A behavioral psychologist tries to train a bird to climb a tree to get a reward of a piece of fruit. At first, the bird learns how to climb the tree with its legs and beak. After a while, it starts flapping its wings and hopping around before it starts to climb. Eventually, the bird flies up to the piece of fruit, even though that prevents it from getting the fruit. According to the Brelands' analysis of biological constraints, the bird is demonstrating __________
A) response generalization.
B) that it was reverting to behavior that was instinctual for it.
C) the power of negative reinforcement.
D) the law of effect.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Brelands' analysis of biological constraints suggests that animals may revert to instinctual behaviors even when they have learned a new behavior through operant conditioning. This is evident in the bird's behavior of flying up to the fruit, which is a more instinctual behavior than climbing the tree.

A Behavioral Psychologist Tries to Train a Bird to Climb