Deck 7: Extension B: Conditioning and Learning

Question 1

Bernice is "potty training" Kenny.First, she allows him to get used to the potty, next she reinforces Kenny for just sitting on the potty, and finally she reinforces Kenny for actually "using" the potty.Bernice is using a procedure called

A)latent learning.
B)vicarious classical conditioning.
C)shaping.
D)intermittent conditioning.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A puppy has begun to cry and bark in order to be let into the house.To extinguish this response, you would

A)let the puppy in the house.
B)ignore the crying, letting the puppy in when quiet.
C)swat the puppy with a newspaper whenever it cried.
D)let the puppy in when it cries, then swat it with a newspaper.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Extinction in operant conditioning involves

A)withholding reinforcement.
B)punishment.
C)test trials.
D)shaping.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A few weeks after giving up on buying state lottery tickets, many people are tempted to try again.This illustrates

A)spontaneous recovery.
B)stimulus generalization.
C)token reinforcement.
D)satiation.

Question 5

Your dog jumps up on you when you get home.You eliminate this behavior by ignoring the dog when it jumps on you.This is called

A)classical conditioning.
B)negative reinforcement.
C)punishment.
D)extinction.

Question 6

A response will eventually disappear if reinforcement is withheld.This procedure is called

A)inhibition.
B)spontaneous fading.
C)extinction.
D)classical conditioning.

Question 7

A series of responses that gradually approach a desired pattern of behavior are called

A)adaptations.
B)gradients.
C)successive approximations.
D)conditioning trials.

Question 8

Stephanie had successfully used extinction to eliminate her son's temper tantrums.However, several weeks later, her son threw another temper tantrum.Stephanie should be advised that

A)she should have used an intermittent punishment schedule to stop the temper tantrums.
B)spontaneous recoveries do occur and to continue ignoring the tantrums.
C)she should have used negative reinforcement to stop the temper tantrums.
D)her child will outgrow the tantrums in a few years.

Question 9

After weeks of successful extinction trials, your pet dachshund suddenly resumes burying bones in the front yard.Your pet therapist advises you that the dog's behavior is an example of

A)token reinforcement.
B)stimulus generalization.
C)spontaneous recovery.
D)satiation.

Question 10

The brief return of an operant response after extinction is known as

A)a token reinforcement.
B)stimulus generalization.
C)a spontaneous recovery.
D)satiation.

Question 11

After the successful extinction of your son's whining for a toy while you are shopping, you go shopping several weeks later and he begins to whine for a toy as if he is "just checking to see if the rules have changed back." This situation illustrates

A)token reinforcement.
B)spontaneous recovery.
C)stimulus generalization.
D)stimulus discrimination.

Question 12

You are a very good skater, but you did not start out that way.Your mother reinforced you for each small improvement you made over several months.This process is known as

A)shaping.
B)latent learning.
C)vicarious classical conditioning.
D)intermittent conditioning.

Question 13

The process through which a response is taught by rewarding successive approximations to the final desired response is

A)extinction.
B)fading.
C)shaping.
D)secondary reinforcement.

Question 14

There is an old story about a young boy who was left to guard the village sheep.He was instructed to cry "wolf" if he thought the sheep were in danger.Even though there was no danger, the boy enjoyed crying "wolf" over and over, just to see the villagers come running.Then, when a wolf did appear, the disbelieving villagers ignored the boy's cry.The failure of the villagers to come illustrates the operant conditioning concept called

A)acquisition.
B)stimulus generalization.
C)partial reinforcement.
D)extinction.

Question 15

If you wanted to train a dog to play the piano, you would most likely use

A)successive approximations.
B)classical conditioning.
C)vicarious conditioning.
D)positive transfer.

Question 16

Through _____, learned responses that are not reinforced gradually fade away.

A)spontaneous recovery
B)intermittent fading
C)counterconditioning
D)operant extinction

Question 17

The weakening or disappearance of learned responses by removing reinforcement is called

A)spontaneous recovery.
B)expiration.
C)counterconditioning.
D)operant extinction.

Question 18

To teach a child to eat spaghetti, you would reinforce initial responses, such as holding the fork, and then increasingly closer approximations to the final response, a procedure known as

A)counter conditioning.
B)secondary conditioning.
C)desensitization.
D)shaping.

Question 19

If the teacher never calls on you when you raise your hand, you will probably stop raising your hand.This decrease in your hand raising due to the teacher ignoring you is an example of

A)negative reinforcement.
B)desensitization.
C)extinction.
D)stimulus generalization.

Question 20

Teaching your cat to turn on the living room lights would best be accomplished by

A)spontaneous recovery.
B)shaping.
C)classical conditioning.
D)extinction.

Question 21

When we remove an unpleasant stimulus by making a response, we are experiencing

A)shaping.
B)extinction.
C)negative reinforcement.
D)positive reinforcement.

Question 22

Because taking a drug reduces withdrawal symptoms, taking the drug is

A)negatively reinforced.
B)positively reinforced.
C)vicariously reinforced.
D)extinguished.

Question 23

Positive reinforcement _____ responding; negative reinforcement _____ responding.

A)increases; increases
B)decreases; decreases
C)increases; decreases
D)decreases; increases

Question 24

Parents report dramatic improvements in their children's behavior (that is, a decrease in negative attention-seeking) when they

A)scold their children for their disruptive behavior.
B)spank their children for their disruptive behavior.
C)ignore all behavior except for the target behavior they wish to reduce and then use a strong aversive punishment.
D)ignore their children's disruptive behavior and praise their child for being quiet or playing constructively.

Question 25

_____ develops when children are ignored for playing quietly, but are given attention in the form of scolding for "showing off," breaking something, or throwing a temper tantrum.

A)Negative shaping
B)Negative attention seeking
C)Negative transference
D)Counterconditioning

Question 26

Which consequence increases the probability that a response will be repeated?

A)punishment
B)response cost
C)non-reinforcement
D)negative reinforcement

Question 27

When Jan helped her mother clean up after her baby brother, Jan's mother praised her daughter for being so thoughtful.Her mother's praise was a _____ for Jan.

A)positive reinforcer.
B)negative reinforcer.
C)primary reinforcer.
D)response cost.

Question 28

Every time you have a cold, you take a cold remedy to get rid of the symptoms.You are taking the medicine because of

A)response cost.
B)extinction.
C)positive reinforcement.
D)negative reinforcement.

Question 29

If you study to achieve an A, you are studying because of _____, while studying to relieve your fear of making an F involves _____.

A)negative reinforcement; positive reinforcement
B)positive reinforcement; negative reinforcement
C)positive reinforcement; punishment
D)primary reinforcement; secondary reinforcement

Question 30

A rat learns to press a bar to turn off a mild shock it is receiving through the floor of its cage.In this case, bar pressing is

A)being classically conditioned.
B)rewarded by negative reinforcement.
C)being learned through punishment.
D)a positively reinforced motor skill.

Question 31

What do positive and negative reinforcement have in common?

A)They both have aversive qualities.
B)They both have pleasant qualities.
C)They both lead to a decrease in response frequencies.
D)They both lead to an increase in response frequencies.

Question 32

When walking outside, your hands get so cold that they hurt.You take a pair of gloves out of your backpack and put them on, ending the pain.Putting on the gloves is

A)negatively reinforced.
B)a form of punishment.
C)positively reinforced.
D)a type of response cost.

Question 33

Negative reinforcement occurs when a response

A)leads to a desirable consequence.
B)leads to the removal of an unpleasant event.
C)leads to an undesirable consequence.
D)is ignored.

Question 34

A _____ is being used when a pleasant or desirable event follows a response.

A)bribe
B)positive reinforcement
C)negative reinforcement
D)conditioned stimulus

Question 35

A politician who irritates you is being interviewed on the evening news.You change channels so you won't have to listen to him.Your channel changing is

A)negatively reinforced.
B)a form of punishment.
C)positively reinforced.
D)a type of response cost.

Question 36

Akia rubbed some cortisone cream on the spot where a mosquito had bitten her and the itching stopped.The next time a mosquito bit her, she reached for the cortisone cream.In terms of operant conditioning, this is an example of

A)positive reinforcement.
B)negative reinforcement.
C)aversive punishment.
D)response cost.

Question 37

You walk out into bright sunlight.You immediately reach in your purse and get your sunglasses.Putting on your sunglasses to escape the sun's bright light is an example of

A)negative reinforcement.
B)positive reinforcement.
C)response cost.
D)aversive punishment.

Question 38

Pattie and Martin tend to ignore their children when their children are playing quietly together, while scolding the children when they whine, cry, and tell on each other.The children's whining and crying will probably increase because the parents used _____ when the children played quietly and _____ when they were whining and noisy.

A)extinction; reinforcement
B)extinction; punishment
C)reinforcement; punishment
D)reinforcement; extinction

Question 39

Negative attention-seeking will develop in some children because

A)punishment is always ineffective and teaches aggression.
B)the parents reward the children's correct social behaviors in only limited situations.
C)punishment was not used to get rid of the negative attention seeking in the children.
D)the children receive attention when they are ill-behaved but are ignored when they are well-behaved.

Question 40

Ms.Campbell gives her students a star for every completed homework assignment.The star serves as a

A)positive reinforcer.
B)negative reinforcer.
C)primary reinforcer.
D)response cost.

Question 41

In its most basic form, response cost can be described as

A)aversive stimulation.
B)negative reinforcement.
C)a removal of a reinforcer.
D)positive reinforcement.

Question 42

Every time you open the refrigerator, walk to a drinking fountain, turn up the heat, or order a double fudge sundae, your actions reflect _____ reinforcers.

A)primary
B)positive
C)secondary
D)generalized

Question 43

A team coach who scolds and benches a player for poor performance is using

A)aversive conditioning.
B)modeling.
C)negative reinforcement.
D)punishment.

Question 44

Food, water, pain reduction, sex, and brain stimulation have in common the fact that all are

A)primary reinforcers.
B)negative reinforcers.
C)secondary reinforcers.
D)generalized.

Question 45

When a teenager loses his phone privileges or is "grounded," the parent is using

A)negative reinforcement.
B)response chaining.
C)response cost.
D)aversive punishment.

Question 46

If the teacher scolds her students for talking and they decrease their talking, the teacher has used

A)negative reinforcement.
B)response cost.
C)aversive punishment.
D)all of these.

Question 47

Negative reinforcement _____ responding; punishment _____ responding.

A)increases; increases
B)decreases; decreases
C)increases; decreases
D)decreases; increases

Question 48

Every time you give advice to a friend, she suddenly turns cold and distant.Lately, you've stopped offering her advice because giving your friend advice has been

A)negatively reinforced.
B)punished.
C)classically conditioned.
D)affected by all of these.

Question 49

If spanking a child decreases the child's misbehavior, the parent has used

A)negative reinforcement.
B)aversive punishment.
C)response cost.
D)all of these.

Question 50

After receiving a ticket for speeding, you stop speeding.The reason you stop speeding is due to

A)positive reinforcement.
B)negative reinforcement.
C)punishment.
D)spontaneous recovery.

Question 51

The best-know form of response cost is _____, in which children are removed from situations that normally allow them to gain reinforcement.

A)time out
B)extinction
C)shaping
D)negative reinforcement

Question 52

Which of the following is an example of response cost?

A)A child is spanked for breaking an expensive vase.
B)A child is grounded for coming in an hour late.
C)A rat learns to run a maze always turning to the right to avoid shock.
D)A woman leaves an abusive marriage in order to save her life.

Question 53

Primary reinforcers can

A)produce comfort.
B)end discomfort.
C)satisfy some biological need.
D)do all of these.

Question 54

Tristan and his brother Ian are fighting over the video game.So, Mom takes the video game system away from them for an hour.Mom has used

A)response cost.
B)aversive punishment.
C)negative reinforcement.
D)extinction.

Question 55

You live in an apartment and your neighbor's stereo is blasting so loudly that your ears hurt.If you pound on the wall and the volume suddenly drops, you are more likely to pound on the wall again if the stereo is loud because you have been _____.However, if you pound on the wall, and the volume increases, you are less likely to pound on the wall because you have been _____.

A)punished; negatively reinforced
B)negatively reinforced; punished
C)positively reinforced; negatively reinforced
D)positively reinforced; punished

Question 56

Any event that follows a response and decreases the likelihood of its occurring again is

A)positive reinforcement.
B)negative reinforcement.
C)punishment.
D)feedback.

Question 57

Preschoolers Jordan and Dennis were throwing sticks at other students on the playground, so their teacher made them sit on the sidewalk for five minutes, taking them away from the fun activities on the playground.Their teacher was using

A)negative reinforcement.
B)intermittent punishment.
C)aversive punishment.
D)response cost.

Question 58

Primary reinforcers are characterized by all of the following EXCEPT

A)being natural and rooted in biology.
B)being developed through learning very early in life.
C)being capable of producing comfort or ending discomfort.
D)with intracranial self-stimulation being one of the most powerful examples of primary reinforcers.

Question 59

Negative reinforcement and punishment

A)have opposite effects on behavior.
B)are different terms for the same procedure.
C)have the same effect on behavior.
D)are not very effective in changing behavior.

Question 60

The presentation of an aversive stimulus or the removal of a positive stimulus are both examples of

A)negative reinforcement.
B)punishment.
C)positive reinforcement.
D)secondary reinforcement.

Question 61

A rat being provided with ICS is wired to deliver electrical stimulation to its own _____ by pressing a bar in a Skinner box.

A)corpus callosum
B)adrenal glands
C)limbic system
D)brainstem

Question 62

A rat being provided with ICS will also self-administer _____.When they do, the rats are even more likely to engage in ICS because this drug further increases the sensitivity of the pleasure pathways in the brain.

A)alcohol
B)nicotine
C)LSD
D)heroin

Question 63

Many natural _____ reinforcers activate the same pleasure pathways in the brain that make ICS so powerful.

A)primary
B)secondary
C)conditional
D)elicited

Question 64

Which of the following might serve as a secondary reinforcer?

A)sex
B)grades
C)food
D)a pain-relieving drug

Question 65

Tokens have reinforcing value because they may be exchanged for primary reinforcers.Thus, they are a type of _____ reinforcer.

A)secondary
B)stimulus
C)second-order
D)negative

Question 66

Regarding the experiments using intracranial self-stimulation (ICS) of the pleasure centers, which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)When rats self-administer nicotine, they are even more likely to engage in ICS because nicotine further increases the sensitivity of the pleasure pathways.
B)After the rats had pressed the ICS lever to exhaustion, they were less likely to press the lever again once they were revived.
C)Humans who have had direct brain stimulation report feeling intense pleasure that is better than food, water, sex, or drugs.
D)Intracranial self-stimulation (ICS) is considered to be a primary reinforcer.

Question 67

Which of the following is NOT a primary reinforcer?

A)intracranial self-stimulation
B)food
C)money
D)sex

Question 68

Praise, approval, affection, and money are considered _____ reinforcers.

A)secondary
B)primary
C)unconditional
D)negative

Question 69

Direct stimulation of "pleasure centers" in the brains of rats can serve as _____ reinforcement.

A)primary
B)secondary
C)negative
D)generalized

Question 70

Which of the following might serve as a secondary reinforcer?

A)ICS
B)praise
C)food
D)a psychoactive drug

Question 71

_____ reinforcers gain their ability to promote learning because they are associated with primary reinforcers or can be exchanged for primary reinforcers.

A)Secondary
B)Stimulus
C)Higher-order
D)Negative

Question 72

A(n) _____ reinforcer is a learned reinforcer that often gains its reinforcing properties by its association with food, water, or sex.

A)primary
B)classical
C)unconditional
D)secondary

Question 73

Which of the following would be considered a primary reinforcer?

A)praise
B)food
C)money
D)attention

Question 74

Secondary reinforcers are originally neutral, but gain their reinforcing properties by being associated with

A)negative reinforcers.
B)positive reinforcers.
C)primary reinforcers.
D)conditional reinforcers.

Question 75

Which of the following would be considered a primary reinforcer?

A)praise
B)attention
C)money
D)psychoactive drug

Question 76

Regarding the experiments using intracranial self-stimulation (ICS) of the pleasure centers, which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)If the reward circuit was not turned off, a rat would ignore food, water, and sex in favor of bar pressing to receive ICS.
B)Some of the rats constantly pressed the lever to get ICS for 15 to 20 hours, collapsing from exhaustion.
C)Psychoactive drugs, such as alcohol and cocaine, activate the same pleasure pathways as ICS.
D)No humans have ever undergone intracranial self-stimulation.

Question 77

Money is to secondary reinforcer as food is to _____ reinforcer.

A)a learned
B)conditional
C)primary
D)negative

Question 78

A reinforcer that becomes reinforcing because it became associated with food would be called a _____ reinforcer.

A)primary
B)classical
C)negative
D)secondary

Question 79

Intra-cranial stimulation (ICS) is a(n)

A)primary reinforcer.
B)form of mind control.
C)experimental method used to study memory.
D)example of classical conditioning.

Question 80

Secondary reinforcers are

A)almost never effective.
B)reinforcing because they fulfill a biological need.
C)innate.
D)learned.