Question 1

If a pigeon is allowed to peck at the switch in order to receive food whenever it chooses, this is an example of which type of paradigm?

Accepted Answer

A)  learning 
B)  free-operant 
C)  operational conditioning 
D)  discrete trial

Question 2

Which statement demonstrates the use of a token economy to encourage good behavior in school children?

Accepted Answer

A)  giving children praise whenever they are behaving well 
B)  making children stay after school when they misbehave 
C)  awarding children successively more privileges for longer periods of good behavior 
D)  awarding children points for good behavior, which they can exchange at the end of the day for small toys

Question 3

Indicate which schedule of partial reinforcement (FR, VR, FI, or VI) is being used in the following example: A soccer player makes a goal on average of every 20 attempts. Explain the selected choice.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Indicate which schedule of partial reinforcement (FR,...

Question 4

Children may misbehave in order to get the attention that is associated with being punished. In this example, the attention serves as _____ for misbehavior.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 5

Suppose one's roommate has gotten into the bad habit of talking whenever the roommate is trying to study. The roommate decides to ignore this habit. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

A)  extinction. 
B)  distancing. 
C)  reinforcement of alternative behaviors. 
D)  delayed reinforcement.

Question 6

If an individual is restricted from performing a specific behavior, in an attempt to make an opportunity to perform this behavior more enticing, the use of the restricted behavior as a reinforcer is known as:

Accepted Answer

A)  free-operant paradigm. 
B)  response deprivation. 
C)  operant conditioning. 
D)  classical conditioning.

Question 7

Drugs that block opioid receptors:

Accepted Answer

A)  have been shown to be ineffective in treating addictions. 
B)  have been shown to be effective for the short-term treatment of addictions. 
C)  seem to be effective for treating behavioral addictions but not drug addictions. 
D)  seem to be effective for treating drug addictions but not behavioral addictions.

Question 8

Which is an example of a primary reinforcer?

Accepted Answer

A)  money 
B)  praises 
C)  grades 
D)  food

Question 9

In the case of Thorndike's cats learning to escape from a puzzle box, the stimulus (S) was _____ and the response (R) was _____.

Accepted Answer

A)  their movements that opened the door; escaping and getting food 
B)  escaping and getting food; the box 
C)  the box; their movements that opened the door 
D)  escaping and getting food; their movements that opened the door

Question 10

If a little boy can hear his mother moving around in the kitchen downstairs in the morning, he can be fairly certain that it is time to get up and have his breakfast. The discriminative stimulus in this example is the:

Accepted Answer

A)  breakfast. 
B)  sounds of his mother moving around. 
C)  little boy. 
D)  kitchen.

Question 11

According to the law of effect, which circumstance would lead to a weakening of the association between stimulus and response?

Accepted Answer

A)  giving candy to a whining child 
B)  grounding a teenager for staying out too late 
C)  giving a child $1 for doing well on a spelling test 
D)  taking a painkiller to get rid of a headache

Question 12

Discuss the evidence suggesting that dopamine is involved in reinforcement.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the evidence suggesting that dopamine is...

Question 13

Carlita used to get nervous whenever she has to travel by airplane. Recently, her friend taught Carlita some deep-breathing techniques to help her relax. Carlita tried them out and felt much better when she next flew. Now, she always does deep breathing exercises before she flies. Is this an example of classical or operant conditioning? Explain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Carlita used to get nervous whenever she...

Question 14

Which region in the brain contains the dopamine-producing neurons that project to the striatum?

Accepted Answer

A)  the nueral cortex 
B)  the orbitofrontal cortex 
C)  the substantia nigra pars compacta 
D)  the ventral tegmental area

Question 15

According to the Premack principle, if a teenager would rather go shopping than clean her room:

Accepted Answer

A)  her desire to clean her room will be increased by restricting her access to going shopping. 
B)  her desire to go shopping will be increased by restricting her access to cleaning her room. 
C)  allowing her to go shopping could be used as a reward for cleaning her room. 
D)  cleaning her room could be used as a reward for going shopping.

Question 16

A person has been working for 2 years and was told that he would receive a $2.00 raise and only received 25 cents. The _____ is responsible for reducing the motivation in this time of situation.

Accepted Answer

A)  dACC 
B)  negative construct 
C)  insular cortex 
D)  orbitofrontal cortex

Question 17

Suppose a child whines continuously until his parents give him a cookie. The cookie would be _____ of the child's behavior of whining.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 18

In rats, dopamine is released from the VTA/SNc is triggered by encounters with:

Accepted Answer

A)  food. 
B)  sex. 
C)  secondary reinforcers. 
D)  All of the answers are correct.

Question 19

Give an example of a secondary reinforcer, and explain how it might be related to a primary reinforcer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Give an example of a secondary reinforcer,...

Question 20

Normally, Francis's children must go to bed at 8 p.m. But when grandma visits, the children are allowed to stay up late if they ask. Identify the stimulus, response, and outcome in this scenario.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Normally, Francis's children must go to bed...

Exam 5: Operant Conditioning: Learning the Outcome of Behaviors