Deck 4: Instrumental Learning: Reward

Question 1

Instrumental Learning involves understanding the connection between:

A) a CS and a US
B) a CS and a CR
C) a behavior and its consequence
D) a CS and its consequence

Answer 1

a behavior and its consequence

Question 2

Thorndike's puzzle-box research showed that:

A) learning occurs only after a great deal of conscious and rational thought
B) learning occurs via insight
C) learning occurs in a mechanistic manner
D) learning involves simple habituations

Answer 2

learning occurs in a mechanistic manner

Question 3

The type of connection that is central to Thorndike's work is:

A) S-R
B) S-S
C) R-S
D) CS-US

Answer 3

S-R

Question 4

In a Skinner Box, a rat presses a bar and receives a food pellet. In this case, the food serves as:

A) negative reinforcement
B) positive reinforcement
C) an operant response
D) a conditioned response

Question 5

A teacher wants her students to hand in homework assignments on time, so punctually-returned assignments are rewarded with stickers. How many stickers should each child get, per assignment, if the teacher wants as high of a return rate as possible?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 4
D) 8

Question 6

A teacher wants has always rewarded her students for handing in their homework assignments on time by rewarding punctually-returned assignments with 5 stickers per assignment. After a month of this reward system, the teacher only offers 1 sticker per assignment. What is she likely to observe, in terms of the punctuality of returned homework assignments?

A) a positive contrast
B) a negative contrast
C) no change in the return rate
D) an increase in the return rate

Question 7

Which of the following is not central to Hull's computation of Response Strength?

A) Reinforcement Schedule
B) Drive
C) Incentive
D) Habit Strength

Question 8

Joe is playing a slot machine in a casino, and in the 5 hours that he has been playing, he has only won once. However, Joe persists in putting his money in the machine, and, more often than not, losing it! From the information here, on what type of reinforcement schedule can you be certain that Joe has been placed?

A) continuous reinforcement
B) partial reinforcement
C) fixed ratio
D) variable interval

Question 9

Sara gets a sticker for handing in every 3rd homework assignment her teacher assigns. The type of reinforcement schedule being used is a:

A) fixed interval
B) variable ratio
C) fixed ratio
D) variable interval

Question 10

In the last 3 months, Mike never knows when he is going to get his allowance from his parents. He knows that he gets paid about every week, but sometimes his allowance comes 10 days after the previous one, sometimes only 4 days separate his allowance, while some payments come on a regular, 7-day rotation. The type of reinforcement schedule being used is a:

A) fixed interval
B) variable ratio
C) fixed ratio
D) variable interval

Question 11

Using the situation in question 4.10, if Mike's parents started paying him his allowance every Friday, without fail, the reinforcement schedule being used would be a:

A) fixed interval
B) variable ratio
C) fixed ratio
D) variable interval

Question 12

If an experimenter wanted to produce a relatively constant response rate among their subjects, the best type of reinforcement schedule would be:

A) continuous reinforcement
B) variable ratio
C) fixed ratio
D) fixed interval

Question 13

An experimenter designs their experiment so that a reinforcer is delivered after a subject presses a bar in a Skinner box. To maximize conditioning, which delay interval (between the response and the delivery of the reinforcer) should be used?

A) 1 second
B) 2 second
C) 4 second
D) 8 second

Question 14

The capacity to inhibit immediate gratification in preference for a larger reward in the long run is central to:

A) secondary reinforcement
B) self-control
C) continuous reinforcement
D) token reinforcement

Question 15

The quickest way to reduce an organism's biological need would be to use:

A) secondary reinforcement
B) self-control
C) primary reinforcement
D) token reinforcement

Question 16

Giving a child a new pencil as a reward for a good test score would be an example of:

A) secondary and primary reinforcement
B) self-control and token reinforcement
C) primary and token reinforcement
D) secondary and token reinforcement

Question 17

After getting a good grade on an exam, Julie's mom gives Julie a big hug. The behavior of Julie's mom in this situation could best be described as:

A) secondary reinforcement
B) social reinforcement
C) primary reinforcement
D) token reinforcement

Question 18

Assume that a casino slot machines is programmed to reward players after, on average, every 245 attempts. Such a schedule would illustrate reinforcement:

A) variable interval
B) variable ratio
C) fixed interval
D) fixed ratio

Question 19

A reinforcer:

A) only has its reinforcing qualities in its originally-used context
B) does not always lead to satisfaction
C) decreases the frequency of the operant response
D) possesses transsituationality

Question 20

Skinner, concerning reinforcement, made the argument that reinforcers:

A) only have their reinforcing qualities in their originally-used context
B) lead to satisfaction
C) increase the frequency of the operant response
D) possess transsituationality

Question 21

Transsituationality is the idea that reinforcers:

A) have their reinforcing qualities in manners that deviate from their originally-used context
B) lead to satisfaction
C) increase the frequency of the operant response
D) none of the above

Question 22

James has an intense, physiological desire for a hamburger. Which of the following approaches could offer the best explanation for the effect that a hamburger would have on James at this moment?

A) incentive motivation
B) reinforcer priming
C) the Premack Principle
D) drive reduction

Question 23

F. Skinner, in many of his early writings, was against any type of explanations for behaviors that postulated internal conditions, since these conditions could not be observed. According to this idea, which of the following theories would view as invalid explanations of reinforcement?

A) incentive motivation
B) brain stimulation
C) drive reduction
D) all of the above

Question 24

Professor Smith is conducting an experiment where she is studying the degree to which drives can be increased in young lab rats. This experiment seems to be testing the basic idea underlying which approach to reinforcement?

A) incentive motivation
B) brain stimulation
C) the Premack Principle
D) drive reduction

Question 25

The idea that reinforcers can be behaviors, and not stimuli, is central to which reinforcement approach?

A) incentive motivation
B) brain stimulation
C) the Premack Principle
D) drive reduction

Question 26

James loves candy and hates vegetables. However, his father wants to make sure that James eats his vegetables, since they're good for him. To ensure vegetable consumption, therefore, James is only allowed to have candy after he has eaten his vegetables. This situation illustrates the application of:

A) incentive motivation
B) reinforcer priming
C) the Premack Principle
D) drive reduction

Question 27

The idea that reinforcers allow previously-established neural connections to become stronger is an attempt to connect the concept of reinforcement to:

A) incentive motivation
B) memory consolidation
C) biofeedback
D) drive reduction

Question 28

Which of the following is the reinforcement-related role that biofeedback is said to play?

A) informational
B) drive-reducing
C) strengthening
D) all of the above

Question 29

Biofeedback tries to teach subjects how to:

A) control their external conditions
B) consolidate information in memory
C) control their internal states
D) none of the above

Question 30

Tolman and Honzik's latent learning experiment showed that:

A) reinforcement is always necessary for learning to occur
B) reinforcers must be species- specific in order for learning to occur
C) reinforcers are not necessary for learning to occur
D) reinforcers only enhance learning when they are presented along with punishers

Question 31

Unconscious learning is demonstrated by:

A) latent learning
B) subliminal stimulus presentation
C) biofeedback
D) explicit learning

Question 32

Which of the following is not a criticism concerning the use of reinforcement?

A) reinforcement allows organisms to have free will in controlling their lives
B) reinforcement depends on bribery
C) reinforcement undermines one's intrinsic motivation
D) reinforcement is a form of manipulation

Question 33

Smith is trying to teach Billy to WANT to do his homework, because of the personal satisfaction that homework completion will bring to Billy. Dr. Smith is essentially trying to enhance Billy's:

A) extrinsic motivation
B) intrinsic motivation
C) latent learning
D) biofeedback ability

Question 34

To train a rat to press a bar in a Skinner box, Dr. Jones first gives the rat a reinforcer for smelling the bar, then gives it a reinforcer for touching the bar lightly, and then, finally, gives another reinforcer when the goal behavior, bar-pressing, is accomplished. Dr.
Jones's technique is best illustrative of:

A) chaining
B) response learning
C) successive approximations
D) punishment

Question 35

Using the scenario described in question 4.34, if the reinforcer was only given after the goal behavior, and not the earlier actions of the rat, the method employed would be referred to as:

A) chaining
B) response learning
C) successive approximations
D) punishment

Question 36

Willis has been trying to teach his monkeys a new behavior using different reinforcement schedules, but the animals can't seem to learn the appropriate responses. This failure to learn may be due to:

A) a highly developed behavioral system for the response that is being trained
B) evolutionary preparedness for the new behavior
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b

Question 37

Conditioning procedures, when used on lower animals such as monkeys, dogs, etc., are only used to

A) test experimental research methods
B) test procedures that are not applicable to humans
C) calm overly aggressive behaviors
D) none of the above

Question 38

In a bar-pressing operant conditioning situation, Dr. Smith has defined a light as an S^D. During the experiment, whenever the light comes on, what should the participant (a rat) do?

A) press the bar to discontinue a punisher
B) press the bar to get a reinforcer
C) do not press the bar, since bar-pressing will lead to a punishment
D) do not press the bar, since bar-pressing will not lead to a reinforcer

Question 39

Which process should be implemented to enhance responding to a S^D?

A) stimulus control
B) chaining
C) punishment
D) all of the above

Question 40

If one wanted to teach an animal to discriminate between stimuli, which of the following should be encouraged?

A) failing to respond to S^D
B) responding to S^Δ
C) failing to respond to S^Δ
D) respond to S^Δ, and not S^D

Question 41

Frustrations arising from S^Δ can be overcome by

A) reinforcement
B) stimulus fading
C) stimulus enhancement
D) punishment

Question 42

Jones is trying to demonstrate peak shift in his pigeons. If a 60-watt light is designated as the S^D, and a 90-watt light is designated as the S^Δ, responding to which light could be taken as evidence of peak shift?

A) 65-watt
B) 95-watt
C) 55-watt
D) 90-watt

Question 43

Which of the following can be taken as evidence of the persistence of a habituated behavior?

A) stimulus fading
B) discrimination
C) stimulus generalization
D) capture errors

Question 44

Tom, a 14-year -old boy, is watching a television commercial aimed at showing people how unhealthy cigarettes are to one's health. Such a message is best referred to as a(n)

A) behavior modification procedure
B) informational intervention
C) habit slip
D) drive reduction

Question 45

Which of the following is a form of Behavior Modification?

A) a capture error
B) a token economy
C) the Premack Principle
D) drive reduction

Question 46

Mary is trying to lose weight, and after each 5-pound reduction in her weight, she rewards her efforts by buying herself a new pair of shoes. The shoes, in this scenario, represent which element of the ABC approach to behavior modification?

A) Antecedent
B) Behavior
C) Consequence
D) none of the above

Question 47

While training her dog to retrieve a newspaper and bring it back to her, Alice rewards her dog with a small treat after he performs the behavior correctly. In order to maximize the value that the reward has on the dog's ability to learn the behavior, the goal gradient hypothesis would suggest that how much time should pass between retrieving the paper and receiving the reward?

A) 5 seconds
B) 30 seconds
C) 1 minute
D) 2 minutes