Deck 5: Reinforcement

Question 1

Thorndike made important contributions to all of the following fields except .

A)educational psychology
B)animal learning
C)social psychology
D)psychological testing

Answer 1

C

Question 2

E.L.Thorndike's studies of learning started as an attempt to understand .

A)operant conditioning
B)the psychic reflex
C)animal intelligence
D)maze learning

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Pearl Mary's grandmother, Pearl, is from the Old Country.Although she knows some English, she continues to
Speak her native tongue.Pearl can't go anywhere without a member of the family because she can't
Communicate with people about prices, directions, bus routes, etc.
Mary decides to try to modify Pearl's behavior.She and the rest of the family refuse to respond to any comment or request by Pearl that they know she is capable of expressing in English.For example, if during dinner she says, "Pass the potatoes" in English, she gets potatoes; if she says it in her native language she gets ignored.
Refer to Pearl.When Mary planned her little experiment, she decided she wanted to be able to tell whether the procedure was working.Consequently, before beginning the procedure, Mary .

A)ignored all comments from her grandmother for a week before she began to apply the training procedure
B)asked her grandmother how she felt about speaking English
C)kept a record of the number of times her grandmother spoke English spontaneously
D)repeatedly criticized her grandmother for not speaking English

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The training procedure Thorndike used in his famous experiments with cats is best described as .

A)free operant
B)discrete trial
C)trial-and-error
D)field research

Question 5

An action that improves the effectiveness of a reinforcer is called a .

A)motivating operation
B)reward booster
C)contrived reinforcer
D)activator

Question 6

Skinner describes some of his most important research in .

A)Verbal Behavior
B)The Behavior of Organisms
C)Particulars of My Life
D)Animal Intelligence

Question 7

Pearl Mary's grandmother, Pearl, is from the Old Country.Although she knows some English, she continues to
Speak her native tongue.Pearl can't go anywhere without a member of the family because she can't
Communicate with people about prices, directions, bus routes, etc.
Mary decides to try to modify Pearl's behavior.She and the rest of the family refuse to respond to any comment or request by Pearl that they know she is capable of expressing in English.For example, if during dinner she says, "Pass the potatoes" in English, she gets potatoes; if she says it in her native language she gets ignored.
Refer to Pearl.The procedure being used to change Pearl's behavior is .

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

Question 8

All of the following are useful tips for shaping behavior except .

A)reinforce small steps
B)reinforce immediately
C)provide small reinforcers
D)never back up

Question 9

The free operant procedure is most associated with .

A)Skinner
B)Thorndike
C)Pavlov
D)Watson

Question 10

The level of deprivation is less important when the reinforcer used is a/an reinforcer.

A)primary
B)secondary
C)unexpected
D)intrinsic

Question 11

Sylvia believes that the reinforcement properties of an event depend on the extent to which it provides access to high probability behavior.Sylvia is most likely an advocate of theory.

A)drive-reduction
B)relative value
C)response deprivation
D)random guess

Question 12

Charles Catania identified three characteristics that define reinforcement.These include all of the following except .

A)a behavior must have a consequence
B)the consequence of the behavior must be positive
C)a behavior must increase in strength
D)the increase in strength must be the result of the behavior's consequence

Question 13

The one thing that all reinforcers have in common is that they .

A)strengthen behavior
B)are positive
C)feel good
D)provide feedback

Question 14

In one of Thorndike's puzzle boxes, a door would fall open when a cat stepped on a treadle, thus allowing the cat to reach food outside the box.Eventually the cat would step on the treadle as soon as it was put into the box.Thorndike concluded that .

A)the reasoning ability of cats is quite remarkable
B)treadle stepping increased because it had a "satisfying effect"
C)the treadle is a CS for stepping
D)learning meant connecting the treadle with freedom and food

Question 15

The law of effect says that .

A)satisfying consequences are more powerful than annoying consequences
B)behavior is a function of its consequences
C)how an organism perceives events is more important than the events themselves
D)effective behavior drives out ineffective behavior

Question 16

Studies of delayed reinforcement document the importance of .

A)contiguity
B)contingency
C)inter-trial interval
D)deprivation level

Question 17

According to the one-process theory of avoidance, the avoidance response is reinforced by .

A)escape from the CS
B)a reduction in the number of aversive events
C)positive reinforcers that follow aversive events
D)non-contingent aversives

Question 18

Pearl Mary's grandmother, Pearl, is from the Old Country.Although she knows some English, she continues to
Speak her native tongue.Pearl can't go anywhere without a member of the family because she can't
Communicate with people about prices, directions, bus routes, etc.
Mary decides to try to modify Pearl's behavior.She and the rest of the family refuse to respond to any comment or request by Pearl that they know she is capable of expressing in English.For example, if during dinner she says, "Pass the potatoes" in English, she gets potatoes; if she says it in her native language she gets ignored.
Refer to Pearl.Pearl's resistance to learning English is most likely the result of .

A)a lack of intelligence
B)age.Studies show that after the age of 60 learning a second language is nearly impossible.
C)the length of time she has spent speaking her native language
D)the benefits she receives for not speaking English

Question 19

Operant learning may also be referred to as .

A)trial-and-error learning
B)effects learning
C)non-Pavlovian conditioning
D)instrumental learning

Question 20

The author of your text calls Skinner the .

A)Newton of psychology
B)Thorndike of free operant work
C)discoverer of reinforcement
D)Darwin of behavior science

Question 21

Positive reinforcement is sometimes called .

A)escape training
B)positive training
C)satisfier training
D)reward learning

Question 22

Alan Neuringer demonstrated that with reinforcement, could learn to behave randomly.

A)preschoolers
B)cats
C)rats
D)pigeons

Question 23

The number of operant procedures indicated in the contingency square is .

A)two
B)four
C)six
D)nine

Question 24

The Watson and Rayner experiment with Little Albert may have involved operant as well as Pavlovian learning because the loud noise .

A)occurred as Albert reached for the rat
B)occurred while Albert was eating
C)did not bother Albert initially
D)was aversive

Question 25

Schlinger and Blakely found that the reinforcing power of a delayed reinforcer could be increased by .

A)increasing the size of the reinforcer
B)preceding the reinforcer with a stimulus
C)providing a different kind of reinforcer
D)following the reinforcer with a stimulus

Question 26

Thorndike complained that evidence provided a "supernormal psychology of animals."

A)anecdotal
B)case study
C)informal experimental
D)intuitive

Question 27

The distinctive characteristic of the Sidman avoidance procedure is that .

A)the aversive event is signaled
B)the aversive is not signaled
C)the aversive event is signaled twice
D)there is no aversive event

Question 28

Williams found that the greater the number of reinforcements before extinction, the .

A)greater the number of responses during extinction
B)faster the rate of extinction
C)stronger the response during extinction
D)greater the frustration during extinction

Question 29

Thorndike plotted the results of his puzzle box experiments as graphs.The resulting curves show a/an with succeeding trials.

A)decrease in time
B)decrease in errors
C)change in topography
D)increase in the rate of behavior

Question 30

The Premack principle says that reinforcement involves .

A)a reduction in drive
B)an increase in the potency of a behavior
C)a relation between behaviors
D)a satisfying state of affairs

Question 31

Skinner trained Plyny to perform a behavior chain, Plyny was a .

A)rat
B)pigeon
C)dog
D)philosophy student

Question 32

Negative reinforcement is also called .

A)punishment
B)aversive training
C)escape-avoidance training
D)reward training

Question 33

The opposite of a conditioned reinforcer is a .

A)tertiary reinforcer
B)secondary reinforcer
C)primary reinforcer
D)generalized reinforcer

Question 34

Premack's name is most logically associated with .

A)drive reduction theory
B)relative value theory
C)response deprivation theory
D)equilibrium theory

Question 35

Donald Zimmerman found that a buzzer became a positive reinforcer after it was repeatedly paired with .

A)food
B)water
C)escape from shock
D)morphine

Question 36

All of the following are recognized kinds of reinforcers except .

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

Question 37

Shaping is the reinforcement of successive .

A)responses
B)elements of a chain
C)approximations of a desired behavior
D)increases in the intensity or topography of a behavior

Question 38

The three-term contingency is often represented by the letters .

A)S-O-R
B)S-R-B
C)ABC
D)BOC

Question 39

The reappearance of previously effective behavior during extinction is called .

A)spontaneous recovery
B)recovery
C)resurgence
D)fulfillment

Question 40

The first step in building a behavior chain is to do a/an .

A)response analysis
B)task analysis
C)elemental analysis
D)factor analysis

Question 41

demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the brain could be reinforcing.

A)Olds and Milner
B)Skinner
C)Barnes and Noble
D)Hull

Question 42

Secondary reinforcers are also called reinforcers.

A)transient
B)conditioned
C)second-order
D)acquired

Question 43

Money is a good example of a reinforcer.

A)primary
B)tertiary
C)generalized
D)transient

Question 44

Negative reinforcement increases the strength of a behavior.

Question 45

Positive reinforcement increases the strength of a behavior.

Question 46

Studies demonstrate that operant learning is as effective with involuntary behavior, such as the salivary reflex, as it is with voluntary behavior.

Question 47

A general assumption of behavioral research is that any feature of a behavior may be strengthened by reinforcement, so long as reinforcement can be made contingent on that feature.

Question 48

gave Skinner's experimental chamber the name, "Skinner box."

A)Fred Keller
B)
E)L.Thorndike
C)John Watson
D)Clark Hull

Question 49

Operant learning is sometimes called learning.

A)free
B)higher-order
C)instrumental
D)reward

Question 50

Thorndike's 1898 dissertation describes experiments with cats, chicks, and .

A)mice
B)rats
C)monkeys
D)dogs

Question 51

Cark Hull's explanation of reinforcement assumes that reinforcers .

A)stimulate the brain
B)reduce a drive
C)activate neurotransmitters
D)leave a neural trace

Question 52

Thorndike emphasized that we learn mainly from .

A)errors
B)repeated trials
C)success
D)social experiences

Question 53

is a neurotransmitter that seems to be important in reinforcement.

A)Dopamine
B)Stupamine
C)Intelamine
D)Actomine

Question 54

According to theory, schoolchildren are eager to go to recess because they have been deprived of the opportunity to exercise.

A)drive-reduction
B)relative value
C)response deprivation
D)stimulus substitution

Question 55

Often the initial effect of an extinction procedure is an increase in the behavior called a/an extinction .

A)rebound
B)resurgence
C)burst
D)flyer

Question 56

Resurgence may help account for .

A)PMS
B)rationalization
C)regression
D)reaction formation

Question 57

Operant learning probably always involves Pavlovian conditioning as well.

Question 58

Operant learning sometimes occurs without any sign of awareness of the relation between behavior and its consequence.

Question 59

Backward chaining begins with the reinforcement of the last behavior in the chain.

Question 60

Extinction often increases the frequency of emotional behavior.
True False

Question 61

According to Skinner, people are rewarded, but behavior is reinforced.

Question 62

Unexpected reinforcers produce more dopamine than expected reinforcers.

Question 63

Another term for operant is instrumental.

Question 64

Efforts to reinforce the contraction of individual muscle fibers have failed.

Question 65

The concept of reinforcement assumes an awareness between a behavior and its reinforcing consequence.

Question 66

In operant learning, the word contingency usually refers to the degree of correlation between a behavior and a consequence.

Question 67

Meerkats train their young using procedures that resemble shaping.

Question 68

One tip for successful shaping of behavior is to provide large reinforcers.

Question 69

Chaining is a useful procedure for shaping behavior in laboratory animals, but it does not appear to be important in wildlife.

Question 70

Skinner generally used a free operant procedure in his research.

Question 71

The more effort a behavior requires, the fewer times the behavior will be performed during extinction.

Question 72

In shaping, it is sometimes a good idea to back up-- i.e., to reinforce earlier approximations of the desired behavior.

Question 73

Extinction often increases the variability of behavior.

Question 74

Contrary to what many people think, research shows that contrived reinforcers can actually enhance interest in the reinforced activity.

Question 75

Reprimands, restraint, captivity, and electrical shocks can be reinforcers.

Question 76

The author of your text probably believes that most childhood tantrums are due to unintentional shaping by adults.

Question 77

Negative reinforcement and punishment are synonyms.

Question 78

With reinforcement, it is easy for a person to lower his blood pressure.

Question 79

People can learn to behave randomly provided that reinforcers are made contingent on random acts.

Question 80

One effect of the extinction procedure is an increase in the variability of behavior.