Exam 3: Behaviorist Principles and Theories

Martin went to two or three school dances but felt uncomfortable and self-conscious at them. Martin no longer goes to school dances. His lack of attendance is an example of:

A child who was once spanked for running into a busy street no longer runs into the street. This can best be explained by which one of the following?

When Lily is presented with money after many different behaviors e.g., cleaning her room, getting a good grade or eating her vegetables) she is more likely to perform each of those behaviors. The fact that this single reinforcer i.e., money) can increase many of Lily's behaviors is explained by:

Bill's behaviors in Ms. Kennedy's class are really distracting to other students. For example, he whispers to the boy beside him when Ms. Kennedy is giving directions on how to do any assignment. He flings paper clips at a girl across the room. He makes strange grunting noises that a few classmates find amusing. Ms. Kennedy glares at him or admonishes him whenever he behaves in a distracting way, yet his inappropriate behaviors are increasing rather than decreasing. Which one of the following interpretations of this situation best explains why Bill's behaviors are increasing?

After repeatedly being hugged by her father when he comes through the door, Julie begins to smile when she hears a key turning to open the door opening by any person. Julie's behavior can be explained by:

After a painful experience at one dentist's office, Teresa's mother takes Teresa to a different dentist, who takes great care to make her visits painless. Teresa is anxious at first, but after a few visits, Teresa gradually becomes less resistant about going to the new dentist. Teresa's change in behavior can probably best be explained in terms of _____. But then Teresa doesn't go to see the dentist again until three years later. On her first visit to the painless dentist after that time interval, she is anxious once again, even though she had not been anxious in her previous visits. The return of this response after it had previously disappeared is known as _____.

Imagine that you want to improve a distractible child's ability to sit still and listen in class. Which one of the following procedures illustrates how you might use shaping to do so?

Ivan Pavlov conducted a series of studies that led him to propose his theory of classical conditioning. In these studies, Pavlov observed how a dog learned to:

DeeDee is upset that she has been taken off the basketball team because of a failing grade in her history class. The consequence of DeeDee's failure in history is an example of:

Tammy is scolded for submitting a messy math homework paper, so she tries to do her math problems more neatly after that. The scolding Tammy received is an example of:

Mr. Loosigian is worried about Jerri, a girl who is struggling in his seventh grade class. He thinks about several different reasons why she might be having so much difficulty with her schoolwork. Which one of the possible reasons that he considers is consistent with a behaviorist perspective of learning?

Shelby rarely interacts with her peers. She is obviously quite lonely but apparently has no confidence in her ability to make friends. Using a behaviorist perspective, describe how you might help Shelby develop social skills through shaping. In your discussion, be sure to include: a. The specific behaviors) you would shape b. A specific reinforcer you might use, and why you make the choice you do c. The sequence of steps you might take as you shape the desired behavior

At the dentist's office, Teresa has a painful experience that leaves her tense and fearful. The next time her mother brings her to the dentist's office, Teresa begins to get tense and anxious. In this situation, the dentist and dentist's office are _____; Teresa's fear of pain is an) _____.

When Julie's father comes home from work he opens the front door and picks her up to give her a big hug. Before long, Julie starts smiling whenever she hears her father turn his key to open the door. In this situation, Julie's smiling at the sound of her father's key turning in the door is an) _____; the hugging is an) _____.

Stacey dislikes physical education class because her classmates tease her about her lack of strength and coordination. One day Stacey unintentionally hits one of her classmates, and the teacher sends her to the principal's office for the remainder of the class time. Stacey becomes increasingly aggressive in class and so spends more and more time in the principal's office. Use one or more concepts and/or principles from behaviorism to explain why Stacey has become more rather than less) aggressive.

Julie gets very upset when her mother will not let her help her bake cookies. Julie yells at her mother and throws flour all over the kitchen. Julie's mother makes Julie clean up all of the flour and do all of the dishes Julie's mother created from baking the cookies. Her mother's punishment was a form of:

Explain the difference between continuous reinforcement and intermittent reinforcement. When is each most useful?

In the basement of Marcy's college dormitory is a Coke machine that dispenses a can of Coke whenever someone firmly pounds the side of the machine. Marcy is delighted when she discovers this fact, because she can now get Cokes from the machine without having to pay for them. One morning a repairman fixes the machine. The next time Marcy goes to get a soft drink from the machine, she finds that her usual pounding strategy doesn't yield her the Coke she wants. But rather than insert the required coins to purchase a drink, Marcy begins pounding the side of the machine vigorously for several minutes. In behaviorist terminology, Marcy's behavior at this point can best be described as:

Which one of the following is the best example of punishment as behaviorists define it?

Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are two learning paradigms within the behaviorist tradition. A major difference between these two paradigms is that: