Question 1

George teaches his dog to bring him the morning newspaper by first reinforcing the dog for sniffing at the paper, then for picking it up in its mouth, then for carrying it a few steps, and finally for bringing it all the way to him.George's procedure exemplifies:

Accepted Answer

George's procedure exemplifies shaping, which involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior. None of the options provided (fading, stimulus discrimination training, intermittent reinforcement) accurately describe this process.

Question 2

A stimulus that you want to eventually control a target behavior is called a(n):

Accepted Answer

The final target stimulus is the one that you want to eventually control the target behavior, as it is the ultimate goal of the training process.

Question 3

Another name for errorless learning is shaping.

Accepted Answer

Errorless learning and shaping are two different teaching strategies. Errorless learning involves teaching a skill in a way that minimizes errors and provides immediate feedback, while shaping involves gradually teaching a skill by reinforcing approximations or steps towards the desired behavior.

Question 4

The procedure in which the response remains the same over trials while the controlling stimulus is gradually changed is called:

Accepted Answer

Fading involves gradually changing a controlling stimulus while keeping the response the same across trials, allowing the subject to adapt to new stimulus conditions without a sudden change in expectations or requirements.

Question 5

Contextual control refers to a situation where a single stimulus controls a single response in all settings or contexts.

Accepted Answer

Contextual control refers to a situation where a single stimulus controls a specific response only in a particular setting or context, not in all settings or contexts.

Question 6

When a teacher demonstrates a correct behavior, the teacher is using a(n):

Accepted Answer

A modelling prompt is when a teacher demonstrates a behavior for students to follow. This can be an effective way for students to learn new behaviors or skills. Physical, environmental, and verbal prompts are different types of prompts that are not specific to modelling behavior.

Question 7

Which of the following is not a major category of prompts?

Accepted Answer

The three major categories of prompts are verbal, gestural, and physical. Psychological prompts are not a recognized category of prompts.

Question 8

Which of the following is not an advantage of establishing stimulus control without errors?

Accepted Answer

Option A, B, and D all highlight the advantages of establishing stimulus control without errors, such as saving time, reducing the likelihood of repeated errors, and avoiding emotional side effects. Option C, however, is not an advantage but rather an outcome of establishing stimulus control without errors, as a mastery criterion without errors does indeed lead to increased generalization.

Question 9

When a teacher alters the characteristics of the SD or the S∆ to make them more noticeable and therefore easier to discriminate during discrimination training with a child, the teacher is using a(n):

Accepted Answer

When a teacher alters the characteristics of the SD or S∆ to make them easier to discriminate, this is known as a within-stimulus prompt. This type of prompt is used to help the child discriminate between the correct and incorrect responses by making the stimuli more distinct or noticeable. An example of a within-stimulus prompt might be making the SD larger or more brightly colored than the S∆. Extra-stimulus prompts involve adding another stimulus to the environment to prompt the correct response, physical prompts involve physically guiding the child through the correct response, and modelling prompts involve demonstrating the correct response for the child.

Question 10

In fading, the response gradually changes, while the general stimulus situation remains essentially the same.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In fading, the response gradually changes, while...

Question 11

Fading is a gradual change on successive trials of a stimulus that controls a response, so that the response eventually occurs to a partially changed or completely new stimuli.

Accepted Answer

The statement accurately describes the definition of fading.

Question 12

Movements a teacher makes without touching the student in order to evoke a desired behavior are called "gestural" prompts.

Accepted Answer

Gestural prompts are movements or gestures made by a teacher without touching the student, used to encourage or evoke desired behavior.

Question 13

When teaching a child the correct position of the knife, fork, and spoon at a place setting at a dinner table, the teacher initially draws the location of the utensils on a place mat, and then fades out the drawing over trials.The drawing on the place mat is a(n):

Accepted Answer

The drawing on the place mat serves as an extra-stimulus prompt because it adds an additional visual cue to help the child learn the correct position of the utensils, which is external to the utensils themselves.

Question 14

While teaching a child to obtain the appropriate colored object when the teacher said either "blue" or "green," the teacher's pointing to the correct object on a trial would be an example of:

Accepted Answer

Pointing to an object is considered a gestural prompt because it involves using a gesture (in this case, pointing) to indicate or guide the desired response without physically manipulating the learner or the environment.

Question 15

No more than 4 reinforced trials should occur at any given fading step before the stimuli of that particular step are changed.

Accepted Answer

The recommendation is that no more than 5 reinforced trials should occur at any given fading step before the stimuli of that particular step are changed, to ensure effective learning and avoid potential issues like stimulus overselectivity.

Question 16

The initial stimulus that reliably evokes the desired behavior at the start of a fading program is known as the:

Accepted Answer

The starting stimulus is the initial stimulus used in a fading program to evoke the desired behavior before gradually being replaced or faded out.

Question 17

Stimulus equivalence requires the demonstration of reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity.

Accepted Answer

Stimulus equivalence is a concept that occurs when a learner understands the relationship between different stimuli and can respond to new stimuli based on that understanding. Stimulus equivalence requires the demonstration of reflexivity (A=A), symmetry (if A=B, then B=A), and transitivity (if A=B and B=C, then A=C). Thus, the statement is true.

Question 18

Susan praises her child for saying "please" before being given a treat and for saying "thank you" after receiving the treat.Susan's procedure exemplifies:

Accepted Answer

Susan's procedure exemplifies stimulus discrimination training, as she is reinforcing specific behaviors (saying "please" and "thank you") in response to specific stimuli (being given a treat and receiving the treat). This type of training involves reinforcing only the desired behavior in response to a specific stimulus, while not reinforcing the behavior in response to other stimuli.

Question 19

The gradual change, on successive trials, of a stimulus that controls a response so that the response eventually occurs to a partially changed or completely new stimulus, is known as:

Accepted Answer

Fading involves gradually changing a stimulus so that the response eventually occurs to a partially changed or completely new stimulus. Stimulus discrimination training involves teaching a response to one stimulus but not to others. Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior. Training is a broad term that can refer to any process of teaching or learning.

Question 20

It is advantageous to establish stimulus control without errors because errors
consume valuable time.

Accepted Answer

Establishing stimulus control without errors saves valuable time because errors require additional correction and retraining, which can prolong the process of achieving the desired behavior.

Quiz 31: Shaping and Schedules of Reinforcement: A Comprehensive Guide