Operant conditioning (also known as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning where the consequences of a voluntary behavior determine the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future.
This is an educational exercise or simulation that uses immediate feedback (the “click”) and various reinforcement schedules to demonstrate how behaviors are learned, maintained, and modified through the principles of operant conditioning.
This is a scenario or experiment, often based on B.F. Skinner’s work with pigeons, designed to demonstrate how non-contingent reinforcement (rewards delivered independently of the subject’s actions) can mistakenly reinforce a random, irrelevant behavior that immediately preceded the reward, leading to the development of superstitious behavior.
Insight learning is the sudden, spontaneous understanding of a problem’s solution, often called an “Aha!” or “Eureka!” moment, and it occurs through mental visualization rather than trial and error.
Latent learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills that isn’t immediately demonstrated through behavior but becomes apparent later when there’s motivation or a need to use it, like a child learning a shortcut to school by riding with a parent and then using it independently later
Shaping behaviour is a method of operant conditioning used to teach a complex or non-naturally occurring target behavior by reinforcing successive approximations (small steps) of that behavior until the final desired action is achieved.
A Variable Ratio (VR) schedule rewards a behavior after an unpredictable, varying number of responses, resulting in the highest and steadiest rate of response that is extremely resistant to extinction.
