Barry and Biemford Skinnner Reading Questions
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Dec 20, 2011, 8:01:12 AM12/20/11
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Madeleine Beimford
Jack Barry
Ch. 4- “Reflexes and Conditioned Reflexes”
1. What is a “reflex?”
Through the experiment with the salamander (the tail responding when touched even when severed from the body) Descartes hypothesized that a ‘reflex’ was comprised of an external agent, the stimulus and the behavior controlled by it which was the response. The ‘reflex’ was based on the reaction to stimulus passing through the central nervous system, reflected back to the muscles. Some reflexes are executed by the ‘smooth muscles’ and the glands (induced vomiting through a finger down the throat or an irritating fluid) or the ‘striped muscles,’ which move the skeletal frame of the organism (ie: the ‘knee jerk’ reflex). However, the environment affects the organism in many different ways which are not classed as stimuli, because only a small part of the forces acting on the organism elicit responses that are unchanging in the manner of reflex action.
According to I.P. Pavlov, conditioned reflexes is a process of stimulus substitution where a once neutral stimulus acquires the power to elicit a response which was originially elicited by a different stimulus. The change occurs when the neutral stimulus is reinforced by the effective stimulus. He also studied the converse process of ‘extinction’ in which the conditioned stimulus loses its power to elicit the response when it is no longer reinforced. The best way to use conditioned reflexes is through recording the quantitative information so as to be sure that there aren’t any additional mental processes outside the hypothesis or stimulus.
2. What is the evolutionary value of reflexes? (p. 54)
The evolutionary value of reflexes enables survival and allows the quick reaction times and adaptive characteristics to be passed on to offspring.
3. Give two examples of irrational reflexes, as Skinner uses the concept.
Irrational reflexes are behaviors stemming from a pairing of stimuli but the conditioned reflex is not useful. For example, when a child is attacked by a dog it may fear all dogs because the child will visually associate a dog with the terrible fear he felt during the attack. However, when the response (fear) is elicited at the sight of a harmless dog, the reflex has no function. Another example is responding with strong behavior at the sight of someone very disliked may be elicited when seeing someone completely unfamiliar because they have the same features or wear similar clothing, creating stereotyped responses instead of useful reflexes.
4. In a word or phrase, a conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that causes a learned response in a subject.
5. What is extinction?
Jack Barry
Ch. 4- “Reflexes and Conditioned Reflexes”
1. What is a “reflex?”
Through the experiment with the salamander (the tail responding when touched even when severed from the body) Descartes hypothesized that a ‘reflex’ was comprised of an external agent, the stimulus and the behavior controlled by it which was the response. The ‘reflex’ was based on the reaction to stimulus passing through the central nervous system, reflected back to the muscles. Some reflexes are executed by the ‘smooth muscles’ and the glands (induced vomiting through a finger down the throat or an irritating fluid) or the ‘striped muscles,’ which move the skeletal frame of the organism (ie: the ‘knee jerk’ reflex). However, the environment affects the organism in many different ways which are not classed as stimuli, because only a small part of the forces acting on the organism elicit responses that are unchanging in the manner of reflex action.
According to I.P. Pavlov, conditioned reflexes is a process of stimulus substitution where a once neutral stimulus acquires the power to elicit a response which was originially elicited by a different stimulus. The change occurs when the neutral stimulus is reinforced by the effective stimulus. He also studied the converse process of ‘extinction’ in which the conditioned stimulus loses its power to elicit the response when it is no longer reinforced. The best way to use conditioned reflexes is through recording the quantitative information so as to be sure that there aren’t any additional mental processes outside the hypothesis or stimulus.
2. What is the evolutionary value of reflexes? (p. 54)
The evolutionary value of reflexes enables survival and allows the quick reaction times and adaptive characteristics to be passed on to offspring.
3. Give two examples of irrational reflexes, as Skinner uses the concept.
Irrational reflexes are behaviors stemming from a pairing of stimuli but the conditioned reflex is not useful. For example, when a child is attacked by a dog it may fear all dogs because the child will visually associate a dog with the terrible fear he felt during the attack. However, when the response (fear) is elicited at the sight of a harmless dog, the reflex has no function. Another example is responding with strong behavior at the sight of someone very disliked may be elicited when seeing someone completely unfamiliar because they have the same features or wear similar clothing, creating stereotyped responses instead of useful reflexes.
4. In a word or phrase, a conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that causes a learned response in a subject.
5. What is extinction?
Extinction is the process in which the responses caused by a conditioned stimulus are no longer seen in a subject. For example, in a study, a mouse is placed in a large box and has a small wire taped to this back which is connected to a battery pack. Whenever a bell is rung, the mouse is administered a tiny electric shock, and eventually is conditioned to shudder in fear before the shock is administered. After the mouse is conditioned to act as such without the shock even being administered, the bell is rung more and more until the mouse stops shuddering. The mouse stops because the conditioning to shudder is now extinct.
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