Deck 14: Its All a Matter of Consequences: B.F Skinner

Question 1

Behaviorism is

A) a school of thought that is centered around the affective implications of behavior
B) concerned with the cognitive implications of behavior
C) school of thought founded by William James
D) a school of psychology for which the basic subject matter is overt behavior

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Radical behaviorism

A) is a new name for behaviorism, Skinner being dissatisfied with the old one
B) a form of behaviorism that eliminates classical conditioning from consideration
C) considers currently observable events and also potential, future events that can be observed and measured
D) considers only present events that have behavioral manifestations detectable either by the senses or by modern electronics

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Walden II (1948) described

A) a laboratory of the future in which people were the subjects of experiments and animals are the experimenters
B) a story of the demise of mentalism
C) a autobiographical novel by Skinner, disclosing his contempt for non-behaviorists
D) a book about a utopian society in which punishment is shunned and rewards guide people to full exploitation of their skills

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Skinner first became intrigued with psychology

A) at age 40
B) at an early age
C) during graduate training
D) during his mid-twenties

Question 5

All except one of the following were among the famous people who influenced Skinner early in his life. Which was NOT one of those famous people?

A) Bertrand Russell
B) Robert Frost
C) Hermann Von Helmholtz
D) H. G. Wells

Question 6

Among Skinner's adventures during early adult-hood was

A) living with a woman in Greenwich village
B) sky diving
C) underwater exploration
D) exploring the jungles of South America

Question 7

Regarding Skinner's personality, as it can be understood from his own descriptions,

A) it is difficult to pin down
B) it is definitely on the fringe of normalcy
C) it is rather uninteresting
D) it evidences cognitive simplicity

Question 8

Throughout his career Skinner liked to

A) praise his critics: it confused them
B) tweak the nose of the psychological establishment
C) experience the adventures that characterized his youth
D) avoid controversy

Question 9

Which of the following is true of Skinner?

A) He cursed the leukemia that killed him.
B) He may have rejected the "mental life" after his failure as a novelist.
C) He lamented that "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" failed to sell.
D) He actually had no mental life.

Question 10

According to Skinner, a consequence is

A) the same thing as a response
B) anything that happens after something else has occurred
C) an event that is initiated by the organism but is maintained by the experimenter
D) an event that occurs after a response and changes its probability

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of "natural selection"?

A) humming birds with beaks that, through mutation, happen to be ideal for dipping into the flowers found in their habitat
B) coyotes rummaging among the ruins of ghost towns for items useful in lair building
C) the birds that live on the rhinos
D) the fishes that take up residence in the depths of the ocean in natural caves, relative to their cousins that attempt to survive in the open at shallow levels

Question 12

According to Skinner, genetic endowment

A) has nothing to do with behavior
B) absolutely explains behavior at a reductionistic level
C) explains behavior for some individuals, but not others
D) pre-disposes people to certain behaviors rather than others

Question 13

According to Skinner, by "freedom" we mean

A) that we can choose from various behaviors rather than having our actions controlled by environment
B) that we are free to choose behaviors, except that we cannot arrange reinforcement contingencies
C) that we are not naturally prone to accepting dictatorships
D) that we naturally reject control by other people

Question 14

Malignant environmental circumstances may continue to control people, because

A) people are inherently masochists
B) they may bring immediate positive consequences
C) there is no way to arrange environmental circumstances to produce desired consequences
D) malignant consequences are more powerful than positive ones

Question 15

When we demand freedom, what do we really mean, according to Skinner?

A) freedom from institutional oppression
B) freedom to ward off the influences of others
C) freedom from negative or aversive consequences
D) freedom to do what we will to others

Question 16

Skinner was wrongly charged with

A) being an environmentalist
B) believing in the importance of consequences
C) advocating coercive control of behavior
D) proposing a utopian society based on operant principles

Question 17

According to Skinner, by "dignity" we mean

A) self-respect
B) growing old gracefully
C) giving people credit for what they do
D) making sure that everyone is respected

Question 18

Skinner credited one of his speeches to

A) himself
B) his genetic endowment and his particular environment
C) his speech writer
D) to happenstance: he thought it impossible to cite the multiple factors that contributed to his speech

Question 19

Mentalism is (Skinner)

A) the ancient notion "mind over matter"
B) the belief that thought and feelings determine behavior, not external consequences
C) the belief that, through the will, one can ultimately and absolutely control behavior
D) Jung's idea that something like archetypes ultimately determine behavior

Question 20

Skinner believed that mentalistic terms of today

A) were contrived purposefully by past linguists to promote mentalism
B) have evolved from those of the early language users
C) originally referred to behavior
D) are fading in use by ordinary people

Question 21

According to Skinner, the observation that feelings and thoughts occur at about the same time as behaviors indicates

A) absolutely nothing to anyone: it is happenstance
B) that they cause behavior
C) that they are caused by the forces that also cause behavior
D) why they are mistaken for causes of behavior

Question 22

All except one of the following are words that Skinner has identified as one-time references to behavior. Which is NOT a word that was at one time identified with behavior?

A) congratulate
B) experience
C) intention
D) image

Question 23

Operant conditioning is

A) an automatic reaction to a stimulus
B) conditioning responses such as salivation
C) operating on the environment with consequences that influence repetition
D) acting without regard to consequences

Question 24

According to Skinner, contingent means

A) independence of events
B) whether events are separated in time or occur together
C) inhibition of one event by another
D) dependence of an event on the prior occurrence of another event

Question 25

Reinforcement occurs when

A) two events occur simultaneously, one a stimulus event and the other a response event
B) some event is contingent on the prior performance of some response
C) three or more events occur in synchrony
D) a consumable objects such as food, water, etc. is present

Question 26

Positive reinforcement refers to

A) any event having a "+" valence
B) an event that increases the likelihood of a response upon which the event is contingent
C) an event that decreases the likelihood of a response upon which the event is contingent
D) a response contingent on a previous stimulus

Question 27

The Skinner Box

A) is what Skinner facetiously called his office
B) is where Skinner raised his daughter
C) is where Skinner keep notes on his experiments
D) is a cage for conditioning animal's responses

Question 28

Which of the following is an operantly conditioned response?

A) a dog's salivating when presented with food
B) a baby's startle response when a loud sound is sounded
C) a cat's hissing when confronted with a dog
D) a baby's crying responses followed by the appearance of a parent with food in hand

Question 29

Rate of responding

A) when it is stable, indicates that conditioning has been completed and a new response acquired
B) when it is variable, indicates that conditioning has been completed and a new response acquired
C) is a index of extinction: the more variable the rate the greater the extinction
D) is an index of magnitude of conditioning; magnitude is high when the response rate is variable

Question 30

During extinction procedures

A) there are no responses
B) a response is not followed by a reinforcer
C) a response is followed by a reinforcer
D) the animal is sacrificed for neurological examination

Question 31

Shaping is

A) a process by which natural variability in behavior is exploited so that a new behavior is acquired by reinforcing successive approximation to it
B) a process by which the environment of an animal is resculptured to fit the genetic propensities of the animal (e.g., panel is presented to a pigeon rather than a lever)
C) restructuring a stimulus until it is a useful reinforcer
D) restructuring the experimental set-up until the conditions for successful conditioning prevail

Question 32

All except one of the following are instances of positive reinforcement in the life of a student. Which is NOT an instance of positive reinforcement?

A) presenting an id card at a cafeteria followed by food presentation
B) the observation of an attractive person is followed by an increase in heart rate
C) class attendance is reinforced by a stimulating lecture
D) activities in the library are followed by "the joy of learning"

Question 33

In negative reinforcement, a response increases in likelihood when it is followed by

A) presentation of a stimulus
B) the termination of a stimulus
C) the intermittent presence of a stimulus
D) the increase in strength of a stimulus

Question 34

Avoidance refers to

A) jumping away from shock after it has been delivered
B) waiting until the shock is terminated and then jumping away from the area where the shock occurred
C) jumping away from the shock-area in reaction to a warning light just as the shock is being delivered
D) jumping away from the shock-area in reaction to a warning light just before the shock is delivered

Question 35

In punishment, responses that are followed by the presentation of a stimulus

A) increase in likelihood
B) maintain the same likelihood
C) increase or decrease in likelihood, depending on the species of subjects
D) decrease in likelihood

Question 36

Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

A) A child watches her bratty little brother, so she will not have to do her boring homework.
B) A child is given praise for having been gentle instead of aggressive with his little sister.
C) A man is presented with an award for outstanding service.
D) A women is shocked each time she lights up a cigarette.

Question 37

About punishment, Skinner believed

A) it is the most effective way to control behavior
B) while it is the most effective way to control behavior, its use is unethical
C) it only has temporary effects
D) it is counterproductive: resistance to coercion causes organisms to respond at higher rates in the presence of punishment

Question 38

All except one of the following are unfortunate side effects of punishment. Which is NOT such an effects?

A) loss of self-esteem
B) fear that others might attack oneself
C) failure to respond aggressively to an attack
D) failure to perform beneficial responses

Question 39

As a fairly typical parent, how does Aliza respond to her son hitting her?

A) She reasons with him.
B) She tries to ignore his attack.
C) She scolds him.
D) She hits him back.

Question 40

As a fairly typical mother, how does Aliza respond to Rudy's attacks on his sister?

A) She tells him, "Now Rudy, you know that is naughty."
B) She hits him.
C) She says, "Wait 'til your father gets home!"
D) She spanks the sister for provoking Rudy.

Question 41

Carlsmith's et al. (2002) mock jury study supported what reason for jury decisions on punishment?

A) deterrence
B) just disserts
C) God's will
D) the belief that punishment of crimes is insufficiently severe under our present judicial system

Question 42

Which of the following was NOT one of Gershoff's (2002) finding regarding the use of physical punishment on children?

A) low internalization of morality
B) physically punished children tends to be a perpetrator of abuse as an adult
C) physically punished child is resilience as an adult
D) poor parent child relationships

Question 43

If one is angry because someone has aggressed against him or her, how will one's subsequent aggression against a third party affect future aggressiveness?

A) It will have no effect on future aggression.
B) It will "blow off some steam" making future aggression less likely.
C) It will suppress future aggression because of fear of retaliation.
D) It will follows the adage "aggression begets aggression": aggression gives rise to more aggression.

Question 44

When Aliza hits Rudy in retaliation for his attack on her, what has she become?

A) a "bad mother"
B) A fool: she should have hit him BEFORE he hit her.
C) a model who teaches aggressiveness to Rudy
D) a hostile/aggressive personality type

Question 45

What subtle lesson does Rudy learn when his mother hits him back harder when he hits her?

A) Parents are basically mean.
B) There is no justice.
C) He should be in a position to escape if he is planning to hit his mother.
D) One can get away with aggression if one is big and strong enough.

Question 46

What did Kazdin and Benjet (2003) report regarding the affects of mild physical punishment administered to children?

A) Research has failed to reveal any deleterious or beneficial effects of it.
B) It also has mostly deleterious effects.
C) It has mostly beneficial effects.
D) It has both beneficial and deleterious effects.

Question 47

Which is chief among the conditions that must hold if punishment is to effectively control behavior?

A) It must not be too severe.
B) It must be very severe.
C) The target of punishment must not know when it is coming.
D) It must be administered by an authority figure.

Question 48

Which of the following must be true of the threat of punishment if it is to deter future aggression?

A) It must not be too severe.
B) Punishment must occur immediately after aggression.
C) The target of punishment must not know when it is coming.
D) It must be administered by an authority figure.

Question 49

Which of the following must be true of the threat of punishment if it is to deter future aggression?

A) The occurrence of the punishment must be of uncertain likelihood.
B) The threatened potential aggressor must be very angry.
C) The potential aggressor who is threatened must have much to gain from future aggression.
D) The person who is threatened must have little to gain from aggression.

Question 50

In Rudy's case, which of the following represents the degree to which the conditions that must hold if threat of punishment is to effectively deter future aggression are actually in force?

A) In Rudy's case, all the conditions that must be met to deter future aggression are in force.
B) In Rudy's case, none of the conditions that must be met to deter future aggression are in force.
C) In Rudy's case, only the condition "punishment must be severe" is in force.
D) In Rudy's case, only the condition "the potential aggressor must not be very angry" is in force.

Question 51

Given that the conditions for threat of punishment to reliably deter criminal assault are met, what then becomes the problem?

A) No problem: our judicial system can now meet these conditions.
B) It is never possible to meet any of these conditions.
C) These conditions have actually been met by our system and we now know that they do not work to deter aggression.
D) Meeting these conditions would threaten our democratic system.

Question 52

What is Skinner's attitude toward the notion of "personality"?

A) He rejected it.
B) He thought it was harmless but useless.
C) He embraced it.
D) He ignored it.

Question 53

What happened when Skinner declared that "the verbal community" reinforces correct speech and that is how children learn to speak?

A) Linguistic scientists readily agreed.
B) The entire linguistic community rose up against him declaring that "parental training" plays no significant role in language development.
C) Linguist Noam Chomsky rejected Skinner's account of language development in favor of his innate "language faculty."
D) For the first time, linguists began to debate about the degree to which lessons from adults influence language development.

Question 54

Skinner reared his daughter in a

A) typical nursery by atypical procedures
B) in a box featuring temperature and humidity control
C) in an apparatus not unlike a Skinner box in terms of reinforcement delivery
D) in a special, contingency controlled, outdoor area

Question 55

In her special environment, Skinner's daughter was

A) lonely
B) unhappy
C) the center of attention
D) able to roam over a wide area

Question 56

What were some of the advantages of the special environment Skinner arranged for his daughter?

A) She was isolated so she would not be a bother to her parents.
B) Lack of exposure to other children prevented quarreling.
C) Several health problems were prevented.
D) She learned not to cry, because it did no good.

Question 57

Calling Debs "aircrib" a "box" stirred controversy because

A) It is too impersonal.
B) It was actually a bed.
C) It was a kind of play pen.
D) "Bbox" meant coffin at the time the aircrib was used.

Question 58

Which happened to Skinner after Deb's "aircrib" was written up in Ladies Home Journal?

A) It was suggested that his own university sue him.
B) He was granted Psychology's highest award.
C) He was fired by Indiana University.
D) Child and Family Services threatened to take Debs away.

Question 59

In Skinner's Walden Two Fraizer, the leader, describes himself

A) only at others' insistence
B) with reference to traits
C) by analogy
D) with a long string of trait labels

Question 60

When Skinner "revisits" Walden II years later, Burris and Frazier appear to be their same old selves. What are the implications of their remaining much the same?

A) Skinner was not very creative as a writer.
B) Reinforcement should have made them different after a time.
C) This stability is not surprising due to the "protected" and invariable circumstances at Walden II.
D) In this show of invariance over time, Skinner provides testimony to the stability of personality.

Question 61

According to Skinner, what kind of objects predominate in paintings?

A) uninterpretable images
B) abstractions
C) food
D) nonhuman forms

Question 62

Regarding original ideas, research shows that

A) we fail to copy even from their own experience
B) almost all of our ideas are original
C) we consciously copy others' ideas and call them our own
D) we may non-consciously plagiarize other's ideas

Question 63

Which did Skinner NOT regularly do with his children?

A) take them on long walks
B) read to them
C) stop his work to interact with them
D) show that he cared for them

Question 64

Which was NOT among Skinner's ideas used in education and in industry?

A) teaching machines
B) computer programmed instruction
C) the production of evidence that animals cannot perform as well as robots
D) positive reinforcement methods used during college testing

Question 65

In Walden Two people

A) chose a job or profession and stuck with it
B) tried a wide variety of pursuits, but eventually migrated to what they were genetically disposed to perform well
C) tried a wide variety of pursuits, but eventually ended up doing whatever provided the greatest range of reinforcers for the greatest number people
D) rotated from job to job continually

Question 66

Skinner thought that cultures develop according to

A) S-R principles
B) principles of classical conditioning (respondent conditioning)
C) principles of operant conditioning
D) principles of observational learning

Question 67

Africans brought to the United States carried certain cultural traditions with them that survived because the environment here selected the traditions. Which may represent one of those traditions?

A) preferences for certain African sports
B) African hunting traditions
C) African burial traditions
D) African communication via drums

Question 68

Which describes the constitution of the Board of Governors at Walden Two?

A) half were women
B) two-thirds were professors
C) 80% were white males
D) half were people of color

Question 69

In Gromly's (1982) study of genetic endowment and reinforcement

A) fraternity men were isolated in a cave for a month
B) fraternity men kept a log of experiences
C) instances of aggression were recorded by an observer
D) anti-social behaviors were investigated

Question 70

In Gromly's (1982) study involving fraternity men, what supposedly genetic characteristic was under investigation?

A) sociable-extraverted
B) conscientiousness
C) sexual behavior
D) trustworthiness

Question 71

The Skinnerian point to Gromly's (1982) study was

A) environment determines energetic behavior regardless of the genes
B) environment selected energetic behaviors for those people who were genetically inclined to be energetic
C) an interaction of environment and the genes determines energetic behavior, with the strongest winning out
D) in this case, the genes are solely responsible of determining energetic behavior; the environment played no role

Question 72

Behavior therapy

A) is, ironically, a form of psychotherapy that relies on ignoring behavior rather than reinforcing it
B) was a term introduced by Wolpe
C) was a late-in-the-life interest of Skinner
D) is psychological therapy employing behavioral techniques

Question 73

In the example of behavior modification involving a shy child

A) a stranger talked to the child
B) the child's behavior, talking to a stranger, was reinforced
C) the child's behavior, approaching a stranger, was reinforced
D) the child's refusal to talk was punished

Question 74

According to J. Jung (1978) the behavior-emotion sequence that Skinner endorses

A) is not amenable to testing via experiments and has been subjected to severe criticism
B) is undoubtedly the most sound point of view
C) may be the best point of view, but, while readily testable, has yet to be tested
D) is certainly the inferior point of view, according to much experimental work

Question 75

What will save the Skinnerian position in the future?

A) sticking with Skinnerian principles, no matter what
B) uniting with the cognitive movement
C) leaning a little in the "mentalistic" direction
D) paying more attention to classical (respondent) conditioning

Question 76

What is the point of the 60 Minutes-Laurence Olivier episode involving Shakespeare's Othello?

A) Olivier was outstanding because his genetic disposition was properly exploited by his environment.
B) Olivier's purely private suffering was enormously important to him, even though it had no external manifestations.
C) Olivier was shown reinforcing a young actor playing Othello, thus, he demonstrated positive reinforcement.
D) Olivier was shown screaming at a younger actor who was playing Othello badly, thus, he demonstrated negative reinforcement.

Question 77

With a little flexibility, what area might Skinnerians begin to consider that would improve their position?

A) behavior therapy
B) expectations
C) language
D) eliminating undesirable behaviors

Question 78

After this death, commentators on Skinner indicated which of the following have much in common with Skinnerianism?

A) quantum physics
B) metaphysics
C) existentialism
D) psychoanalysis

Question 79

Which of the following support the claim that Skinner is now more important that Freud?

A) citations in the psychological literature
B) the all-time list of contributors compiled by historians of psychology
C) a survey by Time magazine
D) the Hagbloom et al. (2002) survey of journals, texts, and psychologists

Question 80

For which of the following productive ideas is Skinner responsible?

A) deprogramming of people just out of cults
B) sounding the alarm about international relations, pointing out the need to emphasize positive rather than negative reinforcement
C) time out
D) backward conditioning