Question 1

When a stimulus consistently precedes rewarded responses, it tends to elicit a response.When a stimulus consistently precedes non-reward, it tends to inhibit responding.This states the principle of
A) partial reinforcement.
B) variable ratio responding.
C) stimulus control.
D) generalization.

Accepted Answer

This statement describes the principle of stimulus control, which refers to the ability of a stimulus to elicit or inhibit a behavior based on its association with reinforcement or non-reinforcement. Partial reinforcement and variable ratio responding refer to specific schedules of reinforcement, while generalization refers to the tendency for behavior to occur in similar situations to the original learning context.

Question 2

Which of the following terms applies to the observation that responses reinforced in the presence of certain stimuli will occur under similar stimulus conditions?
A) the Premack principle
B) operant stimulus generalization
C) the partial reinforcement effect
D) operant disinhibition

Accepted Answer

Operant stimulus generalization is the phenomenon in which responses that are reinforced in the presence of a certain stimulus will also occur in the presence of similar stimuli. This is often referred to as the "stimulus generalization gradient" and can be graphed as a slope showing the degree of response probability as stimuli become more and more dissimilar to the original reinforcing stimulus.

Question 3

The phenomenon of stimulus control makes it clear that stimuli that affect operant responding
A) are those that elicit a genetically predisposed response.
B) always occur after the response.
C) may occur before the response.
D) are those that satisfy basic biological needs.

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon of stimulus control refers to the idea that stimuli can come to control or influence operant responding by occurring before the response. This suggests that answer choice C, which indicates that stimuli may occur before the response, is the best answer. Answer choice A is incorrect because it suggests that genetic predisposition determines operant responding, which is not always the case. Answer choice B is incorrect because it suggests that the stimuli always occur after the response, which is not true in the case of stimulus control. Answer choice D is incorrect because stimuli that affect operant responding may not always be related to basic biological needs.

Question 4

Concerning the behavioral effects of various consequences, a response that is not followed by a reward will occur less frequently.This defines
A) nonreinforcement.
B) positive punishment.
C) negative reinforcement.
D) respondent conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Nonreinforcement is the absence of a reward or consequence following a response. This lack of reward makes the response less likely to occur in the future. Positive punishment and negative reinforcement both involve consequences being applied to a response, which may increase or decrease the likelihood of the response occurring. Respondent conditioning involves the pairing of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response, which is unrelated to the question of consequences affecting behavior.

Question 5

When a teenager loses his phone privileges or is "grounded," the parent is using
A) negative reinforcement.
B) response chaining.
C) response cost.
D) positive punishment.

Accepted Answer

Response cost is a form of punishment that involves removing a desirable stimulus to decrease a behavior. In this case, taking away phone privileges or grounding a teenager is an example of response cost, as it removes a positive aspect of their environment (access to their phone or freedom) to reduce undesirable behavior.

Question 6

Stimuli that consistently precede a rewarded response tend to influence when and where the response will occur.This is the principle of
A) the partial reinforcement effect.
B) stimulus control.
C) latent learning.
D) the law of effect.

Accepted Answer

Stimulus control refers to the ability of a particular stimulus to elicit a specific response due to its consistent pairing with a reward. This is an important principle in behavioral psychology and is often used in applications such as training animals or teaching new behaviors to humans. The other options listed are not directly related to this principle.

Question 7

Little Cory was disruptive during the family game time, so he was sent to his room.Being sent to "time out" is an example of
A) negative reinforcement.
B) aversive conditioning.
C) positive punishment.
D) response cost.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Little Cory was disruptive during the family...

Question 8

The students have learned to tell when Dr.Morgan is in a "good" mood or not by how she enters the room.If she speaks as she enters the room, it will be a "good" day, but if she puts her books down before she speaks, "watch out." Their ability to anticipate her mood for the day and act accordingly illustrates
A) stimulus control.
B) systematic desensitization.
C) place learning.
D) response chaining.

Accepted Answer

This situation involves stimulus control, as the students are able to predict Dr. Morgan's mood based on her entry behavior, and adjust their own behavior accordingly. Systematic desensitization, place learning, and response chaining are not relevant to the situation described.

Question 9

We pick up phones that are ringing, but rarely answer phones that are silent.This is an example of
A) stimulus generalization.
B) stimulus control.
C) systematic extinction.
D) resistance to extinction.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of stimulus control, as we are more likely to respond to stimuli that have important or relevant meanings to us (such as a ringing phone, which typically signals a call from someone else) than to stimuli that are irrelevant or inconsequential (such as a silent phone, which may be a glitch or a missed call). Stimulus generalization refers to the tendency to respond to similar stimuli in the same way, while systematic extinction is a process of gradually decreasing or eliminating a behavior by withholding reinforcement. Resistance to extinction refers to the persistence of a behavior even when reinforcement is no longer present. None of these concepts fully explain the mentioned scenario.

Question 10

Stimuli effective in the stimulus control of behavior often influence
A) whether a response will occur initially.
B) the frequency a response will occur over long periods of time.
C) the intensity of a response when it does occur.
D) when and where a response will occur.

Accepted Answer

Stimuli that are effective in the stimulus control of behavior help to specify when and where a response will occur. These stimuli act as cues to signal when a behavior should occur, and in what context or location it should be performed. While these cues may also influence the initial occurrence of a response, as well as its intensity and frequency over time, their primary function is to control when and where the behavior occurs.

Question 11

Two important aspects of stimulus control are
A) operant stimulus generalization and operant stimulus discrimination.
B) operant inhibition and operant disinhibition.
C) operant stimulus habituation and operant stimulus dishabituation.
D) operant extinction and spontaneous recovery.

Accepted Answer

Operant stimulus generalization occurs when an organism responds to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus, while operant stimulus discrimination involves the organism learning to distinguish between different stimuli and responding only to the conditioned stimulus. These are key aspects of stimulus control in operant conditioning.

Question 12

Whether we drive our car across an intersection depends on if the traffic light is red or green.This illustrates the principle of
A) stimulus control.
B) operant extinction.
C) stimulus generalization.
D) the partial reinforcement effect.

Accepted Answer

The principle of stimulus control relates to how the presence or absence of a specific stimulus (in this case, a red or green traffic light) affects the likelihood of a behavior (in this case, driving through an intersection).

Question 13

The best-known form of response cost involves children being removed from situations that normally allow them to gain reinforcement, a procedure known as
A) time out.
B) aversive conditioning.
C) negative shaping.
D) negative reinforcement.

Accepted Answer

Response cost involves the removal of a reinforcer after a behavior, and the most common form is time out, where the child is removed from a situation that normally provides reinforcement. Aversive conditioning involves pairing an unpleasant stimulus with a behavior to decrease the likelihood of that behavior, negative shaping involves reinforcing behaviors that are progressively closer to the desired behavior, and negative reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior.

Question 14

Preschoolers Jordan and Dennis were throwing sticks at other students on the playground, so their teacher made them sit on the sidewalk for five minutes, taking them away from the fun activities on the playground.Their teacher was using
A) negative reinforcement.
B) aversive conditioning.
C) positive punishment.
D) negative punishment.

Accepted Answer

The teacher's action of making Jordan and Dennis sit on the sidewalk takes away something desirable (the fun activities on the playground), which is an example of negative punishment.

Question 15

Because Cindy was disruptive during the family game time, she was sent to her room.Being sent to her room and away from the family fun is an example of the behavioral procedure known as
A) time out.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) avoidance learning.
D) negative feedback.

Accepted Answer

Being sent to her room is an example of time out, which is a behavioral procedure used to decrease the frequency of negative behaviors. It involves removing a person from a positive reinforcement situation, in this case, being with the family during game time, so that the negative behavior decreases. Negative reinforcement and avoidance learning would involve increasing a behavior to avoid an unpleasant outcome. Negative feedback may refer to feedback given to improve performance, but it is not directly related to this situation.

Question 16

When Lamont acts silly while his family is watching television, he receives no attention from the family.Lamont's silly behavior decreases due to his family's use of
A) nonreinforcement.
B) positive punishment.
C) negative reinforcement.
D) respondent conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Nonreinforcement is the absence of any consequence following a behavior, which can lead to a decrease in the behavior over time. In this scenario, Lamont's silly behavior is not reinforced by the family's lack of attention, resulting in a decrease in the behavior. Positive punishment involves adding an aversive consequence to decrease a behavior, while negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive consequence to increase a behavior. Respondent conditioning is a type of classical conditioning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a reflexive response. None of these choices accurately describe the situation with Lamont's behavior.

Question 17

Each time the owner of an aquarium turns on the aquarium light, the fish gather in the corner in which he routinely places food.Because he always turns the light on before feeding the fish, their actions demonstrate
A) spontaneous recovery.
B) extinction.
C) stimulus control.
D) resistance to extinction.

Accepted Answer

The fish have learned that the turning on of the light is the cue for feeding time, so their behavior of gathering in the corner is a result of stimulus control. This behavior is not a result of spontaneous recovery, extinction, or resistance to extinction.

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of response cost?
A) A child is spanked for breaking an expensive vase.
B) A teenager is grounded for coming in an hour late.
C) A rat learns to run a maze always turning to the right to avoid shock.
D) A woman leaves an abusive marriage in order to save her life.

Accepted Answer

Response cost refers to the removal of a positive stimulus following a behavior in order to decrease the likelihood of that behavior occurring in the future. Grounding a teenager for coming in late removes the positive stimulus of freedom or social interaction, which fits the definition of response cost.

Question 19

Tristan and his brother Ian are fighting over the video game.So, Mom takes the video game system away from them for an hour.Mom has used
A) response cost.
B) aversive conditioning.
C) negative reinforcement.
D) positive punishment.

Accepted Answer

Response cost involves removing a desirable item or privilege (in this case, the video game system) as a consequence of undesirable behavior (fighting), which is what Mom did.

Question 20

A rat in a Skinner box is going through several training sessions where the light that illuminates the box is alternately turned on and off.When the light is on, a bar press will produce food.When the light is off, bar pressing goes unrewarded.We soon observe that the rat presses vigorously when the light is on and ignores the bar when the light is off.This illustrates
A) stimulus control.
B) systematic extinction.
C) stimulus generalization.
D) a resistance to extinction.

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates stimulus control, which is when a behavior is influenced by the presence or absence of a specific stimulus. In this case, the light serves as the controlling stimulus for the rat's bar pressing behavior.

Quiz 6: Conditioning and Learning.

When a stimulus consistently precedes rewarded responses, it tends to elicit a response.When a stimulus consistently precedes non-reward, it tends to inhibit responding.This states the principle of

Which of the following terms applies to the observation that responses reinforced in the presence of certain stimuli will occur under similar stimulus conditions?

The phenomenon of stimulus control makes it clear that stimuli that affect operant responding

Concerning the behavioral effects of various consequences, a response that is not followed by a reward will occur less frequently.This defines

When a teenager loses his phone privileges or is "grounded," the parent is using

Stimuli that consistently precede a rewarded response tend to influence when and where the response will occur.This is the principle of

Little Cory was disruptive during the family game time, so he was sent to his room.Being sent to "time out" is an example of

We pick up phones that are ringing, but rarely answer phones that are silent.This is an example of

Stimuli effective in the stimulus control of behavior often influence

Two important aspects of stimulus control are

Whether we drive our car across an intersection depends on if the traffic light is red or green.This illustrates the principle of

The best-known form of response cost involves children being removed from situations that normally allow them to gain reinforcement, a procedure known as

Preschoolers Jordan and Dennis were throwing sticks at other students on the playground, so their teacher made them sit on the sidewalk for five minutes, taking them away from the fun activities on the playground.Their teacher was using

Because Cindy was disruptive during the family game time, she was sent to her room.Being sent to her room and away from the family fun is an example of the behavioral procedure known as

When Lamont acts silly while his family is watching television, he receives no attention from the family.Lamont's silly behavior decreases due to his family's use of

Each time the owner of an aquarium turns on the aquarium light, the fish gather in the corner in which he routinely places food.Because he always turns the light on before feeding the fish, their actions demonstrate

Which of the following is an example of response cost?

Tristan and his brother Ian are fighting over the video game.So, Mom takes the video game system away from them for an hour.Mom has used