Exam 21: Operant Conditioning

For operant conditioning to be most effective, when should the reinforcers be presented in relation to the desired response?

Airline frequent flyer programs that reward customers with a free flight after every 50,000 miles of travel illustrate the use of a ________ schedule of reinforcement.

B. F. Skinner believed that teaching machines could promote effective learning because they allow for both

Mr. Byrne can't understand why scolding his seventh-grade students for disruptive classroom behaviors makes them more unruly. Explain Mr. Byrne's predicament in terms of operant conditioning principles. Show how he could use operant conditioning techniques to (a) reduce disruptive behaviors and (b) increase cooperative behaviors.

Asking women for dates is most likely to be reinforced on a ________ schedule.

Putting on your coat when it is cold outside is a behavior that is maintained by

Psychologists define learning as the process of

Watching the night sky for shooting stars is likely to be reinforced on a ________ schedule.

If the onset of a light reliably signals the onset of food, a rat in a Skinner box will work to turn on the light. In this case, the light is a ________ reinforcer.

Alex learned how to make 3-point basketball shots by successfully making very short shots before shooting from increasingly longer distances from the hoop. This learning strategy best illustrates the process of

Studies suggest that criminal behavior is most likely to be deterred by

Giving a hungry rat food for pressing a bar before the rat has a chance to engage in other incidental behaviors like running or scratching best illustrates

A learned association between two stimuli is central to

According to B. F. Skinner, human behavior is controlled primarily by

The introduction of a pleasant stimulus is to ________ as the withdrawal of a pleasant stimulus is to ________.

In distinguishing between negative reinforcers and punishment, we note that

Primary reinforcers could best be described as

Blake is a carpet installer who wants to be paid for each square foot of carpet he lays rather than with an hourly wage. Blake prefers working on a ________ schedule of reinforcement.

Which of the following is an example of reinforcement?

Punishment is a controversial way of controlling behavior because