Deck 5: Operant Conditioning: Learning the Outcome of Behaviors

Question 1

Skinner's method of studying learning is known as a:

A)discrete-trial paradigm.
B)behavioral economics method.
C)drive-reduction paradigm.
D)free-operant paradigm.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

For punishment to be MOST effective:

A)it should start out weak and become gradually stronger each time the behavior is repeated.
B)the organism should know under what circumstances a particular behavior will and will not be punished.
C)the behavior cannot be concurrently reinforced.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Using an umbrella when it rains allows you to escape from getting wet.In this case,the stimulus is _______,the response is ______,_and the outcome is _______.

A)the rain;using an umbrella;staying dry
B)staying dry;rain;using an umbrella
C)using an umbrella;rain;staying dry
D)rain;staying dry;using an umbrella

Answer 3

A

Question 4

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

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 5

If the lights are on in a diner,a potential customer can be pretty sure that opening the door to the diner and sitting down will lead to being served a meal.The discriminative stimulus in this example is:

A)the diner.
B)the door.
C)the lights being on.
D)getting a meal.

Question 6

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

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 7

If you wanted to use shaping to train your new puppy to come when you call her name,you would call her name and then:

A)reward her once she comes all the way to you.
B)reward her first when she looks at you,then for turning towards you,and then for taking a few steps in your direction.
C)jingle some keys or shake a dog toy to get her interested enough to come over to you.
D)pull her to you with a leash,then reward her when she reaches you.

Question 8

In what way does operant conditioning differ from classical conditioning?

A)In classical conditioning,learning is fastest during the early trials,while in operant conditioning learning is fastest during the later trials.
B)In classical conditioning,the consequence arrives regardless of the animal's behavior,while in operant conditioning it only arrives once the animal has made a response.
C)Classical conditioning can be used to train animals to make responses they would not normally make;operant conditioning cannot be used to do this.
D)Extinction occurs in classical conditioning but not in operant conditioning.

Question 9

In the following graph,the last 13 minutes of trials demonstrate:

A)punishment.
B)discrete-trial learning.
C)aquisition.
D)extinction.

Question 10

Which of the following is an example of a primary reinforcer?

A)money
B)praise
C)water
D)grades

Question 11

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

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 her spelling test
D)taking a painkiller to get rid of a headache

Question 12

Which of the following demonstrates operant rather than classical conditioning?

A)A car salesperson receives a bonus for doing a good job at work.Afterwards,she continues to work hard at selling cars.
B)A toddler squeals and curls up in a ball when his mother moves her fingers as if she is going to tickle him.
C)A diner begins salivating as soon as he sees the waiter bringing dessert to the table.
D)Hearing the music of an ice cream truck causes children to get excited.

Question 13

Which of the following is true about shaping?

A)It is a difficult and time-consuming process.
B)It has not yet been successfully used for modifying human behavior.
C)It is a good way to train an animal very quickly.
D)It involves giving bigger rewards as one gets closer to making the correct response.

Question 14

Which of the following demonstrates the free-operant paradigm?

A)After reaching the end of a maze,a rat is returned to the starting point by the experimenter.
B)When a cat escapes from a puzzle box,the experimenter puts the cat back in.
C)A rat in a Skinner box can press a bar at any time to receive food.
D)After reaching the end of a maze,a rat is put back inside its home cage.

Question 15

After working for $15 an hour,Sally's pay was cut to $8 an hour.She stopped working so hard,working much less than her coworkers,who had been earning $8 an hour all along.This is an example of:

A)negative contrast.
B)negative reinforcement.
C)positive punishment.
D)the Protestant ethic effect.

Question 16

June normally takes the elevator to her office on the 8^th floor.Today,she was supposed to go up first to the 10^th floor to pick up some files,but she automatically got off at the 8^th floor.June exhibited:

A)a behavioral addiction.
B)the Protestant ethic effect.
C)the Premack principle.
D)a habit slip.

Question 17

The process of providing consequences for a behavior that decrease the probability of that behavior is called:

A)reinforcement.
B)punishment.
C)discrete-trial learning.
D)free-operant learning.

Question 18

Chaining involves ________,whereas shaping involves ________.

A)reinforcement;punishment
B)punishment;reinforcement
C)reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior;training individual components of a complex response
D)training individual components of a complex response;reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior

Question 19

The main difference between reinforcement and punishment is that punishment:

A)involves adding a consequence,while reinforcement involves removing a consequence.
B)involves removing a consequence,while reinforcement involves adding a consequence.
C)increases a behavior,while reinforcement decreases a behavior.
D)decreases a behavior,while reinforcement increases a behavior.

Question 20

Which of the following is an example of a secondary reinforcer?

A)money
B)food
C)sleep
D)sex

Question 21

Which of the following is true about punishment?

A)There is general agreement that it is an ineffective way to change a behavior.
B)It is considered a good way to change behavior regardless of how it is used.
C)It is most effective when you begin with a weak punishment and gradually work up to a stronger punishment.
D)Its effects can be counteracted if the punished behavior is simultaneously being reinforced.

Question 22

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

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

Question 23

Parents who decide to use punishment on a misbehaving child should:

A)spank the child,as spanking is the only effective punisher.
B)make sure that the punishment involves giving the child lots of attention.
C)not use spanking because it has been shown to be completely ineffective.
D)also reinforce good behavior.

Question 24

The matching law of choice behavior states that,given two responses that are reinforced on different VI schedules,an organism will:

A)give only the response that provides the better rate of reinforcement.
B)respond in order to approximately match the relative rate of reinforcement for each response.
C)give both responses at roughly equal rates.
D)become confused and stop responding altogether.

Question 25

Suppose a man has his driver's license revoked due to several unpaid traffic tickets.The taking away of his license would be _______ of the man's behavior of not paying tickets.

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

Question 26

If a pigeon is being trained to peck at a disc for a food reward,which of the following delays between pecking and receiving the reward will lead to the fastest learning?

A)0 seconds
B)2 seconds
C)5 seconds
D)10 seconds

Question 27

A baseball player gets a hit approximately every third time at bat.This is an example of a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

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

Question 28

Negative punishment involves:

A)adding an outcome to increase a behavior.
B)adding an outcome to decrease a behavior.
C)taking away an outcome to increase a behavior.
D)taking away an outcome to decrease a behavior.

Question 29

A hotel maid is allowed to take a 15-minute break every time she cleans three rooms.This is an example of a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

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

Question 30

A post-reinforcement pause is seen when ________ schedules of reinforcement are used.

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

Question 31

Suppose you are trying to save for a new television,but your friends are pressuring you to go out with them tonight to the new club in town.You are MOST likely to stay home and save your money if you:

A)are a teenager.
B)have arranged for your paycheck to be automatically deposited into a savings account.
C)know it will be a long time before you have enough money to buy the television.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 32

Positive reinforcement involves:

A)adding an outcome to increase a behavior.
B)adding an outcome to decrease a behavior.
C)taking away an outcome to increase a behavior.
D)taking away an outcome to decrease a behavior.

Question 33

The study of how organisms allocate their time and resources among possible options is known as:

A)the matching law.
B)behavioral economics.
C)chaining.
D)shaping.

Question 34

A professor gives her class donuts every Monday.This is an example of a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

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

Question 35

Which of the following is an example of how discriminative stimuli can encourage cheating?

A)A child who makes silly faces during class is reprimanded by the teacher,but his classmates tell him how funny he is.
B)A teenager is punished for swearing at home,but still swears when she is with her friends at school.
C)A drug user is given a warning for his first offense and jail time if he repeats the offense.
D)A politician who is exposed for illegally obtaining money one way will then find another way to obtain the money.

Question 36

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

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

Question 37

A child is given a gold star every time she gets an "A" on a test.This is an example of:

A)partial reinforcement.
B)a fixed-interval schedule.
C)continuous reinforcement.
D)a variable-interval schedule.

Question 38

A pigeon is given a choice between pecking an upper key on a VI 2' schedule and pecking a lower key on a VI 4' schedule.According to the matching law of choice behavior,the pigeon should:

A)always peck the lower key.
B)always peck the upper key.
C)peck the lower key twice as frequently as the upper key.
D)peck the upper key twice as frequently as the lower key.

Question 39

A student watches for shooting stars on a clear night,and sees one approximately every two minutes.This is an example of a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

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

Question 40

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

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

Question 41

One suggestion regarding the roles of dopamine and opioids in reinforcement is that:

A)dopamine is involved in "wanting" a drug,whereas opioids are involved in "liking" a drug.
B)opioids are involved in "wanting" a drug,whereas dopamine is involved in "liking" a drug.
C)dopamine and opioids are both involved in "wanting" a drug.
D)dopamine and opioids are both involved in "liking" a drug.

Question 42

Electrical stimulation of the ________ is reinforcing to rats.

A)orbitofrontal cortex
B)dorsal striatum
C)ventral tegmental area
D)motor cortex

Question 43

Which part of the brain seems to be especially important for maintaining habitual or automatic S-R associations?

A)the dorsal striatum
B)the orbitofrontal cortex
C)the sensory cortices
D)the ventral tegmental area

Question 44

According to the Premack principle,if a child would rather wash dishes than do homework:

A)homework could be used as a reward for washing dishes.
B)washing dishes could be used as a reward for doing homework.
C)the child's desire to do homework will be increased by restricting access to washing dishes.
D)the child's desire to do dishes will be increased by restricting access to doing homework.

Question 45

Increasing dopamine appears to:

A)decrease how much we want something but not how much we like it.
B)decrease how much we like something but not how much we want it.
C)increase how much we want something but not how much we like it.
D)increase how much we like something but not how much we want it.

Question 46

Extinction mimicry occurs when:

A)rats are no longer able to make the motor responses necessary to press a bar.
B)rats who are no longer reinforced for bar pressing continue to press the bar.
C)the VTA is electrically stimulated.
D)rats are given drugs that block dopamine transmission.

Question 47

If you have just finished eating your favorite meal,then that meal will probably have ___ hedonic value and ___ motivational value.

A)high;low
B)low;high
C)high;high
D)low;low

Question 48

Rats that are given a dopamine antagonist will:

A)prefer rat chow to sugar pellets if both are freely available.
B)work for sugar pellets even if rat chow is freely available.
C)work for rat chow even if sugar pellets are freely available.
D)choose rat chow that is freely available over sugar pellets that they must work for.

Question 49

Which of the following is true regarding the orbitofrontal cortex?

A)Orbitofrontal neurons respond when the outcome is expected to be pleasant but not when it is expected to be unpleasant.
B)Orbitofrontal neurons respond when the outcome is expected to be unpleasant but not when it is expected to be pleasant.
C)Pleasant and aversive outcomes may be coded in different regions of the orbitofrontal cortex.
D)Orbitofrontal neurons code the pleasantness of a stimulus but not its identity.

Question 50

The dorsal striatum seems to be particularly important for learning which association(s)in operant conditioning?

A)S-R
B)R-O
C)S-O
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 51

Monkeys with orbitofrontal lesions:

A)have trouble adapting their responses to new contingencies.
B)have difficulty learning any S-R associations.
C)are better than nonlesioned monkeys at adapting their responses to new contingencies.
D)learn S-R associations more readily than do nonlesioned monkeys.

Question 52

A rat with a dorsal striatum lesion would have trouble learning to:

A)press a bar for a food reward.
B)jump over a barrier to escape shock.
C)run in an exercise wheel to obtain a drink of water.
D)rear up on its hind legs to receive food when a red light comes on.

Question 53

The orbitofrontal cortex is particularly important for learning:

A)automatic S-R assocations.
B)to predict the outcomes of behaviors.
C)R-O associations.
D)the hedonic value of a stimulus.

Question 54

Interfering with dopamine seems to:

A)impair motor responses but have no effect on enjoyment of a reinforcer.
B)reduce enjoyment of a reinforcer but have no effect on motor responses.
C)reduce motivation to perform a behavior but have no effect on enjoyment of a reinforcer.
D)reduce enjoyment of a reinforcer but have no effect on motivation to perform a behavior.

Question 55

In the brain,what are the naturally occurring substances that have effects similar to those of opiate drugs such as heroin and morphine?

A)opiates
B)amphetamines
C)dopamine
D)endogenous opioids

Question 56

Which finding has been used to suggest that extinction mimicry is not simply due to rats no longer liking the food reward?

A)When dopamine is blocked in rats,the rats act as though they like all foods.
B)When dopamine is blocked in rats,the rats no longer display an aversive ("ugh")reaction to foods they dislike.
C)Parkinson's patients rate the pleasantness of foods the same way that healthy people do.
D)Parkinson's patients tend to dislike most foods.

Question 57

Hedonic value refers to ________ ,while motivational value refers to_________.

A)how much we want a reinforcer;how much we like a reinforcer
B)how much we like a reinforcer;how much we want a reinforcer
C)the strength of a reinforcer;the salience of a stimulus
D)the salience of a stimulus;the strength of a reinforcer

Question 58

The incentive salience hypothesis of extinction mimicry says that dopamine:

A)gives food its "goodness" qualities.
B)is involved in predicting future rewards.
C)provides organisms with the motivation to work for reinforcement.
D)reduces the ability of an organism to enjoy food and other rewards.

Question 59

If we block dopamine in an amphetamine user,we would expect that it would:

A)increase pleasurable feelings from the drug.
B)suppress pleasurable feelings from the drug.
C)suppress cravings for the drug.
D)increase cravings for the drug.

Question 60

Why is dopamine believed to be involved in reinforcement?

A)Dopamine release in rats is triggered by primary and secondary reinforcers.
B)Presentation of reinforcers leads to activity in brain areas known to receive dopaminergic input.
C)Blocking dopamine activity leads to extinction of reinforced responses.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 61

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:

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

Question 62

Darren is trying to get his young son to eat his peas.At first,Darren praises him whenever he moves his fork near the peas;after the child does this reliably,Darren praises him only if he actually puts a pea on his fork;then Darren's praise is only given when the child puts a pea on his fork and moves the fork toward his mouth.Darren carries on this way until the child eats his peas.Darren is using _____ to get his son to eat his peas.

A)the matching law
B)a token economy
C)shaping
D)chaining

Question 63

Research on addiction to romantic love has shown that:

A)romantic love is essentially just a drive to obtain sex.
B)this kind of addiction is very clearly a pathological addiction.
C)most people experience clinical depression after romantic rejection.
D)viewing pictures of a romantic partner can activate reward centers in the brain.

Question 64

Six-year-old Timmy was misbehaving in class one morning.Which of the following punishments is likely to be the MOST effective in preventing Timmy from misbehaving again?

A)making Timmy stay after school
B)immediately Timmy to sit in the corner
C)taking Timmy aside at lunchtime and asking him to please stop misbehaving
D)giving Timmy a warning,and making the punishment more severe if he misbehaves again

Question 65

Which of the following is an example of a primary reinforcer?

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

Question 66

Which of the following is an example of a behavioral addiction?

A)addiction to exercise
B)addiction to alcohol
C)addiction to cocaine
D)addiction to caffeine

Question 67

Swatting a dog with a newspaper would be _______ of the behavior of chewing up your favorite socks.

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

Question 68

According to the law of effect,Thorndike's cats learned to escape the puzzle box because:

A)making the correct sequence of responses led to a desirable outcome.
B)they instinctively knew how to escape.
C)they acquired an understanding of what they needed to do in order to escape.
D)they learned the correct sequence of responses by watching other cats escape from similar boxes.

Question 69

Drug addicts continue taking drugs in part to avoid the unpleasant effects of withdrawal.In this case,the behavior of taking drugs is being:

A)positively reinforced.
B)negatively reinforced.
C)positively punished.
D)negatively punished.

Question 70

Andrea is trying to stop biting her nails.Whenever she gets the urge to bit her nails,she forces herself to count to 100 before giving in to her urge.This is an example of:

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

Question 71

Drugs that block opioid receptors:

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 72

People with long-term addictions to cocaine or amphetamine:

A)have reduced cravings for the drug as well as a stronger "high" than they did in the early stages of addiction.
B)have reduced cravings for the drug than they did in the early stages of addiction.
C)do not receive the same "high" that they did in the early stages of addiction.
D)receive a much stronger "high" than they did in the early stages of addiction.

Question 73

Lauren is trying to stop her son from banging his spoon on the table during meals by praising him whenever he uses his spoon to eat his food.This is an example of:

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

Question 74

Suppose your roommate has gotten into the bad habit of talking to you whenever you are trying to study.You decide to ignore her whenever she does this.This is an example of:

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

Question 75

If it rains,opening your umbrella keeps you from getting wet.Escaping from getting wet would be _______ of the behavior of opening your umbrella.

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

Question 76

Behavioral addictions:

A)seem to activate the same reinforcement system in the brain as drug addictions do.
B)do not usually lead to withdrawal symptoms.
C)activate a unique brain system that is different from the one activated by drug addictions.
D)do not usually produce cravings.

Question 77

What is the main difference between classical and operant conditioning?

A)Operant conditioning shows extinction but classical conditioning does not.
B)Classical conditioning shows extinction but operant conditioning does not.
C)In operant conditioning the outcome depends on the response,while in classical conditioning the outcome occurs,regardless of the response.
D)In classical conditioning the outcome depends on the response,while in operant conditioning the outcome occurs,regardless of the response.

Question 78

Cocaine and amphetamine work by:

A)increasing the amount of endogenous opioids available.
B)decreasing the amount of endogenous opioids available.
C)increasing the amount of dopamine available.
D)decreasing the amount of dopamine available.

Question 79

The distancing approach to fighting an addiction involves:

A)avoiding the stimulus that triggers the unwanted response.
B)removing the reinforcement for producing the unwanted response.
C)increasing the amount of time between the unwanted response and reinforcment.
D)rewarding desirable responses instead.

Question 80

A man would be considered to have a pathological addiction to alcohol if he:

A)drinks more than four drinks a day.
B)suffers from a medical condition caused by his alcohol use.
C)is caught driving under the influence of alcohol.
D)regularly gets drunk with his friends on weekends.