one way. ○ Single-Subject Designs ■ Only require one or a few subjects. ■ Simple-comparison (AB) design: behaviour in baseline condition is compared to behaviour in treatment condition. ■ Reversal design: repeated alternation between a baseline period and a treatment period.
Use of Animals in Behavioural Research ● Advantages ○ We have the ability to control their genetic makeup. ○ They have limited learning history. ○ Able to control the experimental environment for animals more strictly. ○ Some research cannot be ethically done with humans. ● Criticisms ○ Animals are not human and not all findings can be used to explain human behaviour. ○ It is inhumane. ○ Concern for the wellbeing of the animals.
Chapter 3: Elicited Behaviours and Classical Conditioning
Definitions ● Appetitive conditioning : Conditioning procedure in which the US is an event that is usually considered pleasant and that an organism seeks out. ● Aversive conditioning : Conditioning procedure in which the US is an event that is usually considered unpleasant and that an organism avoids. ● Backward conditioning : Conditioning procedure in which the onset of the NS follows the onset of the US. ● Classical conditioning : A process whereby one stimulus that does not elicit a certain response is associated with a second stimulus that does; as a result, the first stimulus also comes to elicit a response. ● Conditioned response (CR) : The response, often similar to the unconditioned response, that is elicited by the conditioned stimulus. ● Conditioned stimulus (CS) : Any stimulus that, although initially neutral, comes to elicit a response because it has been associated with an unconditioned stimulus. ● Delayed conditioning : Conditioning procedure in which the onset of the NS precedes the onset of the US, and the two stimuli overlap. ● Dishabituation : The reappearance of a habituated response following the presentation of a seemingly irrelevant novel stimulus. ● Excitatory conditioning : Conditioning procedure in which the NS is associated with the presentation of a US. ● Fixed action pattern : A fixed sequence of responses elicited by a specific stimulus. ● Flexion response : The automatic response of jerking one’s hand or foot away from a hot or sharp object. ● Habituation : A decrease in the strength of an elicited behavior following repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus. ● Inhibitory conditioning : Conditioning procedure in which the NS is associated with the absence or removal of a US.
● Opponent-process theory : A theory proposing that an emotional event elicits two competing processes: (1) an a-process (or primary process) directly elicited by the event, and (2) a b-process (or opponent process) that is elicited by the a-process and serves to counteract the a-process. ● Orienting response : The automatic positioning of oneself to facilitate attending to a stimulus. ● Reflex arc : A neural structure that underlies many reflexes and consists of a sensory neuron, an interneuron, and a motor neuron. ● Reflex : A relatively simple, involuntary response to a stimulus. ● Sensitization : An increase in the strength of an elicited behavior following repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus. ● Sign stimulus (or releaser) : A specific stimulus that elicits a fixed action pattern. ● Simultaneous conditioning : Conditioning procedure in which the onset of the NS and the onset of the US are simultaneous. ● Startle response : A defensive reaction to a sudden, unexpected stimulus, which involves automatic tightening of skeletal muscles and various hormonal and visceral changes. ● Trace conditioning : Conditioning procedure in which the onset and offset of the NS precede the onset of the US. ● Unconditioned response (UR) : The response that is naturally elicited by the unconditioned stimulus. ● Unconditioned stimulus (US) : A stimulus that naturally elicits a response. Elicited Behaviours(behaviours that are automatically drawn out by a certain stimulus) ● Reflexes ○ Most basic form of elicited behaviours. ○ Some use one gland or a set of muscles. Ex. lemon juice or blinking from a puff of air. ○ Some involve several body parts. Ex. startle response: a defensive reaction to an unexpected stimulus and orienting response: we automatically position ourselves to facilitate attending to a stimulus. ○ Closely tied to survival. ○ Babies come with a bunch of reflexes for survival that disappear as they get older. ○ Simple relfexes are activated through the reflex arc. ○ Reflex arc consists of a sensory neuron, an interneuron, and a motor neuron. ● Fixed action patterns ○ A fixed sequence of responses elicit by a specific stimulus. ○ Adaptive responses.
● Basic Procedures and Definitions ○ Before conditioning: Food → Salivation US UR Metronome → No Salivation NS — ○ During conditioning: Metronome: Food → Salivation NS (or CS) US UR ○ After conditioning: Metronome → Salivation CS CR ○ Pairing NS and US during conditioning is called a conditioning trial. Several are needed before the NS becomes a CS. ○ Test trial is when the NS is presented by itself. ○ The unconditioned stimulus (US) is a stimulus that naturally elicits a response. ○ The unconditioned response (UR) is the response that occurs naturally to the US. ○ The conditioned stimulus (CS) is any stimulus that comes to elicit a response. ○ The conditioned response (CR) is the response, similar to UR, elicited by CS. ● Appetitive and Aversive Conditioning ○ Appetitive conditioning ■ The US is an event that is considered pleasant and the organism seeks it out. ■ Ex. food, water, addictive drugs ○ Aversive conditioning ■ The US is an event that is considered unpleasant and the organism wants to avoid. ■ Ex. pain, bad odours. ○ Conditioned suppression or conditioned emotional response (CER) paradigm ■ 30" Tone: 1" Shock → Fear NS US UR ■ 30" Tone → Fear CS CR ○ Suppression ratio ■ Suppression Ratio =
𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑆 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑠
𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑆 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑠 + # 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑒−𝐶𝑆 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑠
■ Lower ratio indicated less responding, and less responding indicated greater suppression.
● Excitatory and Inhibitory Conditioning ○ Excitatory conditioning ■ The NS is associated with the presentation of a US. ■ The result is that the CS comes to elicit a certain response. ■ Ex. salivation or fear. ■ CS+ ○ Inhibitory conditioning ■ The NS is associated with the absence or removal of a US. ■ The result is that the CS comes to inhibit the occurrence (less likely to occur) of a certain response. ■ CS- ● Temporal Arrangement of Stimuli ○ Delayed conditioning ■ NS precedes the onset of the US, and they overlap. ○ Trace conditioning ■ The onset and offset of the NS precede the onset of the US. ■ NS occurs before the US and do not overlap. ○ Simultaneous conditioning ■ The onset of the NS and the onset of the US are simultaneous. ■ Not very good. ○ Backward conditioning ■ The onset of the NS follows the onset of the US. ■ The Us is presented first and the NS is presented later. ■ Least effective.
● Temporal conditioning : A form of classical conditioning in which the CS is the passage of time. ● US revaluation : A process that involves the postconditioning presentation of the US at a different level of intensity, thereby altering the strength of response to the previously conditioned CS. Some Basic Conditioning Phenomena ● Acquisition ○ The process of developing and strengthening a conditioned response through repeated pairings of NS with US. ○ Proceeds rapidly in early conditioning trials, then levels off. ○ Max amount of conditioning is known as the asymptote of conditioning. ○ More intense USs produce stronger and more rapid conditioning than less-intense USs do. ○ More-intense NSs result in stronger and more rapid conditioning than less-intense NSs do. ● Extinction, Spontaneous Recovery, and Disinhibition ○ Extinction ■ A CR can be weakened or eliminated when the CS is repeatedly presented in the absence of the US. ■ Metronome: Food → Salivation NS US UR Metronome → Salivation CS CR ■ If the metronome is continuously presented without food, the CR of salivation is extinguished. ■ Metronome → No salivation “NS” — ■ A response that has been extinguished can be reacquired quite rapidly when the CS (or NS) is again paired with the US. ○ Spontaneous recovery ■ The reappearance of a conditioned response following a rest period after extinction. ■ After each recovery, the response is weaker and is extinguished more quickly. ○ Disinhibition ■ The sudden recovery of a response during an extinction procedure when a novel stimulus is introduced. ■ Metronome: Food → Salivation NS US UR Metronome → Salivation CS CR ■ Following repeated presentations Metronome → Weak salivation (partial extinction) CS CR
■ Presentation of novel stimulus Novel humming noise { Metronome → Salivation CS CR ● Stimulus generalisation and Discrimination ○ Stimulus generalisation ■ The tendency for a CR to occur in the presence of a stimulus similar to the CS. ■ More similar, the stronger the response. ■ Semantic generalisation is the generalisation of a conditioned response to verbal stimuli that are similar in meaning to CS. ○ Stimulus discrimination ■ Opposite of stimulus generalisation. ■ The tendency for a response to be elicited more by one stimulus than another. ■ Conditioning Phase 2,000-Hz tone: Food → Salivation NS US UR 1,900-Hz tone: No food NS — ■ Test Phase 2,000-Hz tone → Salivation CS+ CR 1,900-Hz tone → No salivation CS- — ● Discrimination Training and Experimental Neurosis ○ Experimental neurosis is an experimentally produced disorder in which the animals exposed to unpredictable events develop neurotic-like symptoms. Two Extensions to Classical Conditioning ● Higher-order conditioning ○ A stimulus that is associated with a CS can also become a CS. ○ Second-order conditioning (CS2) is the association, and generally elicits a weaker response. ● Sensory preconditioning ○ When one stimulus is conditioned as a CS, another stimulus previously associated with it can also become a CS. Three Examples of Specificity in Classical Conditioning ● Blocking and overshadowing involve a compound stimulus. ● A compound stimulus consists of the simultaneous presentation of two or more individual stimuli. ● Overshadowing ○ The most salient member of a compound stimulus is more readily conditioned as a CS and thereby interferes with conditioning of the least salient member. ○ Consists of NS and NS.
