Psychology Flashcards on Shaping

Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior or terminal response.

Differential reinforcement reinforces responses within a specific class while ignoring others.

DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior): Aims to eliminate specific unwanted behaviors by reinforcing alternative behaviors. Examples include strategies for quitting smoking or addressing disruptive classroom behavior.
DRL (Differential Reinforcement of Low Rate Behavior): Focuses on decreasing the frequency of a behavior, such as a teacher not responding to a student raising their hand excessively.
DRH (Differential Reinforcement of High Rate Behavior): Intended to increase the frequency of certain behaviors, like using programs to boost typing speed.

Descriptive Operant: Refers to behaviors that receive reinforcement.
Functional Operant: Involves behaviors that are generalized through the delivery of reinforcers.
Operant Class: A category of similar operants sharing common characteristics.

Induction: Refers to the spread of reinforcement to a range of other responses.
Differentiation: Achieved when a response is reinforced only within a class of responses that have been positively reinforced.

Variability is critical in shaping as it allows for exploration of various behaviors to identify effective methods for achieving the desired response, even if initial actions may be unclear to the organism.

Shaping and Ontogeny: Shaping behaviors are informed by the individual’s life experiences and environment, reflecting developmental changes.
Selection and Phylogeny: Selection pertains to inherited genetic traits, while phylogeny refers to the evolutionary history and ancestral traits that influence behavior.

Natural Shaping: Involves adaptive behaviors, such as finding the right time to leave for class to arrive on time through trial and error.
Artificial Shaping: Utilizes tools like clicker questions in educational settings, which promote engagement through immediate reinforcement and facilitate critical thinking and understanding of concepts over time.