Question 1

For what purpose would a psychologist make use of shaping?

Accepted Answer

Shaping is a behavioral technique used to train an organism to make a new response by reinforcing successive approximations to the desired behavior. A psychologist may use shaping to train an animal or person to learn a new skill or behavior.

Question 2

Skinner trained a rat to raise a flag and salute during the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner." The training involved a combination of __________ and __________.

Accepted Answer

Skinner used a process called shaping to train the rat to raise the flag and salute, which involved rewarding the rat for gradually approximating the desired behavior. Once the rat had learned to raise the flag, Skinner used chaining to link this behavior with the behavior of saluting during the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner." Therefore, the correct answer is C, which recognizes that Skinner used a combination of shaping and chaining during the training process.

Question 3

The ability of a stimulus to encourage some responses and discourage others is known as

Accepted Answer

Stimulus control refers to the ability of a stimulus to control or influence behavior. A stimulus may encourage or discourage certain responses, depending on the behavior that has been reinforced or punished in the presence of that stimulus. Stimulus generalization and discrimination refer to an individual's ability to respond to similar or different stimuli, respectively, whereas spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a previously extinguished response.

Question 4

Another term for the Skinner box is the

Accepted Answer

The Skinner box is also known as the operant-conditioning chamber. This is because it was developed by B.F. Skinner for the purpose of studying operant conditioning, a type of learning that involves modifying behavior through rewards and punishments. The other options, puzzle box, behaviorist box, and Pandora box, are not commonly used terms for the Skinner box and are not as accurate in describing its purpose or function.

Question 5

In operant conditioning, shaping means

Accepted Answer

Shaping in operant conditioning involves reinforcing successive approximations to the desired response. This means that each time the animal demonstrates a behavior that is closer to the desired response, it is reinforced until it ultimately reaches the desired behavior. Shaping involves a gradual reinforcement of behaviors and is often used to teach complex behaviors or actions. Choices A and B do not accurately describe shaping, and choice C describes a different process altogether.

Question 6

When your professor arrives and opens his notes, you stop talking to the person next to you and prepare to take notes. This situation is most clearly an example of

Accepted Answer

A discriminative stimulus is a cue or signal that indicates the availability of reinforcement for a particular behavior. In this case, the professor's arrival and opening of notes signals that it is time to take notes, which is reinforced by successful learning and potentially good grades. The behavior of stopping to talk and preparing to take notes is being reinforced by the context and cues of the situation, making it a discriminative stimulus. Classical conditioning, belongingness, and unconditioned reinforcers don't align as well with the scenario described.

Question 7

What is chaining in operant conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Chaining in operant conditioning involves training a sequence of behaviors in which the reinforcement for one behavior is the opportunity to perform the next behavior. This process involves breaking down a complex behavior into smaller components and reinforcing each component until the entire sequence is learned.

Question 8

According to B.F. Skinner, "shaping" refers to

Accepted Answer

Shaping is the process of reinforcing successive approximations to a behavior until the desired behavior is achieved. This is a gradual process in which a behavior is shaped through reinforcement of the small steps that lead up to the final behavior.

Question 9

When you open a combination lock, you first turn the lock to one number. The reinforcement for that response is the opportunity to turn it to the second number, which is reinforced by the opportunity to turn to the third number, which opens the lock. This series of behaviors illustrates the concept of

Accepted Answer

Chaining refers to a sequence or chain of behaviors, in which the completion of each behavior serves as a cue or discriminative stimulus for the next behavior in the sequence. In this case, turning the lock to each number in sequence serves as a discriminative stimulus for the next number, until the lock is opened.

Question 10

On the first floor of your dormitory are two vending machines. The one on the left always works; the one on the right is usually broken. You therefore put your money only in the machine on the left. This illustrates which aspect of operant conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Discrimination is the ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other irrelevant stimuli, and respond only to the conditioned stimulus. In this scenario, the person has learned to discriminate between the two vending machines and only puts their money in the one that works.

Question 11

Shaping (in the context of operant conditioning) means

Accepted Answer

Shaping is the process of reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior, meaning that the behavior is gradually molded or "shaped" through reinforcement of smaller steps towards the desired behavior. The other options do not accurately describe shaping.

Question 12

Shaping (in the context of operant conditioning) means

Accepted Answer

Shaping refers to the process of reinforcing successive approximations to a behavior. This means that instead of waiting for a subject to exhibit the desired behavior, small steps that move in the direction of the desired behavior are reinforced until the subject has mastered the behavior. For example, if a trainer wants a dog to perform a complicated trick, she may begin by rewarding the dog for simply looking in the direction of the trick. Then, the trainer can gradually reinforce more complex behaviors until the dog can complete the entire trick.

Question 13

To train an animal to make some response, a psychologist decides to use the procedure known as shaping. This means that the psychologist will

Accepted Answer

Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations towards the desired behavior. This means starting with a simpler response that is already somewhat similar to the desired behavior and reinforcing the animal for performing that behavior. As the animal becomes more consistent at performing the simpler response, the criteria for reinforcement can be gradually changed to match the desired behavior more closely. Over time, the animal will learn to perform the desired behavior through the process of shaping. The other options (A, B, and C) are not accurate descriptions of shaping and may involve coercion, punishment, or modeling instead of shaping.

Question 14

At which stage of an experiment on operant conditioning does an experimenter make use of shaping?

Accepted Answer

Shaping is used at the start of training in operant conditioning to gradually guide the animal towards the desired behavior by reinforcing successive approximations of the target behavior.

Question 15

What procedure would you use to train your dog to go to the bedroom, pick up your slippers, carry them to your favorite chair, go to the door, get the newspaper, and bring it to you?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What procedure would you use to train...

Question 16

An experimenter who wants to train a rat to pull a string to raise a flag begins by training it to stand up. This procedure is known as

Accepted Answer

Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior until the behavior is fully learned. In this case, the experimenter is starting with a simpler behavior (standing up) before moving on to the more complex behavior of pulling a string to raise a flag.

Question 17

When someone acquires a complex response through reinforcement for gradual approximations to the response, the training procedure is known as

Accepted Answer

Shaping involves gradually reinforcing behavior that approximates the desired response until the desired response is achieved. This process involves positive reinforcement for steps that lead towards the goal behavior. Conditioned reinforcement involves a learned association between a particular stimulus and a primary reinforcer, whereas classical conditioning involves the pairing of two stimuli to evoke a learned response. Molding involves physically guiding someone through the desired behavior rather than reinforcing gradual approximations.

Question 18

An operant conditioner such as B. F. Skinner might provide you with a reinforcer after you make a sound, then after a louder sound, then after a more pleasant sound, and so forth until you are singing. This procedure would be an example of

Accepted Answer

Shaping is the process of reinforcing successive approximations towards a desired behavior. In this case, the behavior being reinforced is making a sound, and the reinforcer is being gradually increased in intensity or quality until the behavior reaches the desired outcome of singing.

Question 19

A rat learns to climb a ladder to a platform where it can pull a string to raise the ladder and then climb the ladder again. The reinforcement for each response is the opportunity to perform the next response. This procedure is known as

Accepted Answer

The procedure described is an example of chaining, which involves teaching an animal to perform a sequence of behaviors to achieve a final goal. In this case, the rat is taught to climb the ladder, pull the string, and then climb the ladder again in order to receive reinforcement (the opportunity to perform the next response). Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of a behavior, stimulus generalization involves responding to stimuli similar to the original, and primary reinforcement involves reinforcing a behavior with a reward that is inherently desirable (such as food or water).

Question 20

An experimenter wishes to provide reinforcement for a rat every time it presses a lever. But the rat never presses the lever. Therefore the experimenter decides to use the procedure of shaping. What will the experimenter do first?

Accepted Answer

Shaping is a process of reinforcing successive approximations to the target behavior. Since the rat is not pressing the lever, the experimenter would need to reinforce the rat for a similar behavior that is easier to perform than pressing the lever. Reinforcing the rat for sitting up is a good choice because it is a simple behavior that the rat can already do and is also in the general direction of pressing the lever. Once the rat has consistently learned to sit up, the experimenter can gradually shape the behavior by reinforcing the rat for moving closer to the lever, touching the lever, and eventually pressing the lever.

Quiz 6: Learning

For what purpose would a psychologist make use of shaping?

Skinner trained a rat to raise a flag and salute during the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner." The training involved a combination of and .

The ability of a stimulus to encourage some responses and discourage others is known as

Another term for the Skinner box is the

In operant conditioning, shaping means

When your professor arrives and opens his notes, you stop talking to the person next to you and prepare to take notes. This situation is most clearly an example of

What is chaining in operant conditioning?

According to B.F. Skinner, "shaping" refers to

On the first floor of your dormitory are two vending machines. The one on the left always works; the one on the right is usually broken. You therefore put your money only in the machine on the left. This illustrates which aspect of operant conditioning?

Shaping (in the context of operant conditioning) means

Shaping (in the context of operant conditioning) means

To train an animal to make some response, a psychologist decides to use the procedure known as shaping. This means that the psychologist will

At which stage of an experiment on operant conditioning does an experimenter make use of shaping?

What procedure would you use to train your dog to go to the bedroom, pick up your slippers, carry them to your favorite chair, go to the door, get the newspaper, and bring it to you?

An experimenter who wants to train a rat to pull a string to raise a flag begins by training it to stand up. This procedure is known as

When someone acquires a complex response through reinforcement for gradual approximations to the response, the training procedure is known as

An operant conditioner such as B. F. Skinner might provide you with a reinforcer after you make a sound, then after a louder sound, then after a more pleasant sound, and so forth until you are singing. This procedure would be an example of

A rat learns to climb a ladder to a platform where it can pull a string to raise the ladder and then climb the ladder again. The reinforcement for each response is the opportunity to perform the next response. This procedure is known as

An experimenter wishes to provide reinforcement for a rat every time it presses a lever. But the rat never presses the lever. Therefore the experimenter decides to use the procedure of shaping. What will the experimenter do first?