PSYCH 105 Ch. 6 Part 2 (Punishment & Reinforcement)

Imagine that you graphed the cumulative number of bar-press responses over time of four rats, each reinforced on a different one of the four schedules of intermittent reinforcement. Each rat’s behavior is graphed on a separate line. The line with the greatest slope should be that displaying the behavior of the rat reinforced on the _____ schedule.

variable-ratio

As part of a behavior modification program, Kendra and her partner each agree to praise the other if she completes her assigned household chores by the end of the day. Such praise is an example of:

secondary reinforcement and positive reinforcement.

A variable-interval schedule is a schedule:

by which the time between reinforcements fluctuates around some average rather than being fixed.

The process of teaching complex behavior by reinforcing ever closer approximations of the desired behavior is called:

shaping

Which of the following is an example of negative punishment?

Informing an employee that he has been demoted because of a poor job evaluation.

Which of the following is not a disadvantage of punishment?

It tends to change behavior very slowly.

Reinforcers that satisfy a biological need are called _____ reinforcers.

primary

Which of the following types of consequences is CORRECTLY matched with an example?

Positive punishment – Laurel’s mother yells at her when Laurel takes $20 from her mom’s purse

The term reward is synonymous with:

positive reinforcement only.

Which of the following is an example of a secondary reinforcer?

Money

Learning by watching the behavior of another person, or model is known as _____.

observational learning

A(n) _____ is a mental representation of spatial locations and directions.

cognitive map

Observational learning is based in part on the activity of _____ neurons in the brain.

mirror

Four-month-old Simon quickly learns that he will be picked up if he cries. From a behaviorist perspective, picking up Simon whenever he cries is a ________ for the baby.

positive reinforcer

Gary takes his car to the auto shop for routine maintenance every 3,000 miles. He is trying to avoid a major repair bill in the future. His behavior demonstrates

negative reinforcer

What principles of learning do behavior modification programs rely on in order to help people change?

Operant

Kevin used to cry, whine, throw temper tantrums, and eventually start screaming in the department store whenever he wanted a toy. His mother would resist initially but when he would start screaming she would give in. Eventually, Kevin started with the screaming to get his toy. Kevin is demonstrating

the law of effect

For the past month, Larry has been grounded each time he hits his little brother. Lately, Larry’s misbehavior toward his little brother has decreased. Grounding Larry is an example of

negative punishment

In Sweden, it is illegal for parents to spank their children. Since the laws were passed, youth rates of crime have

remained the same.

Melvin is a new fifth-grade teacher. Unfortunately, many of his new students have a history of failing to complete their assignments. He wants to encourage his students to complete all of their assignments and to do well on them. From a behavioral perspective, Melvin should

reinforce gradual approximations to the desired goal of completing 100% of the assignments.

One reason Carlos continues to work at his job is the check he receives every two weeks. Carlos’ paycheck is a _____ reinforcer.

secondary

A fixed-ratio schedule is a schedule:

by which reinforcement is given only after a specific number of responses are made.

A privately funded program pays low-income parents $50 every two months for each child who attends school regularly during that period. This incentive illustrates a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

fixed-interval

Which of the following promotions exemplifies the use of a fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement?

A café offers its customers a punch card. Each time a patron purchases a beverage, a hole is punched; when ten holes are punched, the patron receives a free beverage.

Which of the following approaches to treating a phobia is/are CORRECTLY matched with the type of learning it reflects?

Reinforcing client directly by interacting with the feared object – operant conditioning

_____ learning occurs without reinforcement.

Latent

Which of the following is an example of positive punishment?

Getting scolded

A worker is paid $25 for every 20 wind chimes that she builds. On which schedule of reinforcement is she being paid?

Fixed-ratio

Josh has a crush on the girl at the movie rental store. He knows that she works every Thursday afternoon, so he only visits the store on Thursdays. Josh is operating on a ________ schedule.

Fixed interval

Mary is a teacher in an inner-city school that is considered "at-risk" because of low student achievement scores. She notices that most of the students believe that academic ability or intelligence is a fixed, innate ability. What can Mary expect from students given this mind-set?

They will exhibit learned helplessness in academically challenging situations.

The root of operant conditioning may be traced to _____’s early studies of hungry cats learning to escape from cages.

Thorndike

Operant conditioning most importantly involves forming associations between:

behavior and consequences.

Which of the following does not accurately reflect a distinction between classical and operant conditioning?

Classical conditioning applies to voluntary behavior, while operant conditioning applies to involuntary behavior.

Which of the following scenarios exemplifies negative reinforcement?

Vanna fastens her seatbelt as soon as she gets in her car to stop the annoying alert sound.

Which of the following types of consequences is CORRECTLY matched with an example?

Negative reinforcement – Jeff puts up his umbrella when it starts to sprinkle so he won’t get wet

"Responses that lead to satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated." This is the law of:

effect.

The cognitive learning concept of _____ learning is associated most prominently with _____.

latent; Tolman

Recall Tolman’s latent learning experiments in which rats learned to run a maze. What was the critical result?

Rats that began to receive an incentive halfway through the experiment rapidly matched the performance of rats that had been reinforced from the beginning of the experiment.

Little Henry knows that when he goes shopping with Mommy and throws a tantrum, he never gets a treat. However, he also knows that if he throws a tantrum when Dad takes him, Dad always gives in. Little Henry is demonstrating

discrimination

Tolman demonstrated that rats can learn to run a maze correctly even though they were never reinforced for successfully running through it. This demonstrated the phenomenon of

latent learning

_____ punishment consists of the removal of something pleasant.

Negative

Negative reinforcement:

increases the likelihood that preceding behaviors will be repeated.

Shirley refuses to put her name up for a promotion because she knows she will not get the job anyway. This is an example of

learned helplessness

Cecil turns off all the lights in his house to avoid a huge electric bill. Cecil’s behavior is an example of

negative reinforcement

Matt wants to train his dog, Buster, to sit on command. He gives Buster a doggie biscuit each time Buster sits when commanded, but only for the first 10 trials. He then changes the rules. Buster now has to sit on command three times before he gets a biscuit. Matt first used a ________ schedule, and then a ________ schedule to train Buster.

continuous reinforcement schedule; fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement

Fred’s parents are very inconsistent. Most of the time Fred climbs on the furniture without receiving any reprimands; however, sometimes he is punished for this behavior. Fred’s parents cannot understand why he is not a better behaved child. Fred’s parents are reinforcing his negative behaviors on a ________ schedule.

partial reinforcement

Some bears kept in captivity allow veterinarians to routinely give them total body checkups. These bears open their mouths for teeth cleaning and present their paws for nail clipping. Your friend wonders how anyone could ever get these dangerous animals to be so cooperative without anesthesia. From your study of psychology, you quickly surmise that the bears have undergone an extensive ________ program.

shaping

Behavior that is reinforced every time it occurs is said to be on a(n) _____ reinforcement schedule

continuous

Dr. Simonelli is a practicing behavior analyst. What does she do?

She specializes in behavior modification techniques.

Sheryl makes pleasant small talk and pays her boss a compliment before asking for a personal day, because such a strategy was successful with a few of her previous bosses. This example most clearly illustrates:

stimulus generalization

A variable-ratio schedule is a schedule:

by which reinforcement occurs after a fluctuating number of responses rather than after a fixed number.

Kayla is selling her Girl Scout cookies in the neighborhood. She never knows how many houses she will have to visit before she sells all of her cookies. Kayla is operating on a ________ schedule.

variable ratio

_____ weakens a response through the application of an unpleasant stimulus.

positive punishment

In operant conditioning

the consequences of behavior produce change in the probability of the occurrence of the behavior.

Which of the following is NOT associated with Skinner?

Conditioned stimulus

David earns $1,000 every time his sales reach $100,000. For David, the bonus is an example of ________ reinforcement.

positive

On the way home from work, you decide to explore a side street that you have passed on several occasions. You are surprised to find that it runs parallel to the expressway. Several weeks later, there is a major accident on your usual travel route so you take this alternate route home. This is an example of ________ learning.

latent

Which process determines whether or not an imitated or modeled act will be repeated?

Reinforcement

Nature is to nurture what _____ reinforcers are to _____ reinforcers.

primary; secondary

Ewan is convinced that a woman across the bar is "sending signals." A learning theorist would term such signals:

discriminative stimuli.

Carol gives her dog, Oscar, a treat each time he sits on command. Carol is using a ________ schedule to train her dog to sit on command.

continuous reinforcement

If, through experience, you come to the conclusion that all things are beyond your control and therefore you should not even try, you are exhibiting

learned helplessness

A(n) _____ reinforcer refers to the removal of an unpleasant stimulus, putting on a sweater when your cold for example, which leads to an increase in the probability that a preceding response will be repeated in the future.

negative

Which of the following is the response most parents give when asked why they physically punish their children?

The parent was spanked as a child and his or her child also needs strong discipline.

The process by which a stimulus increases the likelihood that a preceding behavior will be repeated is called:

reinforcement

Which of the following is a primary reinforcer?

Candy

A worker is paid $25 for every 20 wind chimes that she builds. On which schedule of reinforcement is she being paid?

Fixed ratio