Question 1

Secondary reinforcers differ from primary reinforcers in that secondary reinforcers ________.

Accepted Answer

Primary reinforcers, such as food and water, inherently satisfy physical needs. Secondary reinforcers, such as praise or money, do not inherently satisfy physical needs but acquire reinforcing value through association with primary reinforcers or other secondary reinforcers.

Question 2

A reinforcer is a consequence that ________ a behavior, while a punisher is a consequence that ________ a behavior.

Accepted Answer

A reinforcer is a consequence that strengthens a behavior by increasing the likelihood of it being repeated in the future. On the other hand, a punisher weakens a behavior by decreasing the likelihood of it being repeated in the future. Therefore, the best choice is D - strengthens for reinforcer and weakens for punisher.

Question 3

A ________ reinforcer, such as money or praise, typically gets its value through an association with a(n) ________ reinforcer.

Accepted Answer

A secondary reinforcer, like money or praise, gains its value through association with a primary reinforcer, which is naturally reinforcing, such as food or comfort.

Question 4

Positive reinforcement is to ________ as negative reinforcement is to ________.

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement involves presenting good results to encourage behavior, while negative reinforcement involves removing aversive stimuli to encourage behavior.

Question 5

Which of the following is a secondary reinforcer?

Accepted Answer

A secondary reinforcer is a stimulus that becomes reinforcing only after being paired with a primary reinforcer or another previously established secondary reinforcer. In this case, a gold star would only become reinforcing to the individual after being paired with the primary reinforcer of praise or approval from others. Water, food, and shelter are primary reinforcers because they are biologically necessary for survival and do not require pairing with another stimulus to be reinforcing.

Question 6

Of the following, ________ would serve as a primary reinforcer for most people.

Accepted Answer

Food is a primary reinforcer because it fulfills a basic physiological need for survival. Praise, money, and attention are secondary reinforcers that acquire their value through association with a primary reinforcer or through social learning. While these may be reinforcing for many people, they are not universally primary reinforcers.

Question 7

Kelsey just told her family a really funny joke that she made up herself. In order to use a secondary reinforcer to encourage her to keep telling jokes, Kelsey's dad might ________.

Accepted Answer

Applauding is a secondary reinforcer because it is a learned form of praise that encourages behavior.

Question 8

Fred is afraid of spiders. He won't even watch a nature show on TV about them. When he sees a picture of a spider, he has a panic attack, but when he avoids looking at the image, his panic goes away. Fred's avoidance of spiders is being ________.

Accepted Answer

Fred's avoidance of spiders is negatively reinforced because his behavior (avoiding looking at pictures of spiders) is rewarded by his anxiety going down. By avoiding the stimuli (spiders), Fred has successfully removed the source of his anxiety and his anxiety decreases as a result. This serves as a reward for his behavior, making it more likely that he will continue to avoid spiders in the future.

Question 9

A Skinner box is most likely to be used in research on ________.

Accepted Answer

A Skinner box, also known as an operant conditioning chamber, is used to study the principles of operant conditioning. It allows researchers to study animal behavior in response to specific consequences (reinforcements or punishments) after a particular behavior. Therefore, the best choice is B, operant conditioning.

Question 10

Kelsey just told her family a really funny joke that she made up herself. In order to use a primary reinforcer to encourage her to keep telling jokes, Kelsey's dad might ________.

Accepted Answer

A primary reinforcer is something that is naturally reinforcing, such as food or drink. Offering a piece of candy is a primary reinforcer because it satisfies a biological need.

Question 11

When Joe thinks about his sorely missed girlfriend, he drinks alcohol, which helps dull his feelings. This BEST illustrates:

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement is when a behavior is strengthened by the removal or avoidance of an aversive stimulus. In this case, the aversive stimulus is Joe's emotional pain caused by missing his girlfriend, and drinking alcohol removes or numbs that feeling, thereby reinforcing the behavior of drinking.

Question 12

A negative reinforcer is a stimulus that is ________ and thus ________ the probability of a response.

Accepted Answer

A negative reinforcer is a stimulus that is removed after a response, which increases the likelihood of that response occurring again in the future.

Question 13

The fact that dopamine amplifies some signals and mutes others in the ________ suggests that it is part of the process of reinforcement in the brain.

Accepted Answer

The nucleus accumbens is a key brain region involved in the processing of reward and reinforcement. Dopamine released in this region amplifies some signals and mutes others, which is thought to play a role in the reinforcement of certain behaviors or stimuli.

Question 14

A grandmother gives her grandchild a cookie because the child cleaned her room. What is the cookie in this example?

Accepted Answer

The cookie serves as a positive reinforcer as it increases the likelihood of the child cleaning her room in the future. Positive reinforcement is a consequence that strengthens a behavior by adding a pleasant stimulus. In this case, the pleasant stimulus is the cookie, and its delivery following the desired behavior (cleaning the room) increases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated in the future.

Question 15

Bill hates to clean up after dinner. One night, he volunteers to bathe the dog before cleaning up. When he finishes with the dog and returns to the kitchen, his wife has cleaned everything up for him. Which of the following statements is most likely TRUE?

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior is strengthened by the removal or avoidance of an aversive stimulus. In this case, Bill's aversive stimulus was cleaning up after dinner. By offering to bathe the dog instead, he avoided the aversive stimulus, and his wife cleaned up for him. Therefore, his wife's actions have negatively reinforced Bill's behavior of bathing the dog.

Question 16

Given its role in either amplifying or decreasing the intensity of different types of signal inputs, ________ is the neurotransmitter that may be involved in the process of reinforcement.

Accepted Answer

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that is commonly associated with reinforcement and reward. It is released in the brain when there is an expectation of a reward, and its release reinforces the behavior that led to the anticipated reward. Additionally, drugs that increase dopamine release are often associated with addictive behaviors due to their reinforcing properties.

Question 17

________ is an example of a primary reinforcer, whereas ________ is an example of a secondary reinforcer.

Accepted Answer

A primary reinforcer is one that is naturally reinforcing, such as food, water, or physical touch. A cupcake would fall under this category. 
A secondary reinforcer, on the other hand, is one that gains its reinforcing properties through its association with a primary reinforcer or other already established secondary reinforcers. For example, a certificate of achievement given to a student would be considered a secondary reinforcer because it becomes reinforcing only because of its association with the primary reinforcers of praise or a sense of accomplishment.

Question 18

Under what circumstances will a reinforcer make the target response more likely to occur again?

Accepted Answer

A reinforcer, whether positive or negative, increases the likelihood of a response occurring again by either adding a desirable stimulus or removing an aversive one.

Question 19

In operant conditioning, ________ is necessary to create the association between the stimulus and the repetition of a voluntary response.

Accepted Answer

Reinforcement is necessary in operant conditioning to create the association between the stimulus and the repetition of a voluntary response. Reinforcement strengthens the likelihood of a behavior being repeated in the future. The other options do not directly relate to creating this association.

Question 20

A ________ reinforcer is any reward that satisfies a basic, biological need, such a hunger, thirst, or touch.

Accepted Answer

Primary reinforcers are the ones that come naturally to an individual and satisfy their basic biological needs without any learning or conditioning. Hunger, thirst, and touch are all examples of primary reinforcers, making option A the best choice. Negative and positive reinforcers are unrelated to biological needs, and secondary reinforcers are those that have been learned through association with primary reinforcers.

Quiz 5: Learning