Exam 4: Instrumental Conditioning

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?

Six-year-old Jack has recently learned to appreciate the value of money, so his father assigns him some simple housekeeping chores to be performed throughout the week. He tells Jack that completion of these chores will earn him an allowance of one dollar every Saturday. Jack rarely completes his chores. From an operant conditioning perspective, which one of the following is most likely to be the reason why Jack is not doing his chores?

Many operant conditioning theorists use the term reinforcement rather than "reward" because:

Three of the following are examples of operant conditioning. Which one is not?

You are giving tennis lessons to a beginning tennis player. Describe how you would teach the proper tennis swing through shaping. Specify: a. A reasonable end result toward which you would work b. A reinforcer you might use c. The specific steps you would take during shaping d. When you would use continuous reinforcement e. When you would use intermittent reinforcement

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.

Mr. Smart tells his students that they can do whatever they want for the first ten minutes of class but must then turn their attention to the day's assignment. The students are delighted with their ten minutes of free time but they don't attend to the assignment when it's time to do so. From an operant conditioning perspective, what mistake has Mr. Smart made?

Nadia is an only child who lives on a ranch that is located many miles from the homes of other children. Although she enjoys being with her peers at school, she is often physically aggressive toward them. School personnel have made many small attempts to curb Nadia's aggression (for example, they have scolded her, kept her in from recess, and put her in a time-out situation) but always without success. They are now thinking about taking more drastic measures. According to the textbook, which one of the following is most likely to be effective?

In each of the following situations, a person is learning through either reinforcement or punishment. Classify each situation as involving one of these four consequences: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, Punishment I, or Punishment II. Then explain why you chose the answer you did. a. Because Danielle fails her math class, she is taken off the school dance squad. b. Joe always does his homework assignments as soon as he gets them so he won't have to worry about them anymore. c. Lisa and Fran are giggling together in the back of the classroom. Their teacher scowls at them. They are embarrassed and shut up. d. A teacher finds that by yelling at her students when they get too rowdy, they will settle down and be quiet for a while. (Focus on what is happening to the teacher.)

When Judy becomes verbally aggressive toward her peers, she is placed in a quiet and boring room for five minutes. The procedure being used here is most commonly known as:

Three of the following statements reflect contemporary perspectives of instrumental conditioning and reinforcement. Which one does not?

Which one of the following is the best example of the Premack principle in action?

Sharon has learned that her language arts teacher answers her questions willingly but that her biology teacher discourages questions. Sharon therefore asks questions in language arts but not in biology. In behaviorist terminology, Sharon is:

Punishment received little attention in the psychological research literature prior to the 1960s, primarily due to the fact that:

Which one of the following accurately describes the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment?

David's mother insists that he vacuum the living room carpet. But when she sees how haphazardly he vacuums (he misses two-thirds of the carpet), she tells him, "Never mind, I'll do it!" David's escape of household chores is:

A school system is concerned that most of its high school students avoid taking mathematics courses because they are afraid of failing. Based on the discussion in the textbook regarding how to deal with avoidance behaviors, three of the following approaches to the problem might be helpful. Which of the following definitely would not help?

Linda wears bell-bottom pants to school, and her classmates tease her about them. As soon as she gets home, Linda throws the pants in the trash. Linda's being teased is an example of:

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 behavior(s) 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

In the middle of a difficult exam, Robert tells his teacher that his stomach hurts, and the teacher immediately sends him to the school nurse. On several later occasions when he has a difficult test or assignment, Robert again tells his teacher that he doesn't feel well. Robert's frequent trips to the nurse have: