Deck 5: Instrumental Conditioning: Foundations

Question 1

Which of the following is typical of a discrete trial procedure?

A) A hungry rat makes a choice between plain food and food enhanced with a sweetener in a T-maze.
B) A monkey pushes a lever to watch an electric train.
C) A thirsty pigeon pecks a key to gain access to water.
D) A hungry rat moves a rod to earn a food pellet.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following would most likely be used in a discrete trial procedure?

A) licking water from a tube to gain access to food
B) pressing a lever to gain access to food
C) running down a runway to gain access to food
D) pushing a rod to gain access to food

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

A) Stella changes the oil in her car to avoid engine seizure.
B) Mark hits his little brother because the brother broke Mark's bike.
C) Suzie cries after losing the card game.
D) Ed gets a gold star because he didn't act out.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Shaping depends on which of the following?

A) the variability of behavior
B) nonreinforcement of the target response
C) continued reinforcement of early response forms
D) delivering the reinforcer only for responses that exceed any previous response

Question 5

The cats in Thorndike's puzzle boxes were able to escape more quickly over successive trials.Thorndike interpreted this performance change to reflect

A) stimulus-outcome learning.
B) stimulus-stimulus learning.
C) stimulus-response learning.
D) response-outcome learning.

Question 6

According to the law of effect,which of the following elements is not a component of the conditioned association?

A) stimulus
B) outcome
C) response
D) All of the above are involved.

Question 7

Pigeons have a baseline gape response of 10-15 mm.In order to shape the gape response for a wider opening,the first reinforcers should be delivered when the pigeon opens its mouth _____.

A) every time
B) 10 mm
C) 15 mm
D) 16 mm

Question 8

Which of the following is true of an operant response?

A) Response speed determines outcome.
B) Pushing a lever with a paw and pushing a lever with the snout are equivalent.
C) Licking a water spout and pushing a response lever are equivalent.
D) Licking a water spout and chewing a food pellet are equivalent.

Question 9

Your dog is sitting quietly in the front yard when an intruder approaches.As you would hope,the dog begins to bark vigorously and the intruder runs away.The dog's barking is an example of

A) sensitization.
B) elicited behavior.
C) goal directed behavior.
D) It cannot be determined with the given information.

Question 10

When shaping the behavior of an organism,you must

A) reinforce all responses.
B) set each criterion so that at least some of the existing responses are reinforced.
C) set each criterion so that only the response forms that exceed existing responses are reinforced.
D) set each criterion so that most of the existing responses are reinforced.

Question 11

A positive contingency between a response and an appetitive stimulus is also known as

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) punishment.
D) omission training.

Question 12

In a discrete trial procedure,the researcher can measure all of the following except

A) response rate.
B) running speed.
C) food preference.
D) latency to leave the start box.

Question 13

A positive contingency between a response and an aversive stimulus is also known as

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) punishment.
D) omission training.

Question 14

The frog jumping contest is fast approaching.Your jumper has a maximum leap of 5 feet,far less than needed for a win.In order to train your frog to jump farther,you should begin by giving it a fly when it jumps _____.

A) any distance
B) 4'11"
C) 5'1"
D) 5'

Question 15

Magazine training involves which of the following?

A) reinforcement of successive approximations
B) non-reinforcement of earlier response forms
C) classical conditioning
D) All of the above

Question 16

Which of the following is an example of punishment?

A) Dora is sent to her room without dessert because of her poor manners.
B) Steve has his mouth washed out with soap for swearing.
C) Bobby is not allowed to buy cigarettes because he is too young.
D) All of the above

Question 17

Your sister's hamster keeps escaping from its cage.On the first day,it took the hamster 14 hours to escape,but by the second week,the hamster could only be confined for 30 minutes before it worked its way to freedom.According to Thorndike's theory,

A) the stimulus of the cage has become associated with the desire to be free.
B) the stimulus of the cage has become associated with the jumping necessary to gain freedom.
C) the hamster jumps in order to gain freedom.
D) the hamster "operates" on its environment to gain freedom.

Question 18

A negative contingency between a response and an aversive stimulus is also known as

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) punishment.
D) omission training.

Question 19

The major advantage of free-operant methods over discrete trial procedures is that

A) the animals learn more quickly.
B) free operant methods provide the opportunity to observe changes in the likelihood of behavior over time.
C) free operant methods can reveal an animal's preferences.
D) free-operant methods involve S-S learning, but discrete trial procedures involve S-R learning.

Question 20

Which of the following is an example of positive reinforcement?

A) receiving a time-out instead of a spanking
B) turning off the radio when the DJ plays a song you dislike
C) going out to dinner after winning an award
D) faking illness to avoid school in the morning

Question 21

An important aspect of instrumental conditioning is that

A) there are no limitations on the types of new response dimensions that may be modified by instrumental conditioning.
B) there are no limitations on the types of new behavioral units that may be modified by instrumental conditioning.
C) relevance relations occur in instrumental conditioning.
D) the type of behavior that develops does not depend on reinforcer characteristics.

Question 22

According to behavioral systems theory,instinctive drift is a product of

A) stereotypy.
B) the components of the system activated by the conditioning procedure.
C) negative reinforcement components.
D) differential reinforcement of other behaviors.

Question 23

In a study where pigeons were reinforced only if the pattern of pecks delivered to two keys was different from the previous 50 patterns,researchers determined that

A) reinforcement increases stereotypy.
B) behavioral variability can be the basis for instrumental reinforcement.
C) reinforcement decreases intrinsic motivation.
D) reinforcement decreases originality.

Question 24

Which of the following is true of the nature of the instrumental reinforcer in conditioning procedures?

A) The quality of the reinforcer is important, but not the quantity.
B) The quantity of the reinforcer is important, but not the quality.
C) Neither the quality nor quantity of the reinforcer is important.
D) Both the quality and quantity of the reinforcer are important.

Question 25

Which of the following is not true about behavioral variability?

A) Reinforcement inevitably decreases behavioral variability.
B) Behavioral variability can be the basis for instrumental reinforcement.
C) Reinforcement can increase or decrease originality.
D) Pigeons will generate novel pecking patterns if novelty is reinforced.

Question 26

The competition between natural responses and the responses required by the experimenter sometimes leads to the development of behaviors that interfere with an animal making an instrumental response.The development of these behaviors is called

A) stereotypy.
B) differential variability.
C) instinctive drift.
D) behavioral systems.

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of omission training?

A) Wanda cannot play with her friends because she was out too late yesterday evening.
B) Robert takes out the garbage to stop his roommate's nagging.
C) Billy sleeps late to avoid taking his history final.
D) Ellie stops crying when she gets a lollipop.

Question 28

Brenda steals Kelly's car because Kelly went to Europe without her.This is an example of

A) avoidance.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) punishment.
D) omission training.

Question 29

Sometimes,removing a stimulus after some response increases the occurrence of that response.This is an example of

A) punishment.
B) omission training.
C) positive reinforcement.
D) negative reinforcement.

Question 30

With some difficulty,a raccoon was trained to place a single coin in a piggy bank,but when the trainer attempted to train the raccoon to place two coins in the bank,the raccoon rubbed the coins together for minutes on end,and would not drop the coins.This is an example of

A) instinctive drift.
B) stereotypy.
C) sensitization.
D) differential variability.

Question 31

In some instances,removing a stimulus after some response decreases the occurrence of that response.This is an example of

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) omission training.
D) punishment.

Question 32

Thorndike determined that with extensive training,cats will open their mouths in order to gain release from a puzzle box,but will not give a bona fide yawn.This is an example of

A) proactive interference.
B) belongingness.
C) retroactive interference.
D) stereotypy.

Question 33

According to the text,an unpleasant outcome is technically termed which of the following?

A) punishment
B) averse stimulus
C) positive reinforcement
D) negative reinforcement

Question 34

A rat in a Skinner box receives a food pellet every fifth time it pushes the response lever.This is an example of

A) punishment.
B) differential reinforcement of other behavior.
C) positive reinforcement.
D) negative reinforcement.

Question 35

Lyle leaves the theater because the music in the show he is watching is too loud.This is an example of

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) punishment.
D) omission training.

Question 36

The difference between punishment and negative reinforcement is that

A) punishment increases the target response, while negative reinforcement decreases the target response.
B) punishment decreases the target response, while negative reinforcement increases the target response.
C) in punishment, the target response terminates the aversive stimulus.
D) in negative reinforcement, the response increases the likelihood of the aversive stimulus.

Question 37

A negative contingency between a response and an appetitive stimulus is also known as

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) punishment.
D) omission training.

Question 38

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is a type of

A) punishment.
B) omission training.
C) escape.
D) avoidance.

Question 39

Ralph only gets to watch television in the afternoons if he doesn't hit his sister.Otherwise,he must spend the afternoon in his room.This is an example of

A) differential reinforcement of other behavior.
B) avoidance training.
C) punishment.
D) negative reinforcement.

Question 40

Behavioral systems theory assumes which of the following?

A) Because of behavioral variability, the types of responses that develop in a conditioning procedure are unpredictable.
B) Because of stereotypy, the types of responses that develop in a conditioning procedure are predictable.
C) Because we know the system activated, the types of responses that develop in a conditioning procedure are predictable.
D) Because of instrumental constraints, the types of responses that develop in a conditioning procedure are unpredictable.

Question 41

Which of the following is an example of a response reinforcer relationship with good contingency but weak temporal contiguity?

A) sending sweepstakes coupons to the clearinghouse
B) putting a sandwich in the microwave to heat
C) mailing three cereal box tops to receive a plastic toy
D) being burned by a hot stove

Question 42

Subjects exposed to inescapable shock in the exposure phase of a learned helplessness experiment typically show slowed escape learning during a later conditioning phase.However,if during the conditioning phase their escape responses are marked by an external stimulus,they show little disruption of their escape learning.This suggests that

A) animals can perceive the contingency between their behavior and the delivery of a reinforcer.
B) animals learn to be inactive in response to inescapable shock during the exposure phase.
C) animals pay less attention to their actions due to inescapable shock.
D) animals perseverate in their responses following inescapable shock.

Question 43

The periodicity of terminal responses is best explained by

A) instinctive drift.
B) species-typical responses that reflect the anticipation of reward.
C) species-typical responses that reflect other sources of motivation when food is unlikely.
D) superstitious behavior.

Question 44

Dave the Druid makes a sacrificial offering of wine to the sun every 365 days.Each time he does so,the sun rises over the same stone.Dave believes pouring wine over the stone causes the sun to rise there because he has made a mistake in the _____ component of the response reinforcer relationship.

A) temporal contiguity
B) belongingness
C) contingency
D) timing

Question 45

Steve anxiously taps his pencil on his desk every day at 11:50.By 11:55 he is licking his lips.Assuming lunch is always served at noon,what,according to behavioral systems theory,best explains his pencil tapping behavior?

A) adventitious reinforcement
B) superstitious behavior
C) species-typical responses that reflect other sources of motivation when food is unlikely
D) early components of foraging behavior

Question 46

The decreased responding for an unfavorable reward because of prior experience with a better outcome is called

A) positive contrast.
B) negative contrast.
C) stereotypy.
D) negative interference.

Question 47

Closer examination of Skinner's superstition experiment revealed that what appeared to be idiosyncratic behaviors was/were really

A) instinctive drift.
B) terminal and interim responses.
C) pseudoconditioning.
D) positive and negative reinforcers.

Question 48

In the triadic design of learned helplessness experiments,subjects in group R that are restricted to the apparatus in the exposure phase show _____ avoidance learning in the conditioning phase.

A) slow
B) rapid
C) no
D) unpredictable

Question 49

Graduate students are barely given enough money to buy noodle soup.When they finish their degrees they jump at the chance to work for a university for pauper's wages.The universities are able to keep the salaries low and still have plenty of applicants because of

A) positive contrast.
B) negative contrast.
C) simultaneous contrast.
D) stereotypic contrast.

Question 50

Two groups of rats were trained to navigate a runway for food.One group earned a single food pellet,the other received three pellets.What will happen when they are both shifted to a situation in which they earn the alternative reward?

A) Rats that initially received the small reward will run faster for the larger reward than the rats that initially received the large reward did.
B) Rats that initially received the large reward will run faster for the small reward than the rats that initially received the small reward did.
C) Rats that initially received the small reward will run more slowly for the large reward than the rats that initially received the large reward did.
D) The two groups will now run at approximately the same speed.

Question 51

The elevated responding for a favorable reward resulting from experience with a less attractive outcome is called

A) proactive belongingness.
B) positive contrast.
C) negative contrast.
D) retroactive belongingness.

Question 52

Jeff always wears red socks on test days because he believes they allow him to earn good grades.Skinner would attribute this behavior to

A) a positive response-reinforcer contingency.
B) adventitious reinforcement.
C) interim reinforcement.
D) terminal reinforcement.

Question 53

Which of the following is a conditioned reinforcer?

A) money
B) food
C) shelter
D) saccharin

Question 54

Suzie thought that earning $6.00 an hour for flipping burgers was great money when she was in high school.Now,after she lost her $20,000 a year job as a flight technician,she isn't even considering returning to her old job at Burgers R Tasty.She is demonstrating

A) positive contrast.
B) negative contrast.
C) instinctive drift.
D) simultaneous contrast.

Question 55

Which of the following is not a conditioned reinforcer?

A) giving gold stars to someone
B) keeping someone warm
C) telling someone "that's the way"
D) giving a good grade to someone

Question 56

According to behavioral systems theory,the periodicity of interim responses is best explained by

A) species-typical responses that reflect other sources of motivation when food is unlikely.
B) early components of foraging behavior.
C) adventitious reinforcement.
D) pseudoconditioning.

Question 57

A delay in the delivery of a reinforcer after the target response is likely to disrupt conditioning because

A) animals have poor memories.
B) animals keep responding during the delay.
C) animals have attentional difficulties.
D) animals expect responses to lead to reinforcers.

Question 58

Rats in a box were reinforced for rearing behavior.One group received a food pellet 60 seconds following each rear.For another group,each rear was followed immediately by a tone,and then 60 seconds after the rearing,a food pellet was delivered.What do you think happened?

A) The tone group's learning was disrupted in comparison to the non-tone group's learning.
B) The tone group's learning was facilitated in comparison to the non-tone group's learning.
C) Both groups showed rapid and relatively equal acquisition of rearing behaviors.
D) Neither group learned rearing behavior, because of the time delay.

Question 59

According to Skinner,superstitious behavior is due to

A) an accidental positive response-reinforcer contingency.
B) interim reinforcement.
C) terminal reinforcement.
D) adventitious reinforcement.

Question 60

Which of the following is not an alternative explanation to the learned helplessness hypothesis?

A) Animals can perceive the contingency between their behavior and the delivery of a reinforcer.
B) Animals learn to be inactive in response to shock during the exposure phase.
C) Animals pay less attention to their actions due to inescapable shock.
D) Animals perseverate in their responses following inescapable shock.

Question 61

What are the differences between negative reinforcement and punishment? Between escape and avoidance?

Question 62

Describe how you would go about training a dog to open a refrigerator to fetch a can of soda.Make sure to include the details of the magazine training and shaping.

Question 63

What was the purpose of Skinner's superstition experiment? What were the results,and how have those results been reinterpreted?

Question 64

Describe alternative explanations of the learned helplessness effect.

Question 65

What factors contribute to the effectiveness of an instrumental reinforcer?

Question 66

Which of the following is thought in part to have helplessness as a mechanism of its development?

A) panic attacks
B) depression
C) schizophrenia
D) dissociative disorders

Question 67

What are the similarities and differences between positive and negative reinforcement?

Question 68

What is meant by belongingness in instrumental conditioning? How does belongingness contribute to animal "misbehavior" in learning situations?

Question 69

Compare positive and negative response-reinforcer contingencies.How do these contingencies contribute to the classification of instrumental conditioning procedures?

Question 70

Imagine that a friend of yours has committed a faux pas at your dinner party.Rather than embarrass your friend with an immediate correction,you wait until the party is over.Why is this not likely to alter your friend's behavior? What could you have done to improve the chances that a correction administered after the party would change the behavior?

Question 71

Compare discrete-trial and free-operant methods of instrumental conditioning.What are the advantages of each class of procedure? What factors would influence your choice of procedure type if you were to explore instrumental behaviors?

Question 72

Compare and contrast free-operant and discrete-trial methods for the study of instrumental behavior.

Question 73

The most prominent area to which the concept of helplessness has been applied in human behavior is the study of

A) panic attacks.
B) depression.
C) schizophrenia.
D) dissociative disorders.

Question 74

What is the learned-helplessness effect? Describe two competing explanations of the effect.

Question 75

Compare the evidence for behavioral variability and stereotypy.What evidence is there that variability can be conditioned?

Question 76

What are the effects of a delay of reinforcement on instrumental learning and what causes these effects?

Question 77

How can one measure instrumental behaviors? What are the indicators that learning is taking place?

Question 78

What is the current thinking about instrumental reinforcement and creativity,and what is the relevant experimental evidence?