Question 1

Police dogs that are used to locate illegal drugs at the airport, dogs demonstrate how the principles of _______________ can be used to train animals to assist humans.

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning is used to train police dogs by reinforcing desired behaviors, such as detecting drugs, with rewards.

Question 2

According to the two-factor theory of avoidance learning, phobias are created through _____________ but are maintained through ____________.

Accepted Answer

Phobias are initially created through classical conditioning, where an individual learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a fear response. However, they are maintained through operant conditioning, where avoiding the phobic stimulus reduces fear and anxiety, reinforcing the avoidance behavior.

Question 3

Which of the following would be most likely to produce the fastest learning that is also resistant to extinction? Start with _____________.

Accepted Answer

Starting with continuous reinforcement helps establish the behavior quickly, and shifting to a variable reinforcement schedule makes the learned behavior more resistant to extinction. This combination takes advantage of the rapid learning facilitated by continuous reinforcement and the durability of behavior maintained by variable reinforcement.

Question 4

An instructor offers exams every 2 weeks throughout the term of her course. As a result, a sizeable percentage of the students in her class study very hard every 2 weeks and do little studying in between. This example is most similar to the partial reinforcement schedule of _________________________.

Accepted Answer

Fixed interval schedules reinforce the first response after a fixed time period has passed, which in this case is the 2-week interval between exams.

Question 5

A trained dolphin will only do a particular trick when the trainer gives a specific hand signal. When the trainer gives different hand signals, the dolphin does other tricks, thus illustrating that the dolphin's behaviour is under stimulus control. The dolphin's behaviour also best illustrates which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Operant discrimination occurs when an animal or a person learns to respond differently to different stimuli, which is exactly what the dolphin is doing by performing specific tricks in response to specific hand signals.

Question 6

A reinforcement system that utilizes such things as points or chips that can be redeemed later for tangible rewards to reinforce desired behaviour is called ____________.

Accepted Answer

A token economy is a system of behavior modification based on the systematic reinforcement of target behavior. The reinforcers are symbols or "tokens" that can be exchanged for other reinforcers.

Question 7

How animals appear to be biologically "prewired" to easily learn behaviours that are related to their survival as a species because of evolutionary forces is referred to by the term ____________________.

Accepted Answer

Preparedness refers to the concept that animals (including humans) are biologically predisposed to learn certain behaviors or associations more easily than others because these behaviors or associations have evolutionary significance, enhancing survival and reproduction.

Question 8

Computer-assisted instruction programs provide immediate feedback to people about their learning and allow people to learn at their own pace. These programs are most strongly associated with which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning is most strongly associated with computer-assisted instruction programs because these programs often use reinforcement (immediate feedback) to encourage learning, allowing individuals to adjust their behavior based on the consequences of their actions.

Question 9

A student works as a packer at an apple orchard. The rate of pay is based on the number of boxes the student packs in an hour. This is an example of a ____________ payment schedule.

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is fixed-ratio (FR) because the payment is based on a fixed number of actions (boxes packed) rather than a period of time or a variable number of actions.

Question 10

If placed on a continuous reinforcement schedule, an animal will be reinforced after _____________.

Accepted Answer

A continuous reinforcement schedule means that every correct response is reinforced, ensuring consistent and immediate feedback for the desired behavior.

Question 11

Animals placed on a ________________ schedule of reinforcement often show a pause briefly after being reinforced, possibly because they have learned that the next response is never reinforced.

Accepted Answer

Animals on a fixed ratio or fixed interval schedule of reinforcement tend to pause after receiving a reinforcement because they understand that a certain amount of time or number of responses is required before the next reinforcement is available. This is known as the post-reinforcement pause.

Question 12

Behaviour modification combines a behavioural approach with the scientific method in order to solve individual and societal problems, it is also known as the scientific area of _____________________________.

Accepted Answer

Behaviour modification is also known as applied behaviour analysis (ABA), which uses the principles of behaviorism to change specific behaviors and improve social interactions. It is a scientific approach for addressing behavioral issues and improving quality of life.

Question 13

Random drug tests and roadside speed traps would both be considered examples of the _____________.

Accepted Answer

Random drug tests and roadside speed traps are examples of a variable interval schedule because they occur at unpredictable time intervals.

Question 14

When an organism learns to prevent exposure to an aversive stimulus altogether, _________________ conditioning is said to occur.

Accepted Answer

Avoidance conditioning occurs when an organism learns to perform an action to prevent exposure to an aversive stimulus. This type of learning allows the organism to avoid the unpleasant stimulus altogether, rather than merely escaping it once it has occurred.

Question 15

Researchers in the field of operant conditioning have learned that ____________ reinforcement schedules are more resistant to extinction than ___________ reinforcement schedules.

Accepted Answer

Partial reinforcement schedules are more resistant to extinction than continuous reinforcement schedules because in partial reinforcement, the behavior is not reinforced every time it occurs, making it harder for the subject to discern when a behavior will be rewarded and thus more persistent in the absence of reinforcement.

Question 16

On a __________ schedule, reinforcement is given after an inconstant number of correct responses, all centred on an average.

Accepted Answer

A variable-ratio schedule provides reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses, centered around an average, making it the correct choice for the described scenario.

Question 17

Once an avoidance response has been learned, it usually _____________.

Accepted Answer

Avoidance responses, once learned, are notoriously hard to extinguish because the absence of the aversive stimulus (due to successful avoidance) acts as a reinforcer for the avoidance behavior, making it persist even when the aversive consequences are no longer present.

Question 18

The first correct response that occurs after a set amount of time is reinforced is following a ______________________ schedule.

Accepted Answer

A fixed-interval schedule reinforces the first correct response after a specific amount of time has passed, which matches the description given.

Question 19

These schedules of reinforcement are more resistant to extinction because if reinforcement has been unpredictable in the past, it takes longer to learn that it has stopped altogether; they are known as _______________ schedules.

Accepted Answer

The answer of These schedules of reinforcement are more resistant...

Question 20

If a candy machine isn't working properly, we can usually figure it out pretty quickly and do not continue to deposit coins into the machine. Because these machines are supposed to operate on a _____________ schedule, it is easier for people to tell when they are not working properly.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If a candy machine isn't working properly,...

Quiz 7: Learning and Adaptation: the Role of Experience