Question 1

Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase a desired behavior. In choice C, stopping the nagging (an unpleasant stimulus) when the child cleans his room is an example of negative reinforcement because it removes something unpleasant to encourage the behavior of cleaning the room.

Question 2

Brenda has learned to take an over-the-counter medication 30 minutes before she eats a spicy meal. When she does this, she is able to prevent the heartburn and indigestion that she would experience otherwise. This is an example of ​

Accepted Answer

Brenda is engaging in avoidance learning because she takes medication to prevent an undesirable outcome (heartburn and indigestion) from occurring. This is a form of behavior modification where the action is taken to avoid a negative consequence.

Question 3

Henry got a bad sunburn on his face when he was skiing last winter. Now, before he starts a day of skiing, he uses sunscreen on his face to prevent another sunburn. This is an example of ​

Accepted Answer

Henry is using sunscreen to avoid the negative outcome of getting sunburned again, which is an example of avoidance learning. He has learned to perform a specific behavior (applying sunscreen) to prevent an unpleasant or harmful condition (sunburn).

Question 4

When Skyler was first training his dog, Smooches, to heel he would give Smooches a treat when she stayed close during walks. Now Smooches stays right by Skyler's side, even when she is not on her leash. In this case, ​

Accepted Answer

The dog treats acted as positive reinforcers for the desired behavior, which in this case was staying close. Positive reinforcement involves adding something pleasant following a behavior, increasing the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.

Question 5

Nolan has learned to drink a cup of coffee whenever he gets a tension headache because drinking coffee makes the pain of the headache go away. This is an example of ​

Accepted Answer

Escape learning occurs when a behavior is performed to terminate an unpleasant stimulus, such as a headache. In this case, Nolan drinks coffee to escape the discomfort of his tension headache.

Question 6

A rat learns to press a bar to turn off an electric shock. This is an example of ​

Accepted Answer

Escape learning occurs when an organism learns to perform an action to terminate an ongoing, unpleasant stimulus. In this case, the rat learns to press a bar to stop the electric shock, which is an example of escape learning.

Question 7

A cue light comes on in a dog's shuttle box prompting the dog to jump the hurdle to the other side before a shock is administered. Which of the following procedures is being used?

Accepted Answer

Avoidance learning is demonstrated here, where the dog learns to avoid the shock by jumping the hurdle when the cue light comes on. This is a form of negative reinforcement where the behavior is strengthened by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus.

Question 8

Nancy has a headache; she takes some aspirin, and the headache goes away. Nancy is more likely to take aspirin again. This is an example of ​

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior is strengthened because it removes or diminishes a negative outcome, such as a headache. Taking aspirin removed the headache, which is likely to increase the behavior (taking aspirin) in the future.

Question 9

Immediately after being reinforced, a rat on which of the following schedules of reinforcement would show the LONGEST pause before its next response?

Accepted Answer

Fixed-interval schedules of reinforcement typically result in a pause following reinforcement because the subject knows that another reinforcement is not available until a certain amount of time has passed. This leads to a period of inactivity immediately after reinforcement, unlike the other schedules where the next reinforcement could potentially be available immediately or after a variable or fixed number of responses.

Question 10

Your teenage daughter has not cleaned her room in a month. You go in and begin yelling at her to clean her room. She begins to clean up, and you stop yelling. Your daughter's cleaning behavior can be viewed as responding to ​

Accepted Answer

The daughter's cleaning behavior is an example of negative reinforcement because the yelling (an aversive stimulus) stops when she begins to clean. Negative reinforcement increases a behavior by removing or avoiding a negative outcome.

Question 11

If you perform a behavior designed to prevent an unpleasant event from happening, your behavior is classified as  a(n) _____ response.

Accepted Answer

Avoidance behavior is an action taken to prevent an unpleasant event from happening, unlike escape behavior, which is a response to stop an ongoing unpleasant event.

Question 12

Avoidance conditioning develops through ​

Accepted Answer

Avoidance conditioning develops through negative reinforcement, where a behavior is strengthened because it helps an individual avoid a negative outcome or aversive stimulus.

Question 13

Escape conditioning is maintained by ​

Accepted Answer

Escape conditioning is maintained by negative reinforcement, where the behavior is increased because it allows the individual to avoid or escape an unpleasant stimulus.

Question 14

When a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, it is called ​

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus.

Question 15

When a response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, it is called

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement involves the strengthening of a behavior because it removes or diminishes a negative outcome or aversive stimulus.

Question 16

Tammy finds writing papers to be a very aversive task. As a result, she always checks out the requirements for all her classes before she registers and never takes classes that require term papers. Tammy's behavior is an example of ​

Accepted Answer

Tammy's behavior is an example of avoidance learning because she takes action (choosing classes without term paper requirements) to prevent encountering a situation (writing papers) she finds aversive. This is a form of learning where a behavior is strengthened because it prevents or avoids a negative outcome.

Question 17

Escape learning is a type of learning in which a(n)

Accepted Answer

Escape learning involves an organism learning to perform certain behaviors to terminate an ongoing, unpleasant stimulus. It is a form of negative reinforcement where the removal of the aversive stimulus strengthens the behavior.

Question 18

Every time Brianna does the dishes, her parents give her a dollar. Which of the following types of reinforcement are Brianna's parents using?

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement involves adding a stimulus (in this case, money) after a behavior (doing the dishes) to increase the likelihood that the behavior will occur again.

Question 19

Pat takes a prescription medication in order to reduce pain; Kelly takes the same medication in order to experience a "drug high." Pat's behavior is reinforced by _____ reinforcement and Kelly's behavior by _____ reinforcement.

Accepted Answer

Pat's behavior is reinforced by negative reinforcement because the medication reduces pain (removes an unpleasant stimulus). Kelly's behavior is reinforced by positive reinforcement because the medication provides a "drug high" (adds a pleasant stimulus).

Question 20

Tessa really likes to mow the lawn during the summer months, but her parents will only let her mow the lawn if all the dishes are washed. Consequently, every Saturday, Tessa has the table cleared and all of the dishes washed as soon as everyone has finished breakfast. In this case, ​

Accepted Answer

Mowing the lawn is a positive reinforcer for doing the dishes because Tessa is motivated to complete the task of washing dishes in order to gain the opportunity to mow the lawn, which is an activity she enjoys.

Quiz 6: Learning

Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

Brenda has learned to take an over-the-counter medication 30 minutes before she eats a spicy meal. When she does this, she is able to prevent the heartburn and indigestion that she would experience otherwise. This is an example of

Henry got a bad sunburn on his face when he was skiing last winter. Now, before he starts a day of skiing, he uses sunscreen on his face to prevent another sunburn. This is an example of

When Skyler was first training his dog, Smooches, to heel he would give Smooches a treat when she stayed close during walks. Now Smooches stays right by Skyler's side, even when she is not on her leash. In this case,

Nolan has learned to drink a cup of coffee whenever he gets a tension headache because drinking coffee makes the pain of the headache go away. This is an example of

A rat learns to press a bar to turn off an electric shock. This is an example of

A cue light comes on in a dog's shuttle box prompting the dog to jump the hurdle to the other side before a shock is administered. Which of the following procedures is being used?

Nancy has a headache; she takes some aspirin, and the headache goes away. Nancy is more likely to take aspirin again. This is an example of

Immediately after being reinforced, a rat on which of the following schedules of reinforcement would show the LONGEST pause before its next response?

Your teenage daughter has not cleaned her room in a month. You go in and begin yelling at her to clean her room. She begins to clean up, and you stop yelling. Your daughter's cleaning behavior can be viewed as responding to

If you perform a behavior designed to prevent an unpleasant event from happening, your behavior is classified as a(n) _____ response.

Avoidance conditioning develops through

Escape conditioning is maintained by

When a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, it is called

When a response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, it is called

Tammy finds writing papers to be a very aversive task. As a result, she always checks out the requirements for all her classes before she registers and never takes classes that require term papers. Tammy's behavior is an example of

Escape learning is a type of learning in which a(n)

Every time Brianna does the dishes, her parents give her a dollar. Which of the following types of reinforcement are Brianna's parents using?

Pat takes a prescription medication in order to reduce pain; Kelly takes the same medication in order to experience a "drug high." Pat's behavior is reinforced by _ reinforcement and Kelly's behavior by _ reinforcement.

Tessa really likes to mow the lawn during the summer months, but her parents will only let her mow the lawn if all the dishes are washed. Consequently, every Saturday, Tessa has the table cleared and all of the dishes washed as soon as everyone has finished breakfast. In this case,

Quiz 6: Learning

Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

Brenda has learned to take an over-the-counter medication 30 minutes before she eats a spicy meal. When she does this, she is able to prevent the heartburn and indigestion that she would experience otherwise. This is an example of ​

Henry got a bad sunburn on his face when he was skiing last winter. Now, before he starts a day of skiing, he uses sunscreen on his face to prevent another sunburn. This is an example of ​

When Skyler was first training his dog, Smooches, to heel he would give Smooches a treat when she stayed close during walks. Now Smooches stays right by Skyler's side, even when she is not on her leash. In this case, ​

Nolan has learned to drink a cup of coffee whenever he gets a tension headache because drinking coffee makes the pain of the headache go away. This is an example of ​

A rat learns to press a bar to turn off an electric shock. This is an example of ​

A cue light comes on in a dog's shuttle box prompting the dog to jump the hurdle to the other side before a shock is administered. Which of the following procedures is being used?

Nancy has a headache; she takes some aspirin, and the headache goes away. Nancy is more likely to take aspirin again. This is an example of ​

Immediately after being reinforced, a rat on which of the following schedules of reinforcement would show the LONGEST pause before its next response?

Your teenage daughter has not cleaned her room in a month. You go in and begin yelling at her to clean her room. She begins to clean up, and you stop yelling. Your daughter's cleaning behavior can be viewed as responding to ​

If you perform a behavior designed to prevent an unpleasant event from happening, your behavior is classified as a(n) _____ response.

Avoidance conditioning develops through ​

Escape conditioning is maintained by ​

When a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, it is called ​

When a response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, it is called

Tammy finds writing papers to be a very aversive task. As a result, she always checks out the requirements for all her classes before she registers and never takes classes that require term papers. Tammy's behavior is an example of ​

Escape learning is a type of learning in which a(n)

Every time Brianna does the dishes, her parents give her a dollar. Which of the following types of reinforcement are Brianna's parents using?

Pat takes a prescription medication in order to reduce pain; Kelly takes the same medication in order to experience a "drug high." Pat's behavior is reinforced by _____ reinforcement and Kelly's behavior by _____ reinforcement.

Tessa really likes to mow the lawn during the summer months, but her parents will only let her mow the lawn if all the dishes are washed. Consequently, every Saturday, Tessa has the table cleared and all of the dishes washed as soon as everyone has finished breakfast. In this case, ​

Brenda has learned to take an over-the-counter medication 30 minutes before she eats a spicy meal. When she does this, she is able to prevent the heartburn and indigestion that she would experience otherwise. This is an example of

Henry got a bad sunburn on his face when he was skiing last winter. Now, before he starts a day of skiing, he uses sunscreen on his face to prevent another sunburn. This is an example of

When Skyler was first training his dog, Smooches, to heel he would give Smooches a treat when she stayed close during walks. Now Smooches stays right by Skyler's side, even when she is not on her leash. In this case,

Nolan has learned to drink a cup of coffee whenever he gets a tension headache because drinking coffee makes the pain of the headache go away. This is an example of

A rat learns to press a bar to turn off an electric shock. This is an example of

Nancy has a headache; she takes some aspirin, and the headache goes away. Nancy is more likely to take aspirin again. This is an example of

Your teenage daughter has not cleaned her room in a month. You go in and begin yelling at her to clean her room. She begins to clean up, and you stop yelling. Your daughter's cleaning behavior can be viewed as responding to

Avoidance conditioning develops through

Escape conditioning is maintained by

When a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, it is called

Tammy finds writing papers to be a very aversive task. As a result, she always checks out the requirements for all her classes before she registers and never takes classes that require term papers. Tammy's behavior is an example of

Pat takes a prescription medication in order to reduce pain; Kelly takes the same medication in order to experience a "drug high." Pat's behavior is reinforced by _ reinforcement and Kelly's behavior by _ reinforcement.

Tessa really likes to mow the lawn during the summer months, but her parents will only let her mow the lawn if all the dishes are washed. Consequently, every Saturday, Tessa has the table cleared and all of the dishes washed as soon as everyone has finished breakfast. In this case,