Question 1

Food,water,and sexual stimulation are all examples of ________ reinforcers.

Accepted Answer

Primary reinforcers are reinforcers that are naturally reinforcing and do not require any learning. Food, water, and sexual stimulation are all examples of primary reinforcers as they are essential for survival and are inherently rewarding. Secondary reinforcers, on the other hand, are learned reinforcers that acquire their value through their association with primary reinforcers or other secondary reinforcers. Tertiary reinforcers refer to conditioned reinforcers that have been associated with secondary reinforcers. Cue-controlled reinforcers are those that are delivered based on specific environmental cues or stimuli. Therefore, food, water, and sexual stimulation are best categorized as primary reinforcers.

Question 2

Studying for a test to reduce anxiety and fears of failure is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

Studying to reduce anxiety and fears of failure is an example of negative reinforcement because it involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus (anxiety and fear) to increase the likelihood of a behavior (studying).

Question 3

Stimuli that increase the frequency of a behaviour when they are removed are called ________.

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcers are stimuli that increase the frequency of a behavior when they are removed. They involve the removal of an unpleasant or aversive stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated in the future. Positive reinforcers, on the other hand, involve the addition of a pleasant or rewarding stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Punishers and aversive conditioners, in contrast, decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated by adding an unpleasant or aversive stimulus.

Question 4

A scientist rings a bell just prior to presenting meat to the dogs in his laboratory.After several pairings,the dogs begin salivating when the bell is rung,even when no meat is presented.In this study,salivation to the bell is the ________.

Accepted Answer

Salivation to the bell is a conditioned response because it occurs in response to a previously neutral stimulus (the bell) after it has been associated with an unconditioned stimulus (the meat).

Question 5

A scientist rings a bell just prior to presenting meat to the dogs in his laboratory.After several pairings,the dogs begin salivating when the bell is rung,even when no meat is presented.In this study,the bell is the ________.

Accepted Answer

The bell initially had no connection to the dogs' salivation response, but after being repeatedly paired with the presentation of meat (the unconditioned stimulus), the dogs began to associate the bell with the food and started to salivate at the sound of the bell alone. Therefore, the bell became the conditioned stimulus.

Question 6

A scientist rings a bell just prior to presenting meat to the dogs in his laboratory.After several pairings,the dogs begin salivating when the bell is rung,even when no meat is presented.In this study,salivation to the meat is the ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A scientist rings a bell just prior...

Question 7

In ________ conditioning,organisms learn to emit behaviours because of the behaviour's effects.

Accepted Answer

In operant conditioning, organisms learn to emit behaviours because of the behaviour's effects. This means that the consequences of a behaviour influence the likelihood that it will be repeated in the future. In contrast, classical conditioning involves learning associations between two stimuli, such as a bell and the presentation of food. Aversive conditioning involves learning to avoid or escape unpleasant stimuli, and reactive conditioning is not a recognized form of learning.

Question 8

________ reinforcers influence behaviour because they satisfy basic needs.

Accepted Answer

Primary reinforcers are naturally rewarding and can fulfill basic needs such as hunger, thirst, and shelter. These needs are essential for survival and their satisfaction can influence and strengthen behavior. Secondary and tertiary reinforcers are learned and associated with primary reinforcers, and while they can also influence behavior, they rely on the association with primary reinforcers to do so. Cue-controlled reinforcers are those that are only effective when presented in a specific context or situation.

Question 9

A little boy is allowed to play with a laboratory rat and shows no fear of it.Then,a scientist makes a scary noise by banging an iron bar whenever the little boy reaches for the rat.Soon,the boy begins crying whenever the rat comes near him.In this study,the boy's fear of the rat is the ________.

Accepted Answer

The boy initially had no fear of the rat, so it was not an unconditioned stimulus. Likewise, the boy's initial lack of fear was not an unconditioned response. However, after the scientist repeatedly paired the scary noise with the presence of the rat, the boy learned to associate the rat with fear and began crying when it was near him. Thus, the rat became a conditioned stimulus (since it was associated with the scary noise) and the boy's fear was a conditioned response.

Question 10

A scientist gives a rat a food pellet every time it presses a bar.This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement involves adding a desirable stimuli (in this case, a food pellet) after a behavior (pressing the bar) with the goal of increasing the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future.

Question 11

A scientist rings a bell just prior to presenting meat to the dogs in his laboratory.After several pairings,the dogs begin salivating when the bell is rung,even when no meat is presented.In this study,the meat is the ________.

Accepted Answer

The meat is the unconditioned stimulus because it naturally (without prior learning) triggers the salivation response in the dogs.

Question 12

A little boy is allowed to play with a laboratory rat and shows no fear of it.Then,a scientist makes a scary noise by banging an iron bar whenever the little boy reaches for the rat.Soon,the boy begins crying whenever the rat comes near him.In this study,the scary noise is the ________.

Accepted Answer

The scary noise is the unconditioned stimulus because it naturally (without prior conditioning) elicits a response of fear or distress, which in this case is the crying of the little boy when he hears the noise.

Question 13

Changes in the environment that increase the frequency of the preceding behaviour are called ________.

Accepted Answer

Changes in the environment that increase the frequency of a preceding behavior are reinforcers. An operant is a behavior that operates on the environment to produce consequences. Stimuli are any events or objects in the environment to which an organism responds. Punishments are consequences that decrease the frequency of a behavior. Therefore, the correct answer is C) Reinforcers.

Question 14

A little boy is allowed to play with a laboratory rat and shows no fear of it.Then,a scientist makes a scary noise by banging an iron bar whenever the little boy reaches for the rat.Soon,the boy begins crying whenever the rat comes near him.In this study,the rat is the ________.

Accepted Answer

The rat initially did not evoke any fear response from the little boy, so it cannot be the unconditioned stimulus (A) nor the unconditioned response (B). However, after being paired with the scary noise from the iron bar, the rat became the conditioned stimulus (C) that elicited a conditioned response (D) of crying from the little boy.

Question 15

________ reinforcers influence behaviour through their association with established reinforcers.

Accepted Answer

Secondary reinforcers, also known as conditioned reinforcers, are initially neutral stimuli that acquire reinforcing properties by being consistently paired with established or primary reinforcers (such as food, water, or social approval). Over time, they become able to influence behaviour through their association with those more tangible, biologically significant reinforcers. Examples of secondary reinforcers include verbal praise, money, tokens or points in a token economy system.

Question 16

A little boy is allowed to play with a laboratory rat and shows no fear of it.Then,a scientist makes a scary noise by banging an iron bar whenever the little boy reaches for the rat.Soon,the boy begins crying whenever the rat comes near him.In this study,the boy's fear of the noise is the ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A little boy is allowed to play...

Question 17

Money is an example of a ________ reinforcer.

Accepted Answer

Money is considered a secondary reinforcer because it does not satisfy a biological need directly but can be used to obtain primary reinforcers, such as food and shelter.

Question 18

A scientist rings a bell just prior to presenting meat to the dogs in his laboratory.After several pairings,the dogs begin salivating when the bell is rung,even when no meat is presented.This experiment utilizes ________.

Accepted Answer

The experiment described is an example of classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus (the bell) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (the meat) to eventually elicit a conditioned response (salivation) even in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus. Operant conditioning involves learning through consequences of behavior, aversive conditioning involves pairing an unpleasant stimulus with a behavior to decrease the likelihood of that behavior occurring in the future, and systematic desensitization involves gradually exposing a person to a feared stimulus in a safe and controlled setting to reduce their fear or anxiety. None of these methods apply to the described experiment.

Question 19

A parent promises to stop criticizing her son when he behaves in the "correct" manner.This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of negative reinforcement because the parent is removing a negative stimulus (criticism) in response to the son's behavior. By promising to stop criticizing the son when he behaves in the correct manner, the parent is reinforcing the desired behavior by removing a negative consequence.

Question 20

The person most closely associated with operant conditioning is ________.

Accepted Answer

B.F. Skinner is most closely associated with operant conditioning, which involves changing behavior through reinforcement or punishment. While other psychologists, such as Ivan Pavlov, studied classical conditioning, which involves learned associations between stimuli and responses, Skinner focused on the consequences of behavior and how they affect future behavior. Watson is known for his work in behaviorism, but his contributions were more focused on classical conditioning. Bandura is known for social learning theory, which involves modeling and observational learning.

Quiz 1: What Is Abnormal Psychology