Question 1

According to research examining the most effective way to punish children's misbehavior, the concept of "time out" was explored. Researchers found that "time out" was most effective when administered to children between the ages of ____ and ____ years.

Accepted Answer

A)  2; 5 
B)  2; 7 
C)  3; 5 
D)  3; 7

Question 2

According to Skinner, the three-term contingency is composed of a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  operant chain of three events. 
B)  three-part schedule of reinforcement. 
C)  discriminative stimulus-emitted response-stimulus consequence. 
D)  stimulus, a response, and a punisher.

Question 3

Research has shown that response rates under ________ schedules show a "scalloped" pattern.

Accepted Answer

A)  FR 
B)  VR 
C)  FI 
D)  VI

Question 4

In their use of operant conditioning techniques to train animals from many species to perform various behaviors, the Brelands described instances of animal "misbehavior." They attributed this misbehavior to the

Accepted Answer

A)  spontaneous recovery of extinguished behaviors. 
B)  use of punishment rather than reinforcement. 
C)  tendency for learned behavior to drift toward instinctual behavior. 
D)  use of shaping by successive approximations.

Question 5

In classical conditioning, nature provides the ________ connection, and conditioning provides the ________ connection.

Accepted Answer

A)  UCS-CS; UCR-CR 
B)  UCS-UCR; CS-CR 
C)  UCR-CR; UCS-CS 
D)  CS-CR; UCS-UCR

Question 6

Imagine that you are observing one of Pavlov's early experiments on classical conditioning. After a dog is placed in a harness, what is most likely to happen?

Accepted Answer

A)  A tone will be presented, and then a bell will ring. 
B)  If the dog makes an orienting response, he will be given some food. 
C)  A tone will be presented, and the dog will be given some food. 
D)  If the dog barks, he will be given an electric shock.

Question 7

All of the following are critical elements that define learning EXCEPT for which one?

Accepted Answer

A)  Change in behavior must be relatively consistent. 
B)  Change in behavior must be permanent. 
C)  Change in behavior must be based on experience. 
D)  Change can occur in behavior or in behavior potential.

Question 8

Why do researchers study an organism's performance if they are really interested in whether the organism has learned?

Accepted Answer

A)  It doesn't matter what they study, since performance and learning are identical. 
B)  Only performance involves a change in behavior or behavior potential. 
C)  Performance changes before learning has occurred. 
D)  Learning cannot ordinarily be directly observed.

Question 9

The parents are trying to get their three-year-old daughter to go to bed without fussing, but sometimes they give in to her tears and let her stay up later. On the basis of the partial reinforcement effect, it can be expected that the child's fussing will

Accepted Answer

A)  be difficult to stop. 
B)  be easy to stop. 
C)  disappear for a while, but then reappear. 
D)  develop into a discriminative stimulus.

Question 10

Thorndike's law of effect emphasizes the relationship between

Accepted Answer

A)  the CS and the UCS. 
B)  stimuli and responses. 
C)  behavior and its consequences. 
D)  "stamping in" and "stamping out."

Question 11

B. F. Skinner formulated the position known as ________ some time after reading Watson's book ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  behaviorism; Beyond Freedom and Dignity 
B)  radical behaviorism; Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist 
C)  behaviorism; Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist 
D)  radical behaviorism; Behaviorism

Question 12

A student would like to change his study habits by applying what he knows about reinforcement contingencies to his routines. He has written down the basic rules that he plans to follow. All of the student's rules are correct EXCEPT for which one?

Accepted Answer

A)  Carefully define the specific behavior you would like to change. 
B)  Make sure reinforcement is not contingent on the behavior you want to occur. 
C)  Define the discriminative stimuli that will control the behavior you want. 
D)  Try to extinguish your inappropriate behaviors.

Question 13

All of the following behaviors are instances of operants EXCEPT for which one?

Accepted Answer

A)  A pigeon pecks a key to receive a food reinforcer. 
B)  Ted raises his hand in class and waits to be called. 
C)  Baby Terri coos in order to be picked up by Mom. 
D)  Jim blinks in response to the flash of the camera.

Question 14

You read about a program designed to help patients in a psychiatric hospital take better care of themselves and their environment and engage in more positive social interactions. After engaging in specified behaviors, the patients are given plastic chips that can be exchanged later for rewards and privileges. Such systems are technically known as

Accepted Answer

A)  self-reinforcement systems. 
B)  token economies. 
C)  verbal reinforcements. 
D)  reinforcement exchanges.

Question 15

A student notices that a classmate is praised by the teacher for asking questions in class. The student then begins asking questions also. The student is exhibiting learning through

Accepted Answer

A)  vicarious punishment. 
B)  vicarious reinforcement. 
C)  the application of cognitive maps. 
D)  response deprivation theory.

Question 16

Classical conditioning is more complex than Pavlov originally realized in that a neutral stimulus will only become an effective CS if it is appropriately

Accepted Answer

A)  contingent and informative. 
B)  contiguous and novel. 
C)  noncontingent and familiar. 
D)  contiguous and informative.

Question 17

A child was very sick and unable to attend school. While she was ill, she received lots of attention and was excused from her normal responsibilities. Although she no longer has symptoms, the child says she still does not feel well. A behavior analyst would most likely suggest that the child's current behavior is the result of

Accepted Answer

A)  emotional scars from childhood. 
B)  irrational or inappropriate thought processes. 
C)  secondary gains derived from being sick. 
D)  instinctual drift.

Question 18

In classical conditioning, any stimulus that naturally elicits a reflexive behavior is called a(n) ________ stimulus, and the behavior it elicits is called the ________ response.

Accepted Answer

A)  reflexive; orienting 
B)  conditioned; unconditioned 
C)  conditioned; conditioned 
D)  unconditioned; unconditioned

Question 19

Conditioning is usually most effective in a ________ paradigm, while conditioning is very poor with a ________ paradigm.

Accepted Answer

A)  delay; trace 
B)  trace; delay 
C)  backward; delay 
D)  delay; backward

Question 20

When people take drugs repeatedly in the same setting, the body responds with countermeasures intended to reestablish homeostasis. In the language of classical conditioning, these countermeasures to the drug are the ________ and the setting in which the drug is taken is the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  conditioned response; unconditioned response 
B)  conditioned stimulus; compensatory response 
C)  unconditioned response; conditioned stimulus 
D)  unconditioned stimulus; unconditioned response

Exam 6: Learning and Behavior Analysis

According to research examining the most effective way to punish children's misbehavior, the concept of "time out" was explored. Researchers found that "time out" was most effective when administered to children between the ages of and years.