Operant conditioning is another theory that is no longer required to learn according to the new syllabus. I however think that it is a useful theory to know in order to understand the functions of the brain. In this article, I will explain the underlying biological processes of it.
Operant conditioning is a way of learning by being motivated to getting rewards and avoiding punishments. It is useful to understand behavior, such as addiction. The theory was developed in the 1950s by Frederic Skinner, who showed that you can train animals by rewarding them for desirable behavior and ignoring or punishing undesirable behavior. There are two types of rewards, or reinforcers; primary and secondary reinforcers. Primary reinforcers are rewards that naturally gives us pleasure, such as food and affection. Secondary reinforcers are rewards that can motivate us because of their association with primary reinforcers (for example, money) There are several brain regions that are probably related to the processes of operant conditioning. These include the hypothalamus, the amygdala, the dopamine pathways, and the orbifrontal (bottom) section of the prefrontal lobe. The amygdala, the brain's fear center, is most likely the region that prevents us from behavior that may lead to punishment. The hypothalamus and the dopamine pathways are part of the brain's reward system. The hypothalamus is related to basic motivations, such as sex and hunger, and influences other parts of the body and brain through the secretion of hormones. The importance of the hypothalamus for the brain's reward system was demonstrated in the 1960s in a famous rat study by James Olds. He implanted electrode in the hypothalamus of rat brains, so that rat could stimulate this area just by pressing a button. The implant led to that the rats during their awake time kept on pressing the button to stimulate their hypothalamus, similar to the behavior of drug addicts. The dopamine pathways, the areas which are most involved in pleasure, can be found in front of the hypothalamus and behind the orbifrontal lobe. The dopamine pathways projects into the orbifrontal lobe, which is the brain's centre for reward and punishment. It can be speculated that the orbifrontal lobe works together with the dorsolateral lobe above to choose between conflicting goals that give pleasure. It can be conjectured that we, because of a developed dorsolateral lobe may not always choose behaviors that give us the most pleasure. If there is anything such as a “conscience” in the brain, it should be found in the dorsolateral lobe. According to the law of effect in operant conditioning, we are more prone to repeat behavior that gives us pleasure. This tendency has an evolutionary origin, because behavior that gives us the most pleasure has a survival advantage (such as eating). Drugs, which have molecules that imitate the brain’s natural chemicals , hijacks the reward system and fool the body that they are good for us. When it comes to motivation, humans and many animals have an ability to disregard an immediate reward to get a greater reward in the future. This has for instance been demonstrated in research of animals, children and humans. In one experiment, one piece of candy was put in front of a child for an hour. The child was told that if she did not eat the sweet, she would get three as a reward. Some children managed to control themselves, and some did not. In a follow up study, it was shown that the individuals who had been more disciplined as children had been more successful in their career. It can be supposed that the same thing is true for studies in school. You may choose to study hard, which sometimes can be boring, because you are expecting a reward in the future (a good job and salary). It is however hard for many of us to think so far ahead in the future and we often go for the more immediate rewards. The prefrontal cortex of teenagers is not as developed as for adult brains, which may make them even less likely to be patient and plan ahead. The psychologist George Ainslie has undertaken many interesting studies on these types of immediate and later rewards. According to his findings, humans have a tendency to prefer immediate payoffs rather than later payoffs, even if the later payoff is better. Another interesting finding is that if the choice is between two payoffs that are far ahead in the future, time is not a factor and we tend to choose the best payoff. This means that if you have a choice between 100 dollars right now or 200 dollars three years from now, you will go for the 100 dollars. On the other hand, if you have a choice between 100 dollars in six years and 200 in nine years, you tend to go for 200 dollars. If the reward is long ahead in the future, therefore, we tend to be more calculating, than if the reward is close in time.
1 Comment
Maggie Danhakl
11/13/2014 11:32:10 am
Hi,
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AuthorThis is my class blog for IB Psychology. Here I will publish reflections on psychology, reviews of psychology books, recommended links, lecture notes, and information on psychology topics that are not covered by the syllabus. You are free to add comments or ask me questions. Archives
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