Instrumental Learning in Animals: Parameters of Reinforcement

Bitterman, A.; Schoel, W. Michael

doi:10.1146/annurev.ps.21.020170.002055

Cited by 31 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 290 publications

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“…Vast research indicates that simple, unitary responses are acquired more rapidly when the animal is more highly motivated by either food or water deprivation or electric shock (Bitterman and Schoel, 1970). Hence it would surprise no one if strains found to learn at different rates also were differentially motivated by identical operations or if motivation changed as a correlated response to selection for learning rate.…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pure associative learning ability might vary as well. The problems are complicated by the observation that more complex tasks appear to have an intermediate level of motivation for optimum learning; a simple increase in motivation may actually lead to poorer learning of complex mazes or shuttle avoidance (Bitterman and Schoel, 1970). The only way to determine these contributions is to measure motivation independently from the learning task of interest.…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic experiments with animal learning: A critical review

Wahłsten

1972

Behavioral Biology

138

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Abstract:The basic patterns of inheritance of learning ability in animals have been delineated. Summaries of strain differences in learning rate, responses to selective breeding for learning, heritabilities of learning phenotypes, and heterosis and overdominance are presented. In addition, the patterns of inheritance are shown to vary with the early environment.The causes of genetic differences have received much attention, but much of the research is inconclusive. Both general learning ability and task-specific abilities are important, but their relative importance is not known for most learning tasks. Strain differences have been found to vary widely in response to variations in stimulus parameters, motivational levels, temporal spacing of trials, and pharmacological manipulations. However, in only a few cases have strain differences in learning actually been shown to be attributable to differences in sensory capacities, motivation, memory or activity levels. The physiological bases for differences are totally unknown. The pathways of gene action on learning also await discovery.Although some researchers have claimed to study the adaptive value of learning, their exclusive utilization of laboratory populations precludes meaningful interpretation of their results.Several methodological shortcomings of various experiments are considered, and important areas for future research are suggested. Article:Learning is a phenotype which has engaged the interests of numerous researchers seeking genetic bases for behavioral differences. In fact, much of the earliest research identifiable as behavior genetics dealt with some aspect of learning in animals (Bagg, 1916;Yerkes, 1916;Tolman, 1924). Ensuing experimentation was performed primarily by psychologists using genetically ill-defined populations. The rather recent appearance of standardized inbred mouse strains with widespread availability has led to renewed interest in the genetic analysis of learning, as well as other phenotypes. Several sophisticated quantitative genetic tools are now readily available for the study of learning. Examples of the application to learning research of selective breeding, the classical cross, the diallel cross, sib analysis, parent-offspring regression, and single-gene analysis have appeared recently.A central motive for compiling the present review is the author's opinion that the increase in genetic sophistication has not been paralleled by a similar growth in the sophistication of measures of learning. In many studies it appears that learning was selected as a phenotype of convenience and general interest.Similarly, the questions about learning investigated have tended to be simplistic and of little interest to those concerned with the nature of the learning process itself. Many recent studies have raised issues that were presented in the earliest research and therefore have contributed little to progress in the area. This is an unfortunate situation in view of the potential power of genetic techniques to answer important questions abou...

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Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic experiments with animal learning: A critical review

Wahłsten

1972

Behavioral Biology

138

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“…The greater the satisfaction or discomfort, the greater the strengthening or weakening of the bond. (Thorndike, 1911, p. 244) This is a fundamental behavioral law (Bonem & Crossman, 1988;Dennett, 1975;Ferster & Skinner, 1957;Skinner, 1969;Teigen, 2002), in spite of certain controversies that have attended it (Bitterman & Schoel, 1970;Herrnstein, 1970), and learning processes approximating it occur pervasively in nature (Bitterman, 1975;Nowak & Sigmund, 1993). Camerer (2003, chap.…”

Section: Mss Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning to cooperate without awareness in multiplayer minimal social situations

Colman¹,

Pulford²,

Omtzigt³

et al. 2010

Cognitive Psychology

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Experimental and Monte Carlo methods were used to test theoretical predictions about adaptive learning of cooperative responses without awareness in minimal social situations-games in which the payoffs to players depend not on their own actions but exclusively on the actions of other group members. In Experiment 1, learning occurred slowly over 200 rounds in a dyadic minimal social situation but not in multiplayer groups. In Experiments 2, 3, and 4, learning occurred rarely in multiplayer groups, even when players were informed that they were interacting strategically and were allowed to communicate with one another but were not aware of the game's payoff structure. Monte Carlo simulation suggested that players approach minimal social situations using a noisy version of the win-stay, lose-shift decision rule, deviating from the deterministic rule less frequently after rewarding than unrewarding rounds.

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“…One reason for these human-animal discrepancies is hypothesized to be related to differences in the function of reinforcing stimuli: in animal operant conditioning, the hedonic value of reinforcers is of unquestionable importance (e.g. Bitterman & Schoel, 1970 Mackintosh, 1974). In contrast, because human operant conditioning is assumed to involve verbal mediation of contingencies (e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Working Harder for Less: Effect of Incentive Value on Force of Instrumental Response in Humans

Svartdal

1993

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A

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The present article reports evidence from human subjects that high payoff for instrumental performance may cause reduced vigour of response compared to the vigour observed for lower payoffs. Vigour of response, as measured by force of pressing (Experiment 1) and number of fortune wheel turns (Experiment 2), was inversely related to payoffs, with higher vigour in the low payoff conditions. Experiment 2 further demonstrated this effect, regardless of whether or not payoff depended on performance. These findings are related to parallel animal data, and an analysis in terms of a learned incentive-effort hypothesis is offered. Experiment 3 presented support for this hypothesis. The results are argued to be of importance to the understanding of how reinforcers affect human instrumental performance.

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Instrumental Learning in Animals: Parameters of Reinforcement

Cited by 31 publications

References 290 publications

Genetic experiments with animal learning: A critical review

Genetic experiments with animal learning: A critical review

Learning to cooperate without awareness in multiplayer minimal social situations

Working Harder for Less: Effect of Incentive Value on Force of Instrumental Response in Humans

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