Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

Food is considered a primary reinforcer because it satisfies a basic biological need. Primary reinforcers do not require learning to be effective; they inherently provide reinforcement by fulfilling fundamental physiological requirements.

Question 2

Jeremy stops gambling five minutes after his slot machine last paid off; Jessica is still gambling, even though her slot machine hasn't paid off in over an hour. In this example, Jeremy's behavior _____ while Jessica's behavior _____.

Accepted Answer

Jeremy's quick cessation of gambling after the slot machine stops paying off demonstrates low resistance to extinction (he stops the behavior quickly once the reinforcement stops). Jessica's continued gambling despite not winning indicates high resistance to extinction (she continues the behavior for a long time without reinforcement).

Question 3

An operantly conditioned response that is very durable and relatively hard to extinguish is said to show

Accepted Answer

High resistance to extinction characterizes an operantly conditioned response that remains persistent and difficult to extinguish, indicating that the behavior has been well learned and does not easily disappear even when reinforcement is no longer provided.

Question 4

Cues that influence operant behavior by indicating the probable consequences (reinforcement or nonreinforcement) of a response are referred to as _____ stimuli.

Accepted Answer

Discriminative stimuli signal the availability of reinforcement or punishment following a specific behavior, guiding the organism to respond when the outcome is likely to be favorable.

Question 5

When a researcher reinforces a response only some of the time, it is referred to as ​

Accepted Answer

Intermittent reinforcement refers to a conditioning schedule in which a response is reinforced only some of the time. This approach is contrasted with continuous reinforcement, where every correct response is reinforced.

Question 6

Julie has a desk right next to her manager's office. Whenever her manager is in his office, Julie makes sure that she works hard at her computer. However, if the manager is away from his office, she often works much more slowly and takes more breaks. In this case, the manager being in his office is acting as a(n) _____ for working hard.

Accepted Answer

The manager's presence acts as a discriminative stimulus, signaling to Julie that working hard will be reinforced (or not working hard could lead to negative consequences), thus affecting her behavior.

Question 7

As a young child, when you first realized that you could use money to buy candy and soda, money became an effective _____ reinforcer.

Accepted Answer

Money is considered a secondary reinforcer because it is not inherently valuable or satisfying but can be used to obtain primary reinforcers, such as food, water, or in this case, candy and soda. Primary reinforcers satisfy biological needs, whereas secondary reinforcers are learned.

Question 8

The basic principles of gradual acquisition, extinction, stimulus generalization, and discrimination apply ​

Accepted Answer

The basic principles of gradual acquisition, extinction, stimulus generalization, and discrimination are fundamental to both classical and operant conditioning, applying to the learning processes in both humans and animals.

Question 9

Chimps are trained to perform a variety of tasks to get coins. The coins could then be traded in for banana chips that could be eaten. The coins served as a  _____ reinforcer.

Accepted Answer

The coins serve as a secondary reinforcer because they are not inherently rewarding but can be used to obtain a primary reinforcer (banana chips). Primary reinforcers satisfy biological needs, whereas secondary reinforcers have value because of their association with primary reinforcers.

Question 10

Continuous reinforcement occurs when ​

Accepted Answer

Continuous reinforcement involves reinforcing every instance of a particular response, ensuring that each time the behavior occurs, it is followed by a reward. This method is used to establish new behaviors quickly.

Question 11

A pigeon learns to peck at a round disk to receive reinforcement, but not at a square disk. This means that, for the pigeon, the shape of the disk is a

Accepted Answer

The shape of the disk acts as a discriminative stimulus because it signals to the pigeon whether pecking will lead to reinforcement. The pigeon has learned to distinguish between the shapes, responding to the round disk to receive a reward, indicating that the shape cues the pigeon on when the behavior (pecking) will be reinforced.

Question 12

After owning a car with a manual transmission, Don buys a car with an automatic transmission. When first driving his new car, he keeps reaching for the nonexistent clutch and gearshift. This is an example of ​

Accepted Answer

This behavior is an example of stimulus generalization because Don is responding to the new, similar situation (driving an automatic car) with behaviors that were conditioned in a different but related context (driving a manual car). Stimulus generalization occurs when a conditioned response is triggered by stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus.

Question 13

The tendency for maladaptive responses extinguished during therapy to reappear when the client is outside the therapist's office is BEST explained by

Accepted Answer

The renewal effect explains the phenomenon where extinguished behaviors reappear when an individual is in an environment different from where the extinction took place, such as returning to a context outside of therapy.

Question 14

While out trick-or-treating for Halloween, at first, Billy's neighbors had to remind him to say "Trick or treat" before they dropped their treats into his bag. As he continued to visit houses in the neighborhood, soon Billy would say "Trick or treat" as soon as the neighbors answered the door. The treats he received were the _____ for his saying "Trick or treat."

Accepted Answer

The treats Billy received acted as a reinforcement for his behavior of saying "Trick or treat." In behavioral psychology, a reinforcement is anything that increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated.

Question 15

At preschool, Jessi has learned that she must wash her hands before snack-time in order to get a snack. At home, however, her parents do not check to make sure she washes her hands. When she is home, Jessi does not wash her hands before eating. Jessi's behavior illustrates the process of ​

Accepted Answer

Jessi's behavior illustrates stimulus discrimination because she differentiates between the preschool environment, where handwashing is required for a snack, and the home environment, where it is not enforced.

Question 16

Extinction of an operantly conditioned response occurs when the response is

Accepted Answer

Extinction of an operantly conditioned response occurs when the behavior that has been previously reinforced no longer results in the reinforcing consequences, thus the behavior gradually stops occurring.

Question 17

When you approach a traffic light and see a red light, you stop. On the other hand, when you approach that same light and see a green light, you continue driving. This example illustrates ​

Accepted Answer

This example illustrates stimulus discrimination because you are responding differently to different stimuli (red light vs. green light), indicating you can distinguish between the two and adjust your behavior accordingly.

Question 18

Primary reinforcers are effective because ​

Accepted Answer

Primary reinforcers are effective because they satisfy basic biological survival needs such as food, water, and warmth, which do not require learning to be considered rewarding.

Question 19

Food is an example of a ____; praise is an example of a ____.

Accepted Answer

Food is a primary reinforcer because it satisfies a biological need. Praise is a secondary reinforcer because it is a learned or conditioned reinforcer, deriving its effectiveness from its association with primary reinforcers.

Question 20

Bart used to go to his health club every day after work because he almost always saw Abigail there. For two full weeks, Abigail wasn't at the club when Bart went there for his workout, and now Bart has stopped going to his health club. This example illustrates the operant conditioning process of

Accepted Answer

Extinction in operant conditioning occurs when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer reinforced, leading to a decrease in the frequency of that behavior. In this case, Bart's behavior of going to the health club was reinforced by seeing Abigail. When Abigail was no longer there, the reinforcement stopped, leading Bart to stop going to the health club.

Quiz 6: Learning

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

Jeremy stops gambling five minutes after his slot machine last paid off; Jessica is still gambling, even though her slot machine hasn't paid off in over an hour. In this example, Jeremy's behavior _ while Jessica's behavior _.

An operantly conditioned response that is very durable and relatively hard to extinguish is said to show

Cues that influence operant behavior by indicating the probable consequences (reinforcement or nonreinforcement) of a response are referred to as _____ stimuli.

When a researcher reinforces a response only some of the time, it is referred to as

As a young child, when you first realized that you could use money to buy candy and soda, money became an effective _____ reinforcer.

The basic principles of gradual acquisition, extinction, stimulus generalization, and discrimination apply

Chimps are trained to perform a variety of tasks to get coins. The coins could then be traded in for banana chips that could be eaten. The coins served as a _____ reinforcer.

Continuous reinforcement occurs when

A pigeon learns to peck at a round disk to receive reinforcement, but not at a square disk. This means that, for the pigeon, the shape of the disk is a

After owning a car with a manual transmission, Don buys a car with an automatic transmission. When first driving his new car, he keeps reaching for the nonexistent clutch and gearshift. This is an example of

The tendency for maladaptive responses extinguished during therapy to reappear when the client is outside the therapist's office is BEST explained by

At preschool, Jessi has learned that she must wash her hands before snack-time in order to get a snack. At home, however, her parents do not check to make sure she washes her hands. When she is home, Jessi does not wash her hands before eating. Jessi's behavior illustrates the process of

Extinction of an operantly conditioned response occurs when the response is

When you approach a traffic light and see a red light, you stop. On the other hand, when you approach that same light and see a green light, you continue driving. This example illustrates

Primary reinforcers are effective because

Food is an example of a ; praise is an example of a .

Bart used to go to his health club every day after work because he almost always saw Abigail there. For two full weeks, Abigail wasn't at the club when Bart went there for his workout, and now Bart has stopped going to his health club. This example illustrates the operant conditioning process of

Quiz 6: Learning

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

Jeremy stops gambling five minutes after his slot machine last paid off; Jessica is still gambling, even though her slot machine hasn't paid off in over an hour. In this example, Jeremy's behavior _____ while Jessica's behavior _____.

An operantly conditioned response that is very durable and relatively hard to extinguish is said to show

Cues that influence operant behavior by indicating the probable consequences (reinforcement or nonreinforcement) of a response are referred to as _____ stimuli.

When a researcher reinforces a response only some of the time, it is referred to as ​

As a young child, when you first realized that you could use money to buy candy and soda, money became an effective _____ reinforcer.

The basic principles of gradual acquisition, extinction, stimulus generalization, and discrimination apply ​

Chimps are trained to perform a variety of tasks to get coins. The coins could then be traded in for banana chips that could be eaten. The coins served as a _____ reinforcer.

Continuous reinforcement occurs when ​

A pigeon learns to peck at a round disk to receive reinforcement, but not at a square disk. This means that, for the pigeon, the shape of the disk is a

After owning a car with a manual transmission, Don buys a car with an automatic transmission. When first driving his new car, he keeps reaching for the nonexistent clutch and gearshift. This is an example of ​

The tendency for maladaptive responses extinguished during therapy to reappear when the client is outside the therapist's office is BEST explained by

At preschool, Jessi has learned that she must wash her hands before snack-time in order to get a snack. At home, however, her parents do not check to make sure she washes her hands. When she is home, Jessi does not wash her hands before eating. Jessi's behavior illustrates the process of ​

Extinction of an operantly conditioned response occurs when the response is

When you approach a traffic light and see a red light, you stop. On the other hand, when you approach that same light and see a green light, you continue driving. This example illustrates ​

Primary reinforcers are effective because ​

Food is an example of a ____; praise is an example of a ____.

Bart used to go to his health club every day after work because he almost always saw Abigail there. For two full weeks, Abigail wasn't at the club when Bart went there for his workout, and now Bart has stopped going to his health club. This example illustrates the operant conditioning process of

Jeremy stops gambling five minutes after his slot machine last paid off; Jessica is still gambling, even though her slot machine hasn't paid off in over an hour. In this example, Jeremy's behavior _ while Jessica's behavior _.

When a researcher reinforces a response only some of the time, it is referred to as

The basic principles of gradual acquisition, extinction, stimulus generalization, and discrimination apply

Continuous reinforcement occurs when

After owning a car with a manual transmission, Don buys a car with an automatic transmission. When first driving his new car, he keeps reaching for the nonexistent clutch and gearshift. This is an example of

At preschool, Jessi has learned that she must wash her hands before snack-time in order to get a snack. At home, however, her parents do not check to make sure she washes her hands. When she is home, Jessi does not wash her hands before eating. Jessi's behavior illustrates the process of

When you approach a traffic light and see a red light, you stop. On the other hand, when you approach that same light and see a green light, you continue driving. This example illustrates

Primary reinforcers are effective because

Food is an example of a ; praise is an example of a .