Question 1

You pour a cup of coffee.You add sugar and then cream.You stir the coffee and then take a sip.The taste of the coffee with the cream and sugar is the reinforcer.This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a stimulus-response chain, as each step (pouring the coffee, adding sugar and cream, stirring, and sipping) is a specific response to the preceding stimulus. The taste of the coffee with the cream and sugar serves as the reinforcing stimulus that maintains this behavior of making and drinking coffee. Fading refers to gradually removing prompts or cues to teach a behavior, shaping refers to gradually reinforcing successive approximations of a behavior, and stimulus discrimination refers to distinguishing between different stimuli and responding accordingly.

Question 2

Always having a readily available conditioned reinforcer to strengthen each new response that is added to the sequence in the chain is a theoretical advantage of:

Accepted Answer

Backward chaining involves starting with the final behavior in the chain and working backwards, with a conditioned reinforcer available for each step. This ensures that each new response is immediately strengthened and allows for quicker acquisition of the entire chain.

Question 3

You should begin training a behavioral chain by providing whatever assistance is necessary for the client to perform each of the steps on every trial.

Accepted Answer

This is known as "total task presentation" and is the recommended method for teaching a behavioral chain initially. Once mastery is achieved, the assistance can be gradually faded.

Question 4

The authors recommend backward chaining as the preferred chaining procedure because it appears to focus on teaching response topography and response sequence simultaneously.

Accepted Answer

Backward chaining is recommended because it teaches the task beginning with the last step, ensuring the student completes the task and receives reinforcement, but it does not specifically focus on teaching response topography and response sequence simultaneously.

Question 5

After many trials, the stimulus that occurs immediately following each step in a chain eventually becomes both a conditioned reinforcer for the response that produced that stimulus and an SD for the following response.

Accepted Answer

This is known as the concept of stimulus control and is a key aspect of operant conditioning. The stimulus that occurs immediately following a behavior (the consequence) can become a conditioned reinforcer for that behavior, and also function as a discriminative stimulus (SD) for the next response in the chain. This helps to shape and reinforce specific behaviors in a desired sequence.

Question 6

In backward chaining, the response that is closest to the main reinforcer:

Accepted Answer

In backward chaining, the response that is closest to the main reinforcer is conditioned first. This technique involves teaching the last step in the chain initially, then gradually teaching each preceding step, moving backwards towards the first step.

Question 7

A chaining method in which the client is required to attempt each of the steps in the chain from the beginning to the end on each trial is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Total task presentation chaining involves the client attempting every step of the task from beginning to end on each trial, unlike forward or backward chaining where steps are added sequentially.

Question 8

A sequence of SDs and Rs in which each R produces the SD for the next R with the entire sequence followed by a reinforcer is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

This sequence describes a behavioral chain, where each response (R) produces the discriminative stimulus (SD) for the next response, leading to the final reinforcer. Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations towards a desired behavior, fading involves gradually removing prompts or cues to elicit a behavior, and stimulus discrimination training involves teaching an individual to respond differently to different stimuli. None of these describe the given sequence.

Question 9

Which of the chaining methods requires the trainer to spend less time in partial assembly or disassembly to prepare the task for training?

Accepted Answer

Total task presentation chaining involves teaching the entire task as a whole, reducing the need for breaking down the task into smaller parts and thus requiring less time in partial assembly or disassembly.

Question 10

Any characteristic of a stimulus that can be measured on some continuum is referred to as a dimension of a stimulus.

Accepted Answer

This is the definition of a dimension of a stimulus.

Question 11

When the initial step of a sequence is taught first, then the first and second steps are taught and linked together, then the first three steps, and so on until the entire chain is acquired, this process describes:

Accepted Answer

This process describes forward chaining, where the initial step is taught first and then subsequent steps are added until the entire sequence is acquired.

Question 12

When the goal of a program is to develop some new behavior along some physical dimension such as force, form, or duration, one should use:

Accepted Answer

Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior. It is appropriate when the goal is to develop a behavior along some physical dimension. Fading, chaining, and prompting are also useful techniques in behavior modification, but they are not as directly applicable to developing new behaviors along physical dimensions.

Question 13

With __________________, the terminal behavior is a new sequence of responses, with a "clear-cut" stimulus signalling the end of each response and the start of the next.

Accepted Answer

Chaining involves stringing together individual responses to form a longer sequence of behavior, with each response serving as a stimulus for the next. Terminal behavior involves a clear signal that indicates the end of one response and the beginning of the next, which is consistent with the idea of chaining. Fading, shaping, and prompting are all related to the process of shaping a behavior through reinforcement and do not necessarily involve terminal behavior.

Question 14

In _________, the end result of the procedure is some new stimulus control of a particular behavior.

Accepted Answer

Fading involves gradually removing the prompts or assistance used to encourage a particular behavior, leading to the behavior being performed independently under the control of the natural environmental stimulus. This process results in new stimulus control over the behavior.

Question 15

The process of breaking a task down into smaller steps or component responses to facilitate training refers to:

Accepted Answer

Task analysis is the process of breaking a task down into smaller steps or component responses to facilitate training. Forward chaining involves teaching the first step of a task and gradually adding on subsequent steps. Motivating operation refers to a change in the environment that alters the effectiveness of a consequence. Pure part chaining involves teaching all the steps of a task in isolation before chaining them together. Task analysis is the most appropriate choice for this process.

Question 16

The method of removing prompts in which the time interval between the final desired stimulus and the starting stimulus is gradually increased from a very small starting value is called the method of:

Accepted Answer

The method described in the question is called time delay. It involves gradually increasing the time interval between the initial prompt and the desired response, allowing the learner to develop independence and reduce reliance on prompts. This is a commonly used technique in behavior therapy for individuals with disabilities or developmental delays. Choice A (increasing time) is not a valid term for this technique, and Choice B (decreasing time) is the opposite of what is described in the question. Choice C (graduated guidance) is a different technique that involves gradually reducing physical support as the learner becomes more proficient in a task.

Question 17

A teacher gradually withdraws her physical guidance that was used to help a nursery school child learn to trace the letter "A." Eventually the child can trace the letter by herself.This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Fading is the process of gradually withdrawing or reducing a prompt or assistance so that the learner can gradually acquire a new skill or behavior independently. In this scenario, the teacher is gradually removing her physical guidance as the child learns to trace the letter "A" independently. This is a classic example of fading.

Question 18

Feeding a person very salty food, which would establish water as a reinforcer and also evoke behavior such as asking for a drink (that has been reinforced by receipt of water), is an example of forward chaining.

Accepted Answer

This scenario describes establishing an operation (making water a reinforcer by increasing thirst through salty food) and evoking a behavior that has been previously reinforced (asking for a drink), which relates to the concepts of motivating operations and conditioned reinforcement, not forward chaining. Forward chaining is a teaching strategy that involves teaching a complex behavior starting with the first step and gradually adding each subsequent step.

Question 19

The method of removing prompts in which a starting stimulus that reliably evokes the response is gradually changed until the response is evoked by the final desired stimulus is known as the method of:

Accepted Answer

The method of decreasing assistance involves gradually reducing the level of help or prompts provided until the desired response is evoked by the final stimulus without any prompts.

Question 20

A behavioral chain is called a chain because it consists of stimulus-response "links" that are connected or "chained" together.

Accepted Answer

The definition of behavioral chain includes the idea that it consists of connected or "chained" stimulus-response links.

Quiz 31: Shaping and Schedules of Reinforcement: A Comprehensive Guide