Mind at Play I: unpredictable reinforcement (Loftus and Loftus) 2 Shuen-shing Lee *Unless otherwise...

Mind at Play I: Mind at Play I: unpredictable unpredictable reinforcement reinforcement

(Loftus and (Loftus and Loftus) Loftus)

22Shuen-shing LeeShuen-shing Lee

*Unless otherwise specified, the ideas and *Unless otherwise specified, the ideas and concepts in this ppt are either quoted or concepts in this ppt are either quoted or cited from Loftus and Loftuscited from Loftus and Loftus’’ Mind at Play Mind at Play

Mind at Play I: unpredictable reinforcement Mind at Play I: unpredictable reinforcement (Loftus and Loftus)(Loftus and Loftus)

Mechanics of Reinforcement Mechanics of Reinforcement

• Preparation ＊ Play “Pinball” and “Pac-Man.” Imagine “Pinball” as an arcade game (not purely digital).

＊ Reading material to be available.

PinballPinball1. Press “PLAYER 1”, 2. Use Arrow Key “DOWN” to launch the pinball, 3. Use Ctrl (left) and Shift (right) to 1. Press “PLAYER 1”, 2. Use Arrow Key “DOWN” to launch the pinball, 3. Use Ctrl (left) and Shift (right) to control the two shafts. control the two shafts.

Lee’s RecordLee’s Record

Pac ManPac ManPress “Play Game” to begin.Press “Play Game” to begin.



• 3 cases: an aspiring astronomer, an old woman in a casino, a teenager playing a video game.1 common element: their behaviors dictated by reinforcements (rewards)



• Basic Concepts ＊ Reinforcement is the provision for you of something that you like ＊ Skinner’s box: a rat and pellets as reinforcements (Behaviorism: one of its main concepts is that rewards can exert influence on a subject’s behavior).

Skinner’s BoxSkinner’s Box

A modern version of A modern version of Skinner’s BoxSkinner’s Box



• Schedules of Reinforcement ＊ Continuous reinforcement: The rat gets rewarded each time it presses the lever. This schedule is necessary to get the rat started. ＊ Partial reinforcement: rewards given only now and then.



• Extinction ＊ The Ruth case: a compulsive gambler, who came back to Las Vegas every year to gamble.＊ Extinction: The cessation of playing＊ The extinction period: the length of time it takes for the playing to cease or extinguish. ＊ Variable schedules: the partial reinforcement schedule that leads to the longest extinction periods.＊ 2 types of variable schedules: variable ratio (one in five turns), variable interval (once every ten minutes, with the actual times ranging randomly from once every ten seconds to once every half hour; p17, p19 )



• Reinforcement and Game Design ＊ How to implement reinforcement schedules? ＊ Pinball (the arcade type): difficulty setting is defaulted, invariable. The consequence: it might be too difficult for Daniel but too easy for Dennis. ＊ Video games (the digital type): difficulty levels can be flexibly arranged (progressively difficult). ＊ “ Dynamic adjustments” of difficulty setting: A game offers levels that match a player’s ability after its AI has detected how well a player can perform in the initial rounds of the gameplay (Anders Hejdenberg, “The Psychology Behind Games” ).


Other Aspects of Reinforcement Other Aspects of Reinforcement

• Pac-Man gobbles yellow dots that are worth 10 points each. Why 10 points? Why not 1000 points?

• Magnitude of Reinforcement ＊ The TV game show case:1 dollar < 10 dollars1 million dollars = 10 million dollars ＊ For most people, 1 million dollars and 10 million dollars are psychologically pretty much the same thing—they’re both “very large amounts of money.” This is also the case for Pac-Man: A million points for eating a dot would be not dissimilar from 20 million points for eating a monster.



• Delay of Reinforcement ＊ Instead of saving money which is difficult, many people spend it as soon as they get it, and reinforcement is immediate. ＊ Video games offer instant reinforcement as well (e.g., showing the score change right after you shoot down a target).



• Multiple Reinforcements ＊ Video games offer reinforcements in a variety of ways since different people enjoy different things.

• To Be Continued…

Works for Inspiration IWorks for Inspiration I• Women in art• Girl Power• Preparation: Play both works

Works for Inspiration IIWorks for Inspiration II• Zoom• The Right Number (Part I)• Preparation: Play both works

Works for Inspiration IIIWorks for Inspiration III• Picasso’s paintings• Kabul Kaboom!• Cubic Tragedy• Preparation: Play both works

Picasso, GuernicaPicasso, Guernica

A Detail of GuernicaA Detail of Guernica

Picasso, Picasso, The Weeping WomanThe Weeping Woman

Works for Inspiration IVWorks for Inspiration IV• Surrealistic Paintings, New and Old, II • North West Coast Printmakers• "Freaky Flakes“• Preparation: Play “Freaky Flakes” and

the “Tlingit Nation” section of NWCP

Dali, The Persistence of Dali, The Persistence of MemoryMemory

Sources: TBASources: TBA

Mind at Play I: unpredictable reinforcement (Loftus and Loftus) 2 Shuen-shing Lee *Unless otherwise...

Documents

Transcript of Mind at Play I: unpredictable reinforcement (Loftus and Loftus) 2 Shuen-shing Lee *Unless otherwise...