Question 1

The best way to differentiate operant conditioning from classical conditioning is to decide if the

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning involves voluntary behaviors followed by consequences to modify the behavior, while classical conditioning involves associating an involuntary response with a stimulus.

Question 2

The law of effect was proposed by

Accepted Answer

Edward Thorndike proposed the law of effect, which suggests that behaviors followed by positive outcomes are likely to be repeated, while those followed by negative outcomes are less likely to be repeated.

Question 3

How might a child raised in the city learn to fear snakes and respond emotionally to mere pictures of them?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How might a child raised in the...

Question 4

Which of the following types of associative learning is also known as instrumental learning and can be used to alter your own behavior and the behavior of pets, children, and other adults?

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental learning, involves learning through the consequences of behavior, which can be used to modify one's own behavior as well as that of pets, children, and other adults.

Question 5

The basic principle of which type of learning states that acts that are followed by a positive consequence tend to be repeated?

Accepted Answer

The basic principle of operant conditioning, a theory developed by B.F. Skinner, states that behaviors followed by positive consequences are more likely to be repeated. This form of learning involves consequences that reinforce or punish behavior, thereby influencing the likelihood of that behavior's occurrence in the future.

Question 6

The learned expectancy in classical conditioning is that the

Accepted Answer

In classical conditioning, the learned expectancy is that the Unconditioned Stimulus (US) will follow the Conditioned Stimulus (CS). This is the fundamental principle where a neutral stimulus (CS) becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus (US) to elicit a conditioned response.

Question 7

Which of the following types of learning is strengthened each time a response is followed by a satisfying state of affairs and weakened if the response is followed by an unsatisfying state of affairs?

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning is the type of learning that is strengthened when a response is followed by a satisfying outcome and weakened when followed by an unsatisfying outcome. This learning process involves an association between a behavior and a consequence.

Question 8

In Thorndike's law of effect, events critical for conditioning

Accepted Answer

Thorndike's law of effect states that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend to be repeated, while those followed by unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeated. This implies that the critical events (consequences) occur after the response.

Question 9

A child learns to be afraid of spiders by observing his parents' highly emotional and negative response to them. This demonstrates

Accepted Answer

This is an example of vicarious classical conditioning, where the child learns to respond emotionally to a stimulus (spiders) by observing someone else's (the parents') emotional response to it, without having a direct negative experience with the stimulus themselves.

Question 10

Operant conditioning focuses on how

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning, a concept developed by B.F. Skinner, emphasizes that behavior is influenced by the consequences that follow it. Positive or negative reinforcement and punishment are key components in shaping behavior through operant conditioning.

Question 11

A dog is much more likely to keep searching for food under a pillow if it finds food there, but the dog will likely stop looking there if it fails to find food, or finds something frightening. This illustrates __________ conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning involves learning through the consequences of behavior, such as rewards and punishments. Finding food under a pillow (a reward) increases the likelihood of the behavior (searching there) being repeated, while not finding food or finding something frightening (punishments) decreases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated.

Question 12

A child watches other children wince with pain as they receive hypodermic injections. Although the child has never received an injection, he responds emotionally when a needle is brought near him. His reaction is an example of

Accepted Answer

The child's emotional response to the needle, despite never having received an injection themselves, is learned through observing others' reactions. This is an example of vicarious classical conditioning, where an individual learns to respond emotionally to a stimulus by observing others' emotional responses to that stimulus.

Question 13

The learned expectancy in operant conditioning is that the

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning involves learning that a specific behavior (response) will lead to a particular outcome (effect). This contrasts with classical conditioning, where the focus is on the association between stimuli.

Question 14

A parent is trying to increase the time his child spends studying by giving the child a baseball card for each hour he studies. The child does not increase or decrease his study time. This story illustrates the difference between

Accepted Answer

Rewards are given with the intention of encouraging a behavior, but reinforcers are stimuli that actually lead to an increase in the targeted behavior. In this case, the baseball cards are intended as rewards but do not function as reinforcers since they do not increase the child's study time.

Question 15

If you give a child her favorite licorice candy for doing well in school, and she continues to do well in school, the licorice candy is

Accepted Answer

The licorice candy acts as both a reward and a reinforcer. It is a reward because it is given in response to the child's good performance in school, and it is a reinforcer because it increases the likelihood that the child will continue to perform well in school to receive more candy.

Question 16

In which type of learning do we associate responses with their consequences?

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning is the type of learning where an individual's behavior is modified by its consequences; the behavior might be strengthened by a reinforcer or diminished by a punisher.

Question 17

Responding is reliably increased by

Accepted Answer

Reinforcers are stimuli that increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated, making them more reliable in increasing responding compared to rewards, which may not always function as reinforcers.

Question 18

Which psychologist developed a conditioning apparatus for animals and provided various practical applications of operant conditioning?

Accepted Answer

B.F. Skinner developed the operant conditioning chamber, also known as the Skinner box, which is used to study animal behavior and provided various practical applications of operant conditioning.

Question 19

In operant conditioning, any event that reliably increases the probability or frequency of the response it follows is called a(n)

Accepted Answer

A reinforcer is defined as any stimulus that increases the likelihood of a preceding behavior to occur again by either presenting a pleasant stimulus or removing an unpleasant one. This is a fundamental concept in operant conditioning, a type of learning where behaviors are influenced by their consequences.

Question 20

Rajesh tells his new joke to three different people, and each one of them laughs. Because telling the joke led to laughter, which Rajesh enjoys, he will be more likely to tell this joke to other people. This situation illustrates

Accepted Answer

The situation illustrates the law of effect, which states that behaviors followed by positive outcomes are more likely to be repeated in the future. Rajesh's experience of receiving laughter (a positive outcome) after telling his joke increases the likelihood that he will tell the joke again.

Quiz 6: Conditioning and Learning