Instrumental Learning and Maze Studies

A method of studying instrumental learning where each trial starts with the animal in the apparatus and ends with removal after the desired action is performed.

Learning that involves associating actions with their consequences.

A straight maze with a start box and a goal box.

A winding path used to study animal learning. Used in studies of instrumental learning, particularly with specific tasks.

An American psychologist who introduced maze studies in learning.

Specific tasks used repeatedly in instrumental learning experiments to allow comparison and study across experiments.

The starting point in a maze or runway.

The end point in a maze or runway.

Requires extensive daily practice under a coach's supervision.

Involves progressive steps, starting simple and gradually increasing difficulty.

Conditioning where a sound (food magazine) is repeatedly paired with food to create a response.

Rats are trained to press a lever for food through progressive steps.

Learning by associating two stimuli to create a response.

A response followed by reinforcement (e.g., food) increases the likelihood of the response's repetition, a learning process.

The sound-producing device that precedes food delivery.

A conditioned response where animal goes towards food.

A training method that gradually modifies behavior to achieve a desired skill.

Small steps in training that lead to a desired outcome.

The target or standard for a behavior during training.

The differences in how a person performs a specific task.

Learning through consequences, where behaviors are strengthened or weakened by their results.

Learning advanced skills through small, repeated steps that gradually lead to a sophisticated task.

A sport illustrated to help illustrate how successive approximations work.

Repeating steps to refine and improve a skill in small increments.

A method of reducing a behavior by removing a positive stimulus after the behavior occurs.

The same as omission training, where the removal of a pleasant stimulus decreases the likelihood of a behavior.

An example of omission training where a child is removed from positive reinforcement (e.g., toys, attention) for a brief period after misbehaving.

A real-world example of omission training; the privilege of driving is taken away to discourage drunk driving.

A relationship where a behavior results in the removal of a positive stimulus.

A harmful behavior directed towards oneself, often seen in people with developmental disabilities.

A treatment for self-injurious behavior where reinforcement is given for any non-harmful behavior.

The effectiveness of omission training in reducing self-injurious behavior, as shown in the study of Bridget.

A condition in an experiment where participants are rewarded for producing novel responses, like drawing different rectangles each time.

A group of participants in an experiment who receive the same reinforcement as another group, but without having to meet specific criteria. The reinforcement depends on the actions of the other group.

A response that is different from previous responses, like drawing a rectangle of a different size, shape, or location.

Experimental group where participants are rewarded for producing variable responses, meaning they have to change their actions each time.

Control group in an experiment where participants receive reinforcement based on the actions of another group, but don't have to meet specific criteria themselves.

The tendency for an animal to perform different versions of the same behavior, even when receiving the same reward.

In instrumental conditioning, the group where animals receive rewards only when they perform different versions of the behavior.

In instrumental conditioning, the group where animals receive rewards regardless of their actions, with the reward schedule matching the Vary Group.

The measure of how much an animal varies its behavior in instrumental conditioning.

Whether an animal receives rewards only when performing different versions of a behavior.

They demonstrate that reward frequency alone doesn't create response variability.

It compares the response variability of animals in the Vary and Yoked groups, showing higher variability in the Vary group due to the requirement of different behaviors for reward.