Deck 2: The Experimental Analysis of Behavior

Question 1

In terms of the reversal design and behavioral experiments:

A) The B-phase is the experimental manipulation
B) The A-phase is called the baseline
C) All of these
D) The design is used in single-subject experiments

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The variable manipulated by the experimenter is the ____ and the measured effect is the ______.

A) Dependent; independent
B) Extraneous; dependent
C) Independent; dependent
D) Independent; extraneous

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Baseline sensitivity means that:

A) Behavior is sensitive to both high and low doses of drug
B) Behavior is sensitive to a high dose of drug
C) Behavior is sensitive to a low dose of drug
D) Behavior is sensitive to stimuli that accompany the drug dose

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A(n) _________ refers to all of the forms of a behavior that have a similar function.

A) Response class
B) Operant
C) Reinforcement history
D) Respondent

Question 5

Which of the following would be an example of an abolishing operation (AO) for eating?

A) Food deprivation
B) Smelling rancid meat
C) A "closed" sign on a restaurant
D) Putting a lock on the fridge

Question 6

The term _____ refers to behavior that is elicited and the term _____ refers to behavior that is emitted:

A) Operant; respondent
B) Reflexive; flexible
C) Respondent; operant
D) Flexible; reflexive

Question 7

When stimuli vary physically but have a common effect on behavior they are part of the same _______.

A) Stimulus response
B) Reinforcement class
C) Stimulus class
D) Environment

Question 8

The way an individual chooses to turn on a light switch is an example of _______ of response. This is determined by the function and consequences.

A) Cognition
B) Instinct
C) Topography
D) Reflex

Question 9

Demonstrating a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables requires that:

A) A covariation exists (correlation) between the two variables
B) Changes in the independent variable come before changes in the dependent variable
C) Both a covariation exists between the variables and changes in the independent variable comes before changes in the dependent variable
D) Either a covariation exists between the two variables or the change in the independent variable came before changes in the dependent variable (but not both)

Question 10

Conditioned emotional responses that include an increase in heart rate, perspiration, or a change in blood pressure are examples of ______.

A) Instincts
B) Respondents
C) Learning
D) Operants

Question 11

In terms of behavior-environment relations, establishing operations:

A) Increase momentarily responses that have produced reinforcement
B) Increase the momentary effectiveness of reinforcement
C) Are used to construct the foundations of behavior
D) Both (a) and (b)

Question 12

In terms of the Stroop effect, behavior analysts point to _____ and _____ as reasons for hesitation:

A) Response competition; learning
B) Learning; reinforcement
C) History of reinforcement; memory
D) Response competition; history of reinforcement

Question 13

In functional analysis, positive and negative reinforcers are examples of:

A) Stimulus classes
B) Conditioned stimuli
C) Response classes
D) Unconditioned stimuli

Question 14

The presence of trend in baseline measures:

A) Refers to a systematic rise or decline of the baseline values
B) Can be helpful when inferring that an independent variable has produced an effect
C) Is problematic when the treatment is expected to produce a change in the direction of the trend
D) Is characterized by both (a) and (b)

Question 15

When considering a baby's babbling being reinforced by the parent so the child will ultimately be able to produce language, attempts at speech are ______ behavior.

A) Operant
B) Respondent
C) Reflexive
D) Instinctual

Question 16

Functional analysis involves classifying behavior according to _____, and analyzing the environment in terms of _______.

A) Response functions; stimulus functions
B) Stimulus functions; attributes
C) Consequences; response functions
D) Attributes; consequences

Question 17

_________ are events, settings, and situations that come before operant behavior and increase its probability.

A) Reinforcers
B) Operants
C) Discriminative stimuli
D) Respondents

Question 18

Any stimulus (or event) that follows a response and increases its frequency is said to have:

A) A discriminant function
B) A conditioned-stimulus function
C) A consequence function
D) A reinforcement function

Question 19

In terms of finding an object that is missing or hidden:

A) A behavioral account points to a particular history of reinforcement
B) Both a structural account points to stages of development and object permanence and a behavioral account points to a particular history of reinforcement
C) The form or structure of behavior is used by behavior analysts to infer mental stages
D) A structural account points to stages of development and object permanence

Question 20

Negative reinforcers:

A) Increase behavior when present
B) Decrease behavior when present
C) Decrease behavior when removed
D) Increase behavior when removed

Question 21

Frank tested the effect of posted signs on recycling behavior by: (1) observing how much waste was recycled in a normal week, (2) posting signs that encouraged recycling for a week, and (3) removing the signs and observing for a final week. What type of research design would this be?

A) A-B reversal design
B) A-B-A reversal design
C) A-B-A-B reversal design
D) Single-subject reversal design

Question 22

Which of the following would likely be the best research question to address using an A-B-A-B reversal design?

A) The effect of extra credit on time spent studying for an exam
B) The effect of motivational interviewing on suicidal thoughts
C) The impact of teacher praise on reading fluency
D) The influence of social skills training on peer interactions

Question 23

Leslie (2011) conducted work on the effects of drugs on extinction and learning. Leslie believes that this work may provide an animal model for better understanding and treating:

A) Schizophrenia
B) Multiple Sclerosis
C) Alzheimer's Disease
D) Social phobias

Question 24

Max conducted a study in which he moved the recycling bin in the hallway close to the classroom door for a week and then a week with the recycling bin about 10 feet from the door of the classroom. The trash bin remained constant at about 5 feet from the classroom door. At the end of each day, Max measured the amount of recycling in the bin. What is the dependent variable for this study?

A) The location of the recycling bin
B) The location of the trash can
C) The amount of trash in the regular garbage
D) The amount of trash in the recycling bin

Question 25

The reversal phase of an A-B-A-B study is an example of:

A) An indirect replication
B) A dependent variable
C) Negative reinforcement
D) A direct replication

Question 26

A researcher examined the possibility that additional recess time would increase the number of math facts learned over a one-month period. The procedure tested this hypothesis using a first-grade classroom with extended recess time and a second-grade classroom with regular recess time. In this study, the amount of recess time would be considered:

A) The independent variable
B) The dependent variable
C) A confound
D) The research hypothesis

Question 27

Which of the following behavior would least likely belong to the same response class as the other three behaviors?

A) Opening the door to the refrigerator
B) Lighting a candle
C) Turning on the television
D) Changing the temperature on the air conditioner

Question 28

A unique benefit of steady baselines for behavioral neuroscientists interested in the effects of drugs on behavior is that:

A) They demonstrate experimental control
B) They allow researchers to feel more confident about findings
C) They help to demonstrate a causal relation between variables
D) They allow for the detection of effects of small doses of a drug

Question 29

A researcher reports that a classroom where students received points that could be exchanged for extra recess time whenever they completed math practice problems saw an average increase of five completed homework problems per child per day compared to baseline. In terms of evaluating the effectiveness of this program, the researcher would most likely focus on:

A) Changes in level of response
B) Changes in the range of variability
C) Changes in immediacy
D) Changes in trend

Question 30

When evaluating the immediacy of change in order to determine experimental control, behavioral analysts recommend using the last ______ sessions of baseline and the first _________ sessions of the treatment phase.

A) 3; 3
B) 2; 4
C) 4;2
D) 3; 5

Question 31

A behavior analytic explanation of improved performance on an eye test by someone who recently explained that vision is important to their work (compared to someone who did not make such a statement) might include all of the following except:

A) The individual's past history of reinforcement
B) Possible motivating operations
C) Possible social reinforcers in the testing context
D) Reference to mental-sets

Question 32

Frances woke up this morning with a horrible toothache. While at work, she avoids interactions with her coworkers. When asked by a work friend if everything is okay, Frances tells her that it hurts too much to talk to people, so she is trying to stay away from people. In this situation, the toothache is most likely a:

A) Discriminative stimulus
B) Motivating operation
C) Negative punisher
D) Negative reinforcer

Question 33

Which of the following is not one of the conditions tested by Iwata and associates (1994) in their functional analysis of the cause of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in children with developmental disabilities?

A) Peer interaction
B) Academic demands
C) Alone time
D) Play time

Question 34

Providing TSA baggage screeners with a monetary bonus for each contraband item that they find in the baggage they are screening would most likely cause problems by increasing the rate of:

A) Misses
B) False alarms
C) Hits
D) Correct rejections

Question 35

A behavior analytic explanation of the Stroop effect would likely rely on:

A) Competition for limited cognitive resources
B) A conflict between automatic reading and the meaning of the word
C) Response competition between the multiple elements of the stimulus
D) A failure of selective attention

Question 36

Shabani, Carr, and Petursdottir (2009) found that children trained to respond to buttons associated with different response efforts but the same reinforcer would respond first to the lowest-effort response, then to the medium-effort response option, and finally the high-effort response option, when the reinforcer was no longer delivered. This is an example of:

A) Respondent behavior
B) An abolishing operation
C) A motivating operation
D) A response hierarchy

Question 37

Max heard about a study in class where researchers reduced the number of pieces of candy taken by trick-or-treaters by placing a mirror behind the bowl of candy. In order to demonstrate the generality of this finding, Max is now running a study where he is testing the effect of a mirror placed behind a trash can on the number of recyclable items placed in the trash receptacle. Max's study is an example of:

A) Direct replication
B) Systematic replication
C) A reversal design
D) Statistical groups design

Question 38

A researcher examined the possibility that additional recess time would increase the number of math facts learned over a one-month period. The procedure tested this hypothesis using a first-grade classroom with extended recess time and a second-grade classroom with regular recess time. In this study, the number of math facts learned over one month would be considered the:

A) The independent variable
B) The dependent variable
C) A confound
D) The research hypothesis

Question 39

Which of the following research questions would be the most difficult to address using a reversal design?

A) Evaluating the impact of posted signs on cell phone usage at a library
B) Evaluating the effectiveness of a reading program on a child's reading ability
C) Evaluating the effectiveness of an anti-smoking campaign
D) Evaluating the effectiveness of a sales-competition on the performance of a salesperson

Question 40

Which of the following was not identified as a major problem with a structural approach to studying behavior?

A) Structural approaches do not actually explain the development of the behavior
B) Structural approaches often rely on circular explanations of behavior
C) Structural approaches do not typically involve direct observation of behavior
D) Structural approaches use behavioral observations to make inferences about internal states/stages