Question 1

Kate's 6-year-old son has autism. To help him learn daily tasks, she breaks down activities into their component parts. Tooth brushing, for example, involves several steps that occur in basically the same order each time. Which of the following learning principles would provide the strongest foundation for learning how to brush one's teeth in this context?

Accepted Answer

Chaining is a learning principle where complex tasks are broken down into smaller, manageable steps that are taught sequentially. This approach is particularly effective for teaching daily tasks to individuals with autism.

Question 2

Derek is frustrated that his 1 ½-year-old dog does not let him know when he needs to go outside to urinate. Sometimes he comes home to find a mess near the door. Which training method is most likely to be successful?

Accepted Answer

Option D is the best choice as it involves positive reinforcement by immediately rewarding the dog for urinating outside, thus associating the behavior with a positive outcome. Option A is also a good choice, but the dog may not learn to associate the treat with the desired behavior if it is given regardless of whether or not he urinates outside. Options B and C involve punishment, which is not an effective method of training and can lead to fear, anxiety, and possibly more accidents in the future.

Question 3

Richard, who is 16 years old, misses his curfew and as a result is grounded by his parents. He is not allowed to leave the house, see his friends, or use his cell phone for 1 week. His parent's actions illustrate ____.

Accepted Answer

Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus (like freedom, social interaction, or phone use) to decrease a behavior (missing curfew).

Question 4

After a stressful day of work, Randi often makes small burn marks on her inner arm with a cigarette; which she feels helps to relieve her stress and anxiety. This type of behavior is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus (stress and anxiety) to increase the likelihood of a behavior (making burn marks) being repeated.

Question 5

A reinforcer that gains value from being associated with other things that are valued is called a(n)____ reinforcer.

Accepted Answer

A conditioned reinforcer gains value from being associated with other reinforcers that are valued. It becomes associated with other valued reinforcers through classical conditioning. For example, money is a conditioned reinforcer because it gains value from being associated with other things that are valued, like food, shelter, and clothing.

Question 6

Marcus, who runs a software development company, repeatedly thanks his administrative assistant, Shana, for her hard work. Lately however, Marcus neglects to acknowledge the accomplishments of Shana; Shana's performance has begun to decline. What likely contributed to Shana's performance problems?

Accepted Answer

Extinction occurs when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer reinforced, leading to a decrease in that behavior. Marcus's failure to acknowledge Shana's accomplishments likely led to the extinction of her motivation and performance.

Question 7

Nick wants to encourage his 6-year-old daughter, Anna, to help with family chores. He makes an outline of a rainbow with seven bands so that Anna can color in a band each time she does a chore. If she does seven chores in a week, coloring in the full rainbow, she gets $1. Nick's technique demonstrates which methods?

Accepted Answer

Nick's technique uses a token economy (the rainbow as a visual representation of progress), positive reinforcement (earning $1 for completing chores), and a fixed ratio schedule (reward given after a set number of responses, in this case, seven chores).

Question 8

How can extinction be avoided with operant conditioning?

Accepted Answer

By continuously reinforcing a behavior, even after it is learned, extinction can be avoided. This means that the behavior should be reinforced on a regular basis to maintain it, rather than only rewarding it sporadically. This helps to strengthen the association between the behavior and the reward, making it less likely that the behavior will become extinct over time.

Question 9

Determining whether an action constitutes reinforcement or punishment requires understanding ____.

Accepted Answer

To determine whether an action constitutes reinforcement or punishment, one needs to consider the effect that the action has on behavior. Reinforcement strengthens the behavior, while punishment weakens it. The intrinsic quality of the consequence or specific social and cultural norms associated with the action may not necessarily determine whether it is reinforcement or punishment. The external stimulus driving the action may also not necessarily be relevant in determining whether it is reinforcement or punishment.

Question 10

The method for increasing behaviors that allow an organism to escape or avoid an unpleasant consequence is referred to as ____.

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement is the method for increasing behaviors that allow an organism to escape or avoid an unpleasant consequence. This involves removing a negative stimulus (e.g. a loud noise) after the desired behavior is displayed (e.g. pressing a button to turn off the noise). The removal of the negative stimulus reinforces the behavior and increases the likelihood of it occurring again in the future.

Question 11

Which of the following methods of behavior modification adheres to the Premack Principle?

Accepted Answer

The Premack Principle states that a high-probability behavior (i.e. riding a bike) can be used to reinforce a low-probability behavior (i.e. cleaning one's room). In choice A, Miguel is using the opportunity to ride a bike as a reinforcement for completing the less desirable task of cleaning one's room.

Question 12

Mrs. Collora teaches social studies to junior high school students. Two boys in her class often loudly make jokes about the material being discussed. She has tried several techniques without success: (1)ignoring them; (2)encouraging and rewarding them for contributing to the class discussion; (3)removing their opportunities to participate in field trips; and (4)requiring them each to write an essay on proper behavior. In the order presented, list the operant conditioning principles she has applied to the situation.

Accepted Answer

Ignoring them is extinction, rewarding them is positive reinforcement, removing field trip opportunities is negative punishment, and requiring essays is positive punishment.

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is an example...

Question 14

Sonia first trains her new dog by saying "good dog!" before giving him a food treat. She then trains her dog to sit and stay, saying "good dog!" when he provides the correct behavior; while continuing to periodically provide a food treat. Sonia is using which method(s)?

Accepted Answer

Sonia is using classical conditioning by associating "good dog!" with a food treat, and operant conditioning by reinforcing the dog's behavior with praise and treats.

Question 15

What is true of operant conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning primarily involves voluntary behaviors, as it focuses on the consequences of an individual's actions and how those consequences shape future behavior. In contrast, classical conditioning primarily involves involuntary behaviors, as it focuses on the automatic association between stimuli.

Question 16

A consequence that eliminates or reduces the frequency of a behavior by applying an aversive stimulus is referred to as ____.

Accepted Answer

Positive punishment is the consequence that applies an aversive stimulus to eliminate or reduce the frequency of a behavior. Option A is incorrect as negative reinforcement aims to increase a behavior by removing an aversive stimulus. Option C refers to the removal of a desirable stimulus, which decreases the frequency of the behavior. Option D refers to the addition of a desirable stimulus to increase the occurrence of a behavior.

Question 17

Lucia, who experiences extreme anxiety when taking an exam, practices meditation breathing to reduce her anxiety prior to taking a test. Her meditation breathing is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

Lucia's use of meditation breathing is a behavior intended to decrease her anxiety, which is an unpleasant feeling. By engaging in meditation breathing prior to taking a test, Lucia sees a reduction in her anxiety (the unpleasant feeling), which serves as a negative reinforcement.

Question 18

Martha wants to teach her dog Max the command, "Get beer, Max." This involves going to the refrigerator and opening it by pulling on a dishtowel tied to the handle, taking out a can of beer with his mouth, and bringing it to her dinner guest. Which of the following training methods is likely to work best?

Accepted Answer

Chaining and positive reinforcement is the best method because chaining involves breaking down the task into smaller steps and teaching each step individually, while positive reinforcement encourages the dog by rewarding it for successfully completing each step.

Question 19

Three conditions must be met for punishment to have any observable effects on behavior: ____.

Accepted Answer

The three conditions that must be met for punishment to have any observable effects on behavior are significance (the punishment must be meaningful to the individual), immediacy (the punishment must happen soon after the behavior occurs), and consistency (the punishment must be consistently applied when the behavior occurs). Choice A is incorrect because punishment does not involve reinforcement, which is a concept related to reward. Choice B is incorrect because selection and focus are not relevant conditions for punishment to have observable effects. Choice D is incorrect because quality and relevance are not relevant conditions for punishment to have observable effects.

Question 20

Which of the following is likely to provide the most powerful method for managing behavior?

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement is the most powerful method for managing behavior because it increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated by providing a positive consequence.

Quiz 8: The Adaptive Mind: Learning