Question 1

Mr. Loosigian is worried about Jerri, a girl who is struggling in his seventh grade class. He thinks about several different reasons why she might be having so much difficulty with her schoolwork. Which one of the possible reasons that he considers is consistent with a behaviorist perspective of learning?

Accepted Answer

The behaviorist perspective of learning focuses on observable behaviors and how they're influenced by external stimuli, rather than internal thoughts or feelings. Praising a student when they do something well is an example of positive reinforcement, a key concept in behaviorism, which can increase the likelihood of the desired behavior occurring again.

Question 2

Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are two learning paradigms within the behaviorist tradition. A major difference between these two paradigms is that:

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning involves learning to associate an unconditioned stimulus that already triggers a reflexive response with a new, conditioned stimulus, so that the new stimulus comes to trigger the response on its own. Operant conditioning, on the other hand, involves learning to associate a behavior with its consequences (rewards or punishments), which makes the behavior more or less likely to be repeated. Thus, classically conditioned responses are elicited by specific stimuli, and responses learned through operant conditioning are voluntary because they are based on the consequences of the behavior.

Question 3

A ski instructor is teaching a class of beginning skiers how to do a snowplow turn. She first teaches her students to stand with the fronts of their skis together and the backs of their skis far apart. She then has her students bend their knees slightly and lean forward in this "snowplow" position. After the students can do these two things successfully, the instructor has them add more behaviors to the sequence: gliding across the side of a gentle slope in a snowplow, putting their body weight on the downhill ski, gradually turning downhill, and so on. The instructor praises her students each time they successfully add a new movement to the sequence. In behaviorist terminology, the procedure that the ski instructor is using can best be described as:

Accepted Answer

The procedure being used is chaining, which involves breaking down a complex behavior into smaller, more manageable parts and teaching them sequentially. The behavior is learned through the chaining together of each individual response into a larger sequence of behaviors. The ski instructor is teaching the students each behavior in a step-by-step manner, praising successful completion of each step before moving on to the next one.

Question 4

Six-year-old Jack has recently learned to appreciate the value of money, so his father assigns him some simple housekeeping chores to be performed throughout the week. He tells Jack that completion of these chores will earn him an allowance of one dollar every Saturday. Jack rarely completes his chores. From an operant conditioning perspective, which one of the following is most likely to be the reason why Jack is not doing his chores?

Accepted Answer

The delay in reinforcement (waiting until Saturday) likely weakens the connection between the behavior (doing chores) and the reward (receiving money), making it less effective in encouraging the desired behavior.

Question 5

A child who was once spanked for running into a busy street no longer runs into the street. This can best be explained by which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A child who was once spanked for...

Question 6

Bill's behaviors in Ms. Kennedy's class are really distracting to other students. For example, he whispers to the boy beside him when Ms. Kennedy is giving directions on how to do any assignment. He flings paper clips at a girl across the room. He makes strange grunting noises that a few classmates find amusing. Ms. Kennedy glares at him or admonishes him whenever he behaves in a distracting way, yet his inappropriate behaviors are increasing rather than decreasing. Which one of the following interpretations of this situation best explains why Bill's behaviors are increasing?

Accepted Answer

Bill's behaviors are increasing because he is receiving positive reinforcement for them from Ms. Kennedy. Despite receiving glares and admonishments, his behaviors have not decreased, which suggests that he may be receiving some type of reward or reinforcement for them. It is possible that this reinforcement could be attention from Ms. Kennedy, which is encouraging him to continue behaving in a distracting manner.

Question 7

When Lily is presented with money after many different behaviors  e.g., cleaning her room, getting a good grade or eating her vegetables) she is more likely to perform each of those behaviors. The fact that this single reinforcer i.e., money) can increase many of Lily's behaviors is explained by:

Accepted Answer

Transituational generality refers to the phenomenon where a single reinforcer can increase the likelihood of multiple different behaviors, as seen with Lily's response to money.

Question 8

Note: Both questions refer to the same situation.
-Warren has earned himself a reputation for being the class clown. His teacher, Ms. Washington, used to laugh at Warren's funny remarks, but is now trying to discourage Warren's disruptive behavior by ignoring his jokes. In behaviorist terminology, Ms. Washington is now trying to modify Warren's joke-telling behavior through:

Accepted Answer

Ms. Washington is attempting to use extinction to modify Warren's behavior. Extinction is a behaviorist term that refers to the gradual decrease of a behavior when it is no longer reinforced. In this case, Ms. Washington used to laugh at Warren's jokes, which reinforced his behavior. However, now that she is ignoring his jokes, there is no longer any reinforcement, and Warren's behavior will eventually decrease.

Note: The other options are not applicable in this situation. Stimulus discrimination refers to a behavior that occurs in the presence of certain stimuli but not others. Shaping involves gradually reinforcing behaviors that are closer and closer to the desired behavior, and negative reinforcement involves increasing a behavior by removing an aversive stimulus. None of these apply to Ms. Washington's attempts to modify Warren's behavior.

Question 9

Which one of the following best illustrates Skinner's concept of superstitious behavior?

Accepted Answer

Skinner's concept of superstitious behavior refers to behavior that is reinforced by chance or coincidence, rather than a direct correlation between the behavior and its reinforcement. In this scenario, David's wearing of the Denver Broncos sweatshirt is not directly related to his geography test performance, but he believes it to be due to the coincidence of his recent high scores while wearing it. Therefore, his behavior of wearing the sweatshirt during geography tests is an example of superstitious behavior. The other options do not involve chance or coincidence in the reinforcement of behavior.

Question 10

Which one of the following is a primary reinforcer?

Accepted Answer

A primary reinforcer is something that is naturally rewarding, such as food, water, or sexual satisfaction. Since a cookie is a food item, it qualifies as a primary reinforcer.

Question 11

Mr. Smart tells his students that they can do whatever they want for the first ten minutes of class but must then turn their attention to the day's assignment. The students are delighted with their ten minutes of free time but they don't attend to the assignment when it's time to do so. From an operant conditioning perspective, what mistake has Mr. Smart made?

Accepted Answer

Mr. Smart has presented the "reinforcer" (free time) before the desired response of attending to the assignment. This is known as a response-preceding cue, and it can make it difficult for the students to associate the reward (free time) with the desired behavior (attending to the assignment). This can lead to a lack of motivation to attend to the assignment in the future.

Question 12

Note: Both questions refer to the same situation.
-Ms. Washington tries to ignore Warren when he tells jokes in class. But sometimes Warren tells a joke so funny that Ms. Washington laughs in spite of herself. Rather than decreasing his joke-telling, Warren begins telling even more outrageous jokes. Inadvertently, Ms. Washington is modifying Warren's joke-telling behavior through:

Accepted Answer

Shaping is a process in behavioral psychology where reinforcements are used to guide someone towards a desired behavior. In this scenario, Ms. Washington's occasional laughter serves as a reinforcement, encouraging Warren to tell more jokes, thus shaping his behavior towards telling even more outrageous jokes.

Question 13

Imagine that you want to improve a distractible child's ability to sit still and listen in class. Which one of the following procedures illustrates how you might use shaping to do so?

Accepted Answer

Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior. In this case, sitting still and listening is the desired behavior. By reinforcing the child for sitting still and listening for only a minute at first, and then for progressively longer periods of time, you are shaping the behavior towards the desired outcome. Option A involves explaining the purpose of the behavior, but does not involve shaping. Option B involves inconsistent reinforcement, which may not be effective in shaping the behavior. Option D involves using variable reinforcement, which may be effective, but does not involve shaping the behavior towards the desired outcome.

Question 14

Which one of the following is the best example of a social reinforcer?

Accepted Answer

A social reinforcer involves receiving positive social feedback or attention, such as being told that you did a good job. Getting a new outfit (A) is a tangible reinforcement, being allowed to play basketball (B) is an activity reinforcement, and feeling good about one's actions (D) is an intrinsic reinforcement.

Question 15

David's mother insists that he vacuum the living room carpet. But when she sees how haphazardly he vacuums he misses two-thirds of the carpet), she tells him, "Never mind, I'll do it!" David's escape of household chores:

Accepted Answer

David's behavior (escaping the chore) is negatively reinforced because his mother's decision to take over the task removes the aversive stimulus (the chore itself), making it more likely that David will attempt to avoid or escape chores in the future.

Question 16

Good grades are reinforcing to some children but not to others. Someone explaining this fact from an early operant conditioning perspective would say that good grades are most likely to be reinforcers to children who:

Accepted Answer

According to operant conditioning, a reinforcer is anything that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again. Children who have previously associated good grades with primary reinforcers (such as praise, recognition, or tangible rewards), are more likely to perceive good grades as reinforcing and therefore be motivated to work hard to achieve them. A and B are not necessarily factors in determining whether good grades are reinforcing to a child, and while D may be a factor, it is not the most significant one according to the operant conditioning perspective.

Question 17

Which one of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus following a desired behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future. In this case, Lucas is complaining about a classmate's behavior, and his teacher allows him to avoid the aversive stimulus of being outside in bitterly cold weather. This is an example of negative reinforcement. The other options do not involve the removal of an aversive stimulus to increase a desired behavior.

Question 18

Feedback about one's performance is most likely to be effective when it:

Accepted Answer

Feedback that provides information about how to improve is most effective as it helps the individual identify areas of weakness and provides constructive criticism. Feedback that only describes what the person has done correctly may make them feel good but does not help them improve. Feedback from an authority figure can be effective if given in a constructive manner, and feedback given after a short delay can also be effective as it allows the individual time to reflect on their performance. However, of the four choices given, providing information about how to improve is the most effective option.

Question 19

Thorndike's original law of effect described the ways in which the learning of a response:

Accepted Answer

Thorndike's original law of effect stated that learning of a response is affected by the consequences of that response. The law states that responses that have favorable consequences are more likely to be repeated in the future, while responses that have unfavorable consequences are less likely to be repeated. This concept forms the basis of operant conditioning. The other options are not relevant to the original law of effect.

Question 20

Which one of the following is the best example of intrinsic reinforcement?

Accepted Answer

Intrinsic reinforcement is reinforcement that comes from within oneself, such as pride or satisfaction, rather than from external sources. Feeling good about one's generosity toward a less fortunate classmate is an example of intrinsic reinforcement. The other options involve external rewards or punishments.

Quiz 3: Behaviorist Principles and Theories