Deck 8: Operant Procedures: Punishment

Question 1

David Camp and colleagues found that even a delay of only _____ reduced the effectiveness of a punisher.

A) 2 seconds
B) 5 seconds
C) 10 seconds
D) 15 seconds

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Delaying delivery of a punisher is most likely to ______.

A) reduce its effectiveness
B) increase its effectiveness
C) have no impact on its effectiveness
D) have variable and unpredictable effects on its effectiveness

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Research has shown that abnormal behavior is often _______ .

A) the result of unconscious urges
B) an inappropriate way of obtaining appropriate reinforcers
C) due to the misuse of punishment
D) an effort to punish others

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The first formal studies of punishment were probably done by _________ .

A) Thorndike
B) Watson
C) Rosalie Rayner
D) Pavlov

Question 5

The use of punishers is so common that _______ concluded that "The world runs on fear."

A) Jack Nicholson
B) Jack Robinson
C) Jack Michaels
D) Jack Sprat

Question 6

The two-process theory of punishment assumes that punishment involves ___________.

A) positive and negative reinforcement
B) Pavlovian and operant learning
C) positive and negative punishment
D) reward training and escape training

Question 7

David Camp and colleagues found that, compared to a two-second delay in punishment, a 30-second delay resulted in _______.

A) slightly greater response suppression
B) slightly less response suppression
C) about half as much response suppression
D) about twice as much response suppression

Question 8

All of the following enhance the effectiveness of punishment except _______.

A) using strong punishers
B) withholding reinforcement of the punished behavior
C) punishing immediately
D) increasing the reinforcer deprivation level

Question 9

Farmer Gable had a problem with motorcyclists riding across his meadow land, tearing up sod and frightening his cattle. He installed barbed wire fencing in the area and no longer had a problem.
Gable's approach is best described as an example of _______.

A) response prevention
B) extinction
C) differential reinforcement
D) punishment

Question 10

The one-process theory of punishment goes back to ________.

A) Thorndike
B) Watson
C) Skinner
D) Pavlov

Question 11

In positive punishment, a stimulus that serves as a punisher is called a(n) _________.

A) asbestive
B) abrasive
C) adversive
D) aversive

Question 12

When disciplining their son, Jacob, Mr. and Ms Grinch begin with an extremely mild form of punishment and gradually increase its strength if the offenses continue. This procedure is likely to
Result in _______.

A) violent outbursts from Jacob
B) confusing Jacob
C) the use of excessively strong aversives
D) a rapid suppression of the unwanted behavior

Question 13

Harriet hears a noise in the kitchen and investigates. She finds the cookie jar in pieces on the floor and 5-year-old Willy standing nearby. Harriet knows what happened, but asks Willy anyway. Willy admits that he broke the jar while trying to get cookies. Harriet gives Willy a spanking. Willy is most likely to learn from this experience that _______.

A) it doesn't pay to tell the truth
B) cookies are scary
C) his mother doesn't like him
D) the kitchen is an unsafe place for little boys

Question 14

Generally speaking, the more intense a punisher, the _______.

A) less it suppresses behavior
B) more it suppresses behavior
C) more important it is to have the response on extinction
D) less important the reinforcement history

Question 15

If Charles Catania's thinking about reinforcement is applied to punishment, we can say that all of the following are true of punishment except _______.

A) a behavior must have a consequence
B) the consequence of the behavior must be negative
C) a behavior must decrease in strength
D) the decrease in strength must be the result of the behavior's consequence

Question 16

The word positive in positive punishment refers to the fact that _______.

A) something is added
B) something positive is removed
C) the results are positive
D) the procedure is used with good intentions

Question 17

Each time Charles, who has a lisp, says "Mithithippi" or the like, his wife, Evelyn, yells, "Idiot!" However, there is no evidence that Evelyn's efforts to reduce the frequency of such
Mispronunciations have been effective. We can therefore conclude that ______.

A) Charles's behavior is due to a neurological problem
B) Charles's behavior has not been punished
C) Evelyn's efforts to punish Charles's behavior have actually reinforced it
D) Charles is lisping deliberately to annoy Evelyn

Question 18

Negative punishment is also sometimes called ______ training.

A) escape
B) penalty
C) withdrawal
D) subtraction

Question 19

Positive punishment is most often confused with _______.

A) negative punishment
B) negative reinforcement
C) aversion therapy
D) counterconditioning

Question 20

If a rat receives a shock each time it presses a lever, but not otherwise, we can say that _______.

A) the rate of lever pressing will decrease, then increase
B) the shock will reduce the frequency of lever pressing
C) shock is contingent on lever pressing
D) lever pressing and shock are contiguous

Question 21

Abnormal behavior may persist despite aversive consequences because it also produces reinforcing
consequences.

Question 22

Of the following procedures, the one that reinforces behavior that cannot be performed at the same time as the unwanted behavior is ______.

A) DRZ
B) DRI
C) DRL
D) DRA

Question 23

Positive punishment necessarily involves aversives.

Question 24

An early theory of punishment proposed that response suppression occurred because aversives disrupt
ongoing behavior.

Question 25

Frequent use of weak punishers is more effective than occasional use of intense punishers.

Question 26

Positive and negative punishment have in common that they both ________ the frequency of
behavior.

Question 27

The term punishment, as used by behavior scientists, has nothing to do with retribution.

Question 28

Although punishment can have negative side effects, there is evidence that it can also have positive
side effects.
Completion

Question 29

________ punishment is often confused with ________ reinforcement.

Question 30

Murray Sidman's book on aversive control, including punishment, is called ______.

A) Coercion and Its Fallout
B) Aversive Control Today
C) The Punitive Society
D) The End of Punishment

Question 31

Differential reinforcement is best used in combination with ______.

A) punishment
B) negative reinforcement
C) extinction
D) response prevention

Question 32

One problem with extinction as a way of reducing the frequency of potentially harmful behavior is that _________.

A) the behavior on extinction sometimes increases at first
B) the results are not durable
C) it is not covered by medical insurance
D) ultimately, it makes the problem worse

Question 33

One way to make punishment more effective is to provide an alternative means of obtaining
reinforcement.

Question 34

When aversive events occur independently of behavior they are called _______ .

Question 35

In using punishment, it is best to begin with a weak punisher and gradually increase its strength as
needed.

Question 36

When a student repeatedly behaves in an inappropriate way, probably the teacher's first step should be to ______.

A) have the child tested by the school psychologist
B) develop a plan for applying punishment
C) use differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior
D) try to discover what is reinforcing the behavior

Question 37

The main difference between positive and negative punishment is that in negative punishment a
stimulus is_________.

Question 38

When using punishment to suppress an undesirable behavior, it is important to provide alternative means of obtaining the reinforcers that have maintained that behavior.

Question 39

The one process in the one-process theory of punishment is ________.

Question 40

Of the following procedures, the one that focuses on reducing the rate at which a behavior occurs is ________.

A) DRZ
B) DRI
C) DRL
D) DRA

Question 41

It is common practice to begin punishment with a very weak punisher and gradually increase the intensity of the punisher until one finds an effective level of intensity. Is this a good ideahy or why not?

Question 42

One problem with punishment is the tendency to imitate the use of punishment. Two other problems
are________.

Question 43

You have a ten-year-old child who mistreats the family dog. Describe two ways of dealing with this problem without using punishment.

Question 44

Briefly discuss the problems associated with punishment.

Question 45

How is the effectiveness of punishment affected by the availability of reinforcement?

Question 46

What is the fundamental difference between the two-process and one-process theories of punishment?