Psychology2016

Learning 205

pressure, muscle tension, and hyperactivity can be brought under conscious control. For

nearly 60 years, scientists have known how to use feedback from a person’s biological

information (such as heart rate) to create a state of relaxation (Margolin & Kubic, 1944).

Biofeedback is the traditional term used to describe this kind of biological feedback of

information, and through its use many problems can be relieved or controlled.

A relatively newer biofeedback technique called neurofeedback involves trying to

change brain activity. to Learning Objective 2.4. Although this technique uses the

latest in technology, the basic principles behind it are much older. Traditionally, this tech-

nique was based on recording the electrical activity of the brain, or EEG. To record the EEG,

a person would have to be connected to a stand-alone electroencephalograph, a machine that

amplifies and records the brain’s electrical activity. Modern biofeedback and neurofeed-

back amplifiers are often connected to a computer that records and analyzes the physiolog-

ical activity of the brain. Neurofeedback can be integrated with video game–like programs

that individuals can use to learn how to produce brain waves or specific types of brain

activity associated with specific cognitive or behavioral states (e.g., increased attention,

staying focused, relaxed awareness). Individuals learn to make these changes through the

principles of operant conditioning (Sherlin et al., 2011). Neurofeedback using the EEG con-

tinues to be investigated in specific disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disor-

der (ADHD) and in new areas such as the control of chronic pain (Arns et al., 2009; Jensen

et al., 2013) and the treatment of epilepsy (Koberda, 2015; Micoulaud-Franchi et al., 2014;

Strehl et al., 2014). Other recent neurofeedback studies have incorporated MRI or fMRI

to examine the effects of EEG-based neurofeedback on the brain (Ghaziri et al., 2013; Ros

et al., 2013). And in some studies, fMRI is being used as a neurofeedback method in and

of itself (Ruiz et al., 2013; Scharnowski et al., 2012; Stoeckel et al., 2014; Sulzer et al., 2013).

biofeedback

using feedback about biological condi-

tions to bring involuntary responses,

such as blood pressure and relaxation,

under voluntary control.

neurofeedback

form of biofeedback using brain-

scanning devices to provide feedback

about brain activity in an effort to

modify behavior.

primary reinforcers: satisfy basic biological needs (e.g., hunger, thirst, touch)

secondary reinforcers: gain reinforcing properties through previous association

with primary reinforcers

positive reinforcement: addition, or experiencing of, a pleasurable stimulus

negative reinforcement: removal, escape, or avoidance of unpleasant stimulus

Operant Conditioning

(learning to make voluntary responses through the effects of positive or negative consequences)

Thorndike

was among the first

to study learning of

voluntary responses

developed law of effect—action followed

by pleasurable consequence will tend to be

repeated; action followed by unpleasant

consequence will tend not to be repeated

Skinner

led field of

behaviorism

after Watson

coined term operant

conditioning— voluntary

behavior that people and

animals do to operate in

the world

focused on observable, measurable behavior

reinforcement

any event or stimulus, that when

following a response increases

the probability that the response

will occur again

punishment is any event

or stimulus that, when

following a response,

decreases the probability

that the response will

occur again

application of operant conditioning principles (sometimes classical conditioning) to change

undesirable behaviors and create desirable behaviors in both humans and animals

token economies, time-out, applied behavior analysis, biofeedback,

and neurofeedback use these principles

behavior

modification

opposite of reinforcement, which increases

the probability that the response will occur again

punishment by application—something

unpleasant is added to the situation

punishment by removal—something

pleasurable is removed

to work—must be immediate, consistent,

and paired with reinforcement of actual

behavior desired

stimuli must be discriminative;

specific cues lead to specific responses

some behaviors can be established through

shaping, reinforcing small steps, or each successive

approximation, toward the ultimate goal

as in classical conditioning, extinction, generalization,

and spontaneous recovery can occur

instinctive drift, or the tendency to revert to genetically controlled patterns of behavior,

can serve as a biological constraint on operant conditioning

easier to establish new responses

but more sensitive to extinction

leads to a response that is resistant to extinction

schedule can be specified by the pattern/ratio

of responses or by time/interval

both ratio and interval schedules

can be either fixed or variable

timing of reinforcement influences speed

of learning, strength of learned response,

and subsequent behavior pattern

continuous reinforcement: provision of

reinforcer for each and every correct response

partial reinforcement: reinforcing behavior

after some but not all correct responses

schedules of

reinforcement

other

features

Concept Map L.O. 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9

Interactive

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