Deck 5: Instrumental Conditioning: Nonreward, Punishment, and Avoidance

Question 1

Which of the following is considered to be a nonreward occurrence?

A) avoidance learning
B) punishment
C) omission
D) all of the above

Answer 1

omission

Question 2

Punishment is not considered to be a nonreward event because:

A) it involves more than just withholding reward, as it also includes avoidance
B) to be a nonreward event, a situation must have a negative reinforcement component to it
C) nonreward events do not involve the application of an aversive stimulus
D) omissions only occur during punishment, and not nonreward events

Answer 2

nonreward events do not involve the application of an aversive stimulus

Question 3

Smith is using candy as a positive reinforcer to train his kindergarten class to behave properly. Which of the following scenarios uses omission to accomplish Mr. Smith's goal?

A) when a child behaves poorly he/she is taken out of the classroom
B) to be given candy, children must turn in homework assignments on time
C) candy is only given after a child is given a time-out
D) none of the above

Answer 3

when a child behaves poorly he/she is taken out of the classroom

Question 4

An extinction burst occurs when:

A) spontaneous recovery rates get very high
B) the frequency of a nonreinforced behavior increases
C) the frequency of a nonreinforced behavior decreases
D) spontaneous recovery rates become low

Question 5

Which of the following tends to make extinction difficult to achieve?

A) spontaneous recovery
B) time-out
C) extinction bursts
D) partial reinforcement schedules

Question 6

Professor Smith argues that his rats cannot learn to extinguish their operant responses because extinction trials do not seem radically different than training trials. Professor Smith's argument seemingly supports the:

A) frustration hypothesis
B) sequential hypothesis
C) extinction burst hypothesis
D) discrimination hypothesis

Question 7

The notion that rewarded and nonrewarded trials can be associated together underlies the basic premise of the:

A) frustration hypothesis
B) sequential hypothesis
C) extinction burst hypothesis
D) discrimination hypothesis

Question 8

The effect of a punisher is mediated by:

A) response-consequence contingencies
B) punisher intensity
C) punishment onset
D) all of the above

Question 9

Smith is using punishment to eliminate bad behaviors in his dog. To get the best results, when administering the punishments, Dr. Smith should:

A) use very weak shocks
B) wait until some time has passed since the bad behavior occurred before giving the punishment
C) try to elicit behaviors that are incompatible with his desired response
D) none of the above

Question 10

Spontaneous recovery of a punished behavior is more likely to occur when:

A) a continuous punishment schedule is used
B) punisher intensity is high
C) a partial punishment schedule is used
D) behaviors that are incompatible with a desired punishment response are suppressed

Question 11

Which of the following could occur within a participant during punishment training?

A) aggression
B) conditioned fear
C) masochistic behavior
D) all of the above

Question 12

Providing children with an explanation as to why they're being punished has been found to have no impact on the likelihood of engaging in the punished behavior.

Question 13

A reward can interfere with a punisher when:

A) reward and punishment fail to arouse approach- avoidance conflict
B) a response becomes less resistant to elimination
C) the punishing event becomes a secondary positive reinforcer
D) all of the above

Question 14

After Susie runs away from her mother and into the street, she is almost hit by a passing car. Following this event, Susie's mother punishes her for her behavior. Research shows that:

A) Susie might continue to misbehave, in an even worse maner
B) the punishment might have no effect on Susie
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b

Question 15

Once a person acquires a behavior, that skill will only occur in that specific situation.

Question 16

Self-Injurious Behavior tends to be treated with:

A) reinforcement
B) punishment
C) aversion therapy
D) learned helplessness

Question 17

Skinner's stance of the use of punishment in treating Self-Injurious Behavior (SIB) was that:

A) it should not be done because it is immoral
B) it should not be done because it only reinforces the punisher
C) it should be done if it is brief, harmless, and contingent on SIB
D) it should be done in an intense and painful way, in order to be effective in eliminating the SIB

Question 18

Whenever Billy cries at the supermarket, his mom and dad buy him a candy bar, and find that with each trip to the store, Billy cries more and more. What is happening?

A) Billy's responses are generalizing
B) negative reinforcement
C) masochistic behavior
D) concurrent reinforcement

Question 19

Tom has always gotten in trouble when his mom comes home from work at 4:30 pm each day, because he makes his entire house dirty every day. However, as of yesterday, Tom was no longer punished because at 3:30, he started cleaning the house, and when his mom got home, the mess was gone. What occurred yesterday?

A) escape learning
B) avoidance learning
C) punishment
D) passive avoidance

Question 20

James has found that whenever he talks back to a school bully, the bully leaves him alone, but when he ignores the bully, the bully attacks him. Talking back to the bully would be an example of:

A) active avoidance
B) two-process theory
C) punishment
D) passive avoidance

Question 21

Two-Process theory suggests which of the following procedural orders when training avoidance?

A) instrumental conditioning followed by classical conditioning
B) classical conditioning followed by instrumental conditioning
C) punishment followed by reinforcement
D) passive avoidance followed by active avoidance

Question 22

Which of the following can be found within the context of Two-Process theory?

A) escape learning
B) avoidance learning
C) punishment
D) passive avoidance

Question 23

Eric is trying to teach a pigeon to peck at a lighted pad in order to avoid receiving a shock while in a operant learning chamber, but is finding that the pigeon is having a difficult time learning this association. This problem is expected, according to which theory of avoidance learning?

A) cognitive
B) approach-avoidance
C) functional
D) learned helplessness

Question 24

Due to species-specific defense reactions being innate responses, those behaviors cannot be demonstrated in laboratory settings.

Question 25

Samantha has decided to change her fear of multiple choice exams by altering her expectancies of what will happen to her when she takes such a test. Such an occurrence is a critical element of:

A) active avoidance
B) two-process theory
C) escape learning
D) a cognitive approach to avoidance

Question 26

An approach-avoidance conflict involves:

A) having an approach tendency that is stronger than an avoidance tendency
B) having an approach tendency that is weaker than an avoidance tendency
C) having an approach tendency that is equal to an avoidance tendency
D) not knowing if one should escape or avoid a stimulus

Question 27

Which of the following is characteristic of an avoidance coping style?

A) selective attention
B) intrusion
C) blunting
D) sensitization

Question 28

Which of the following is characteristic of an approach coping style?

A) selective attention
B) repression
C) blunting
D) denial

Question 29

Which of the following is likely to lead to learned helplessness?

A) understanding the contingencies between responses and outcomes
B) experience with uncontrollable stressors
C) active responses in the face of stressful events
D) all of the above

Question 30

A motivational deficit connected to learned helplessness would involve:

A) the development of a psychosomatic illness
B) beliefs in one's eventual failure
C) demonstrating a lack of initiative in making responses
D) understanding that the mind can mediate a physical reaction to a stressor

Question 31

A cognitive deficit connected to learned helplessness would involve:

A) the development of a psychosomatic illness
B) beliefs in one's eventual failure
C) demonstrating a lack of initiative in making responses
D) understanding that the mind can mediate a physical reaction to a stressor

Question 32

Jones is doing research looking into the beliefs and expectancies that one acquires during learned helplessness induction. This work could be said to be indicative which approach to learning?

A) behavioral
B) motivational
C) cognitive
D) physiological

Question 33

Individuals with learned helplessness bear a behavioral similarity to individuals diagnosed with:

A) schizophrenia
B) obsessive-compulsive disorder
C) antisocial personality disorder
D) depression

Question 34

Jon is extremely depressed because he feels that he is responsible for his wife's suicide; he believes that he should have detected warning signs and helped his wife. Jon's thoughts here are illustrative of:

A) a stable attribution
B) an external locus of control
C) an internal locus of control
D) a global evaluation

Question 35

Causal Attribution Theory studies:

A) the beliefs people use to explain why things happen
B) the motivational aspects of clinical depression
C) the manner in which teachers can mediate learned helplessness
D) the influence of one's physical health on their mental status

Question 36

Which of the following is most likely to lead to learned helplessness?

A) confronting and dealing with stressful situations
B) cynicism
C) having an internal locus of control
D) optimism

Question 37

A fully-functioning amygdala is necessary in order for an organism to demonstrate:

A) a fear response
B) learned helplessness
C) the inhibition of fear
D) obsessive-compulsive tendencies