Behaviorism (more precisely, behavior analysis) is not the most popular model within psychology. The average person probably does not know the name of (its most well-known representative) in detail, and even a good part of psychologists have difficulty distinguishing between classical (or respondent) conditioning and operant conditioning, not to mention more subtle distinctions, such as that between negative reinforcement and punishment.
Despite having taken a backseat in terms of popularity, the principles proposed by Skinner are still absolutely valid, being used in a whole range of situations and contexts. This is possible because the principles of operant conditioning are applicable to all organisms, including human beings.
Operant behaviorism is based on a very simple premise: all behavior is affected by its consequences. It is a description of how learning works in organisms, and in this sense, the laws of learning are not an invention (just as Newton did not invent gravity), but a description of how all learning takes place.
An interesting area to take a look at this is video games. Video games are no longer the exclusive domain of consoles but have become accessible to a large number of people through the possibility of playing on the cell phone or even in the browser (via disastrous games like Farmville and similar). And much of the success of these video games can be explained through behavioral principles, even when they are not applied deliberately. Note to behaviorists reading this article (yes, all three of you), we’re going to sacrifice technical precision here for the sake of clarity, so go ahead knowing.
With that said, let’s move on to Angry Birds.
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Angry Birds and the principles of learning
Video games provide a window into the basic principles of behaviorism. Most video games use strategies derived from the principles of operant conditioning to keep us “hooked” on the game. Let’s consider any simple game from recent years, such as Candy Crush, Angry Birds, Farmville, etc. (although this also applies to more complex video games) and let’s look at some elements they have in common. But before this, we need to understand some basic terms for behavior analysis.
Reinforcement and punishment
As we said before, behaviorism is based on the fact that the consequences of a behavior influence its frequency. In the same way that in the theory of evolution the interaction between the adaptations of an organism and its environment causes certain modifications to last and others not, for behaviorism the consequences of a behavior lead to it being sustained (that is, continue to be produced), or to become extinct (to stop being broadcast). When consequences cause a given behavior to increase or be sustained, we speak of “reinforcement”; When consequences cause a behavior to decrease, we talk about “punishment.” Regarding this last term, “punishment” is probably not the happiest term, which is why we emphasize the following: “punishment” is not synonymous with physical punishment, but is a technical term to describe what happens when the consequences of a behavior causes it to decrease. We must remember that “reinforcement” and “punishment” do not refer to specific stimuli, but to functionsthat certain stimuli exert on behaviors. This is why even a hug (something we could generally consider a reinforcer), under certain conditions, can function as a punishment for some behaviors (if you don’t believe me, try hugging your teenager in front of their peers).
We then call “reinforcement” any consequence that increases the future probability of a behavior. A finer distinction is that of “positive reinforcement” and “negative reinforcement“. We talk about positive reinforcement when the consequence add something new (for example, earning points or passing a level in the game), on the other hand, a negative reinforcer is when that consequence remove something aversive in the environment (for example, when we take an aspirin to relieve a headache). But whether you add something or remove an aversive, reinforcement always increases or sustains the frequency of a behavior.
Let’s see how this applies to video games. Basically a video game has two objectives
- “Hook” the user, so that he or she learns the basic rules of operation.
- Let this one continue playing.
For the first objective, the behavioral principle that applies is shaping (shaping), of behavior.
Molding
The shaping of behavior is the process by which, through the manipulation of contingencies, a behavior is generated that was not previously present. It involves reinforcing successive approximations to the desired behavior until it is reached.
Video games begin by establishing rewards for playing: stars, points, gems, lives, passing levels, etc. We can consider these rewards as “positive reinforcements”, as they add new stimuli. Once the reinforcers have been established, they are used to generate the desired behaviors.
Reinforcement is immediate and contingent in the early stages of the game. In the first levels of Angry Birds, for example, practically any place we aim at will be successful and will allow us to move on to the next level, that is, the behavior of pointing and shooting the damned bird is reinforced each time. The difficulty is minimal at this point, and there are often built-in tutorials that tell us what to do (and often, those tutorials only allow us to select the correct option, eliminating the possibility of screwing up).
Little by little, continuing with the example of Angry Birds, the behaviors necessary to shoot down the pigs are more complex, and only the behaviors with greater precision when aiming, or the fastest, are reinforced, that is, only the behaviors that have certain special properties. Skinner called this process “differential reinforcement“, and said “It is the difference between ‘knowing how to do something’ and ‘doing it well’. The latter is the field of skill“. It is the stage of “learn to play angry birds“.
It is also the standard path in learning any musical instrument: initially you start just pressing keys, then you practice simple scales that can be performed without difficulty, and little by little behaviors with special properties are reinforced (playing a key with a certain force, but not too much, to obtain a forte on the piano, for example.)
In this way, we can construct complex operants that would never have appeared in the organism’s repertoire otherwise. By reinforcing a series of successive approximations, we make an infrequent response have a high probability in a short time.
(Skinner, 1963)
To look at the shaping process in another setting, here we can see Skinner shaping a new behavior in a pigeon (making the pigeon make a complete turn) by reinforcing behaviors that are close to the desired behavior:
This is the first step in acquiring any new behavior: the reinforcement of progressive approaches to said behavior. This applies to learning to walk, play the piano, speak, do psychotherapy, etc. In this TED talk we can see how a baby, starting from an inarticulate sound, arrives through successive approximations to correctly utter the word “water” (starting at minute 4.30 is the segment in question).
Once the behavior is acquired (once one has already learned to play Angry Birds, in this case), the next thing that interests the person who designs the game is that the person continues playing, that the behavior is maintained over time. And here another set of behavioral principles comes into play.
When and what to reinforce? If we were designing a video game, we could deliver a booster every time that the behavior is emitted, but this has a drawback: it leads to satiation; the player gets bored quickly. This is the problem with “too easy” games, in which after a short time you lose interest, even when the player continues to be reinforced.
There is another option, and that is to reinforce intermittently The conduct. That is, instead of reinforcing all behaviors we can make reinforcement be delivered under certain conditions. In everyday life, this is the norm; We do not obtain a reinforcement for each activity we perform, but the reinforcement is presented under certain conditions (for example, a salary is rarely paid for each time we work, but rather we usually get paid every certain number of days or when we reach a certain quota. of production). These conditions are what we call “reinforcement programs.”
Intermittent reinforcement schedules may depend on the number of responses (“reason” programs“), or the elapsed time (“interval” programs). Each type of reinforcement program has its benefits and disadvantages; they are useful under certain situations and not others. In this article we are only going to focus on the characteristics of reason programs.
Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule: In these programs, instead of reinforcing all responses, reinforcement is obtained every certain number of responses. For example, it is reinforced only every 10 responses issued. An everyday example can be found in people who distribute flyers on the street, who have to distribute a certain number of flyers in order to receive their pay. In games, we encounter situations in which we have to complete ten missions (number of responses), to obtain a special item or to go to the next level (booster). All games begin by reinforcing each behavior and then move to a fixed-ratio program that gradually increases the number of responses required. The “gradual” thing is crucial here, since if it were not like that:
When using ratio programs, care must be taken not to increase the required ratio (or, more generally, the difficulty of the task) too soon, otherwise strain of ratio may occur and the subject may stop performing. respond completely.(Domjan, 2010)
This is something that, on purpose or not, we always keep in mind: a sudden increase in difficulty is never imposed on someone who is learning, but rather the difficulty is increased gradually.
These reinforcement programs play an important role in what we commonly call “motivation.” When a person acts within a fixed-ratio reinforcement program in which reinforcement emerges only after a very high number of responses, it is likely that the person will end up abandoning the activity or continue it with great difficulty. Is he…