final_objectives_2.doc

Audiences ? is a discriminative stimuli, it sets the occasion for reinforcement of verbal behavior such as reinforcers, punishes multiple causation of instances of verbal behavior ? when a word has more that one verbal relation. Example , fire ? can be an mand, tact interverbal, textual? rule-governed behavior ? it governs your reactions ex. The weather report states that its going to snow so you wear a coat outside pliance ? following instructions based on social contingencies ex pick nose tracking ? following instructions because that is how the world works ex. Don?t put treezer in the outlet augmenting ? is an establishing operation, ex advestment best deal in town, it may increase value of whatever the produce it Be able to define semantic conditioning, and provide an example - responses to vebal stimuli can be nonverbal. Ex. US:shock, CS: Truck, CR: galvanic skin response Descriptive autoclitic - modifies the effects of verbal behavior on the listener and describes the conditions under which given verbal behavior is limited. ex. "I am sure it is raining" possesses the autoclitic "I am sure" to strengthen the statement 'it is raining' Relational autoclitic ? verbal units coordinated with other units, or words that cannot stand alone, example, grammar functions and adverbs Naming is the basic unit of verbal behavior, it is the higher-order class of behavior that involves listener behavior, echoic behavior and tacting. Ex. Child is presented with a picture that includes pictures and words and the child identifies the word with one of the pictures that match the word. Verbal behavior - reinforcement is mediated by a listener which can also include someone that does sign language example, someone speaking or using sign language Vocal behavior ? is verbal behavior formed with the voice apparatus (tongue, lips etc) Echoic ? vocal imitation - I say ?hat? you say ?hat? Tact- - labeling ? child says ball when he sees a ball Mand ? requests ? asking for something ? I want juice? Listener behavior ? following instructions Transcription ? written to written Textual behavior- written to vocal Taking dictation - note taking Interverbals - free association ? If I say mother and you come up with words that go with the word mother ex. Caregiver, loving, homemaker etc Extended Tact - a feature of more complex verbal behavior that occurs when a response is evoked by a novel stimulus that resembles a stimulus previously presented when a response was reinforced Horne and Lowe: Be able to reproduce and explain Figure 9. How is the process depicted in Figure 9 different from a tact relation (Figure 3)? Answer: This figure depicts an account of how naming is learned by a child who has already learned both echo and to listen to the auditory stimulus. Start ? the caregiver points to a shoe and says shoe (the auditory stimulus) occasions the child to look at the shoe while she says shoe and the child repeats shoe. The sight of the shoe becomes a frequent antecedent and then discriminative stimulus for the mother saying shoe. When the child sees the shoe, it alone occasions her saying shoe; the shoe may be a visualized when it is not present The resulting stimulation may also occasion the utterance Shoe. Figure 3 demonstrates a common response a relation that is called functional equivalence. In that example there are no grounds for assuming that this should give rise to bidirectional relations and stimulus equivalence Why should non-human animals not be able to develop responding indicative of stimulus equivalence, according to Horne and Lowe (pp. 222-223)? How is their argument different from Sidman's account of relational responding (pp. 227-228)? Has responding indicative of stimulus equivalence been empirically demonstrated in non-human animals (p. 223)? Answer: Because they are lacking in naming skills, nonhuman organisms will generally fail tests of stimulus equivalence. There is no theoretical basis within current accounts of nonverbal animal learning for assuming that stimulus equivalence, at least as conventionally assessed, should ever arise. Sidman?s argues is different from Horn and Lowe; that equivalence relations have their own defining characteristics, none requiring the stimulus/response dichotomy. Numerous experimental studies support this view and have shown that nonhuman animals may learn conditional discriminations readily, but without this resulting in stimulus equivalence. Skinner 1977 What are the problems associated with the statement: "The rat pressed the lever because it felt like it?" Answer ? feelings are commonly taken as the causes of behavior. Feelings are harder to identify and describe than the behavior attributed to them. It would be best to identify why the rat is pressing the lever before concluding that it felt like it. The events prior to the lever press should be taken into account in explaining the behavior associated with what is felt. What is felt may serve as a clue to the contingencies. But the feelings are not the contingencies and cannot replace them as causes. Skinner 1984 On page 618, Skinner states: "Suppose someone were to coat the occipital lobes of the brain with a special photographic emulsion which, when developed, yielded a reasonable copy of a current visual stimulus". Would this be a triumph in the field of psychology, according to Skinner? Why, or why not? Answer: No, it adds nothing to an explanation of how an organism reacts to a stimulus to trace the pattern of the stimulus into the body. The bodily reactions to substances tasted, smelled and touched would scarcely qualify as faithful reproductions. But copies of the real world within the body\ happen in the nervous system but have poor results such as poor picture imaging On page 620, Skinner states: In an experimental analysis, the relation between a property of behavior and an operation performed upon the organism is studied directly. Traditional mentalistic formulations, however, emphasize certain way stations". What is a way station, according to Skinner, and why are they problematic in the experimental analysis of behavior? Answer ? The waystations are attributions such as perceptions, recognizing, frustration, anxiety just to name a few. Skinner thinks they are problematic in the experimental analysis of behavior which is due to that fact that they are not observable and they may or may not actually be controlling the behavior being observed. They are also mentalistic and circular. Mentalistic is mental or inner dimension of events that happen in the mind. Circular is the form of logic used to describe an observed effect that is mistaken as the cause for the phenomenon. Dennett How could an account in terms of verbal behavior explain why a person would hand his/her wallet over to an armed mugger, in spite of never having been in a similar situation? What would be Skinner's only possible explanation, according to Dennett? Answer: This could be an intraverbal. The person being held up may associate the event with not moving, breathing, doing what the mugger says, no not be a hero, and hand over your wallet. These responses maybe associated with the event that is taking place. What is virtus dormitiva? Is "behavioral history" a virtus dormitiva? Answer: Virtus Dormittiva is Latin for sleep producing power. Virtus dormitiva is not a valid scientific explanation because mentalistic explanations do not seem to cite a virtus dormitiva. Mentalistic is mental or inner dimension of events that happen in the mind which has nothing to do with sleep producing power. What is a homunculus? How does the concept appear in Skinner?s criticism of cognitive psychology? Answer: Homunculus is a little man in the brain that tells you what to do. Skinner states that we must abolish the inner man. This cristicism os of cognitive psychology. Skinner believes that only external stimulus response behavior should be studied because external stimulus can be measured. According to Dennett, Skinner is against intentional idioms, and any theories that presuppose rationality (because they beg the question). What is an intentional idiom (provide examples) and how do some cognitive theories presuppose rationality? Answer: Intentional idioms are about something, it takes on a meaning such as beliefs, desires or needs. When you plead to these things you are saying that you are rationale(reasonableness) and you would let then guide your behavior. In the article on page 60, it states that Skinner?s position becomes the following: don?t use intentional idioms in psychology. However, Dennett believes that intentional idioms can be used. An example was given that you can specify the function of a belief stone but not be able to describe mechanically how to build one. Catania, 2002 In a battlefield situation, how are retreating and advancing under the control of different contingencies? Answer ? retreating is an aversive nonsocial contingency, it is contingency ?shaped. Advancing is aversive social contingency, the behavior is called verbally governed behavior. Under what conditions are verbal instructions most likely to be used? Answer ? more likey to be used when natural contingencies are weak, remote and likely to lead to undesirable behavior What is the main difference observed between humans and non-humans operating under ratio and interval schedules, and to what does Catania attribute this difference? Answers ? nonverbal animals ? ratio schedules produce higher rates of behavior than interval schedules. For verbal humans. Ratio schedules do not reliably produce higher rates of behavior than interval schedules Is human behavior governed by local contingencies or verbal statements during early childhood? Answer ? for humans under 2 years of age, are sensitive to local contingencies. Schedules resemble non-human animal responding. Humans between 2-5, are contingency shaped and verbally governed. Older than 5 years old, stereotyped patterns of behavior resembling adult responding and are verbally governed. If you pit local nonverbal contingencies against higher-order verbal contingencies, which one is more likely to win? Answer ? observe the contingencies to determine which one would win. Certain verbal statements reinforced, and behavior comes to match statements better than rates of reinforcement would predict. The Higher order verbal contingencies is more likely to win Is it generally easier to change what someone says or what someone does? Answer ? verbal behavior may be governed by local contingencies, even when verbal behavior governs other behavior. Much behavior verbally governed, hence easier to modify behavior of shaping what someone says than what someone does. So you can modify verbal behavior through local contingencies, and that verbal behavior then governs non-verbal behavior. Skinner, 1945 Is "meaning" a more scientifically and conceptually viable word than "idea" in the analysis of our verbal behavior? Answer ? meaning is to be found in the determinates of responses not in their formal properties. Recount methods (1), (2), and (4) of a tact like "toothache" becoming appropriately reinforced Answer ? 1. Publicly available stimuli that accompany private events. Ex rotting tooth. (2). Coolateral responses to the same stimulus. Ex. Facial expressions, rubbing jaw. (4) stimulus generalization. E. metophers of how you feel. Butterflies in my stomach. What does Skinner mean when he says: "Differential reinforcement cannot be made contingent upon the property of privacy" (p. 550) Answer ? you cannot have a consistent vocabulary about private events unless you have one of the 4 recent methods. "?my toothache is just as physical as my typewriter" (p. 552). What does Skinner mean by that? Answer ? He is asserting the difference between methodological and radical behaviorism. Methodological is private stimuli cannot be the stuff of science radical is private stimuli are valid. Catania: Chapter 12 1. Be able to define and give examples of NS vs. US vs. CS Neutral stimulus vs. unconditional stimulus vs. conditional stimulus NS is the orienting response e.g buzzer US e.g food CS e.g. salivation (NS-----US UR) (CS CR ----US UR) UR vs. CR Unconditional response vs. conditional response UR happens when the CS elicits a response of the US. Ex. Buzzer elicits salivation, food elicits salivation 2. Be able to define a compensatory response, and give an example. What do compensatory responses tell us about the process of respondent behavior? Compensatory response is a CR that counteracts the effects of the US. Ex. US-Heroin UR-Analgesia which is a elevated pain threshold CS-Events at time of drug use, location, time place CR-hyperalgesia which has a lower pain threshold instead of a high one The process of respondent behavior is not a simple stimulus substitution. Be able to describe a conditioned suppression experiment Answer:In a conditioned suppression experiment, you would superimpose a CS on the ongoing operant behavior. So you suppress the response and you condition the CS and CR. Ex. Oberant behavior is lever press, CS is tone and the US is shock. Once the CS is presented the lever pressing is reduced overall the biggest reduction is just before the shock. 4. Constraints on learning: preparedness. Describe the experiment, and results There were two groups of rats for this experiment and they were testing taste-aversion. There were two constant stimuli; loud noises-lights and sweet tasting water. Both groups were exposed to both stimuli. Both groups drink water in the presence of lights and sweet taste. Then they drink water. Then one group received shock and the other group received water that made them nauseous. They then tested to see what the rats would avoid when water was presented. The results indicated that the group that received nausea drank less sweet water. The rat learned only its relation to the taste of the water consumed earlier. But when the aversive stimulus was shock the rats learn only its relation to the noise and light that preceded it. Catania: Chapter 13 Be able to define and give examples of observational learning vs. imitation Observational learning involves learning through observing behavior of others. It involves the value of the stimuli and consequences of behavior. You can learn negative and positive contingencies. Ex. Offspring of a monkey learn to fear a snake when they see the parent?s response to the snake. Imitation involves behavior that matches the organism observed, nothing learned about contingencies. It doesn?t involve learning about the contingencies. Ex. When a pigeon peaks a golf ball after seeking another pigeon peak a golf ball for food. Be able to describe generalized imitation as a response class Reinforcement of any behavior of a response class is enough to strengthen the responses in a response class. E.g a child imitating a puppet and the puppet jumps, the child jumps and the child is reinforced. Next the puppet skips, the child skips and the child is reinforced again. The Puppet claps then the child claps but this time there is no reinforcement. This is how generalized imitation works as a response class. How are repertoires of "self-awareness" trained in pigeons? Pigeons are trained to peck at a blue dot in a chamber. Then they are trained to peck at the blue dot when the dot is on their chest. The Pigeon is then reinforced. In a control condition, a bib is placed on the pigeon and a blue dot is placed on the pigeon?s chest. The experimenters wait to see if the pigeon will peck its chest without seeing the blue dot. None of the pigeons pecked at their chest. When a mirror was added to the chamber, if the pigeon could see the blue dot through the mirror, it would try and peck at its chest. Friman et al. 1998 Why can physiological responding not constitute the "essence" of anxiety? The physiological characteristic can be the same for other responses to different events. For instance, elevated heart rate, respiration and blood pressure are some of the symptoms of anxiety. Let?s say walking across a street that is free of cars or walking across a street and almost being hit by a car. For both instances you may have a elevated heart rate, respiration and blood pressure raising, but it would be for two different reason. How do traditional accounts of anxiety employ circular reasoning? The frequency of these events is taken as evidence of the causal status of the cognitive impairment leaving events to go unexplained. What is experiential avoidance, and can non-human animals exhibit such avoidance? Experiential avoidance is behavior whose primary function is the elimination, minimization or reduction in the form, frequency or situational sensitivity of private events. Responses to aversive events come to exhibit verbal properties. The events results in anxiety and our thoughts and memories elicit the anxiety feelings. Non human cannot exhibit such avoidance because language is required for these relations to develop. Is a purely respondent account sufficient to explain hyperarousal in PTSD, and effects of exposure therapy in phobia (Jones & Friman, 1997)? Hyperarousal in PTSD can occur under conditions that have no formal similarity to the original traumatic setting, such as unpredictable situations. Avoidance can lead to an increase in hyperarousal. For instance, in a study, a child has a phobia for actual insects and saying the word ?insect? elicits phobia type responses. Treatment exposed the child at a insect (crickets). The results of this study indicate that extinction of phobia-type response to both non-targeted insects and verbal statements about insects Wessel Is the tact: "I have a headache" under the control of an inner state? What is Skinner's general view on "inner" causes of behavior? Is his account of tacting of private events an example of such an inner cause? ANSWER: I have a headache would be a tact ( a collateral response to the stimulus of something that is causing the headache). Skinner thinks that inner causes are sometimes inferred from the very behavior they are intended to explain. Skinners account of tacting of private events infer that pricate events can enter funcational relation/ for example when the bodily condition we call pain controls the verbal response ?that hurts?. A private event that controls a response counts as a cause of behavior. Howard & Rice: Did the authors a) establish a "generalized" autoclitic repertoire, or did they b) reinforce fixed responses to stimuli, c) reinforce the emission of "like" in some trial-and error fashion without establishing autoclitic control, or d) do something else not listed here to achieve the obtained results? Please support your position with arguments. How many concepts had to be trained in autoclitic training before correct responding during probe trials increased? ANSWER: all subjects acquired generalized autoclitic behavior as demonstrated by the number of scorable responses emitted during probe trials. In addition, three of the four subjects also showed generalization along the dimensions of response topography. 3 concepts. What are the autoclitic categories suggested by Peterson? Use examples to illustrate your answer. Answer: descriptive autoclitic ? Is see it is raining (tacts that the response is a tact_ I heard that it will rainf (tacts the response is echoic) Qualifying autoclitic ? a parent to a child ? that is NOT real candy?, enjoins the listener to not act upon the response as a tact Quantifying autoclitics ? some books are not on sale ? Indicates that the speaker has only sometimes been able to emit the tact Manipulative autoclitics - Relational autoclitics - grammar Hall & Sundberg: What behavioral principles/techniques did Hall and Sundberg use to train mands? Did they manipulate motivating operations during training? Were they conditioned, or unconditioned? Please make sure to define the behavioral principles/techniques, and describe how they relate to the mand training. Answer:They used a chain technique to train mands. The students in the study were already on a token economy and tokens had been established as conditioned reinforcers. Manding or missiongitems can be trained using a structured procedure, where the experimenter selects the mands to be trained. This procedure manipulated subjects histories and conditioned establishing operations to teach specific mands at specific times. Are mands and tacts functionally independent, according to Skinner? Are the data obtained by Hall and Sundberg supportive of Skinner's argument? Explain, with examples. Answer: The data from this study were not sufficient to produce manding for missing items. The results would support Skinners interpretation that mands and tacts are functionally independent. Example would be the Subject had to mand for the missing item ?money? to operate the vending machine and get candy. Instead of emitting the conventional topography he tried putting his hand into the experimenter?s pocket. Chapter 15 Do non-human animals possess language skills? ? some do such as a birdsong..