Question 1

The tendency to meliorate means that for someone who is addicted to playing video games, doing so instead of finishing homework

Accepted Answer

The tendency to meliorate refers to making decisions that seem to improve one's situation in the short term but may lead to less overall reinforcement or benefit in the long term. In the context of addiction to video games, choosing to play games instead of completing homework might provide immediate satisfaction or reinforcement but can result in negative consequences (such as poor grades, loss of privileges, etc.) that reduce overall reinforcement.

Question 2

Evidence against the maximization theory of matching includes the fact that on concurrent VR VI schedules, pigeons show _____ responding on the _____.

Accepted Answer

Evidence against the maximization theory of matching includes observations that pigeons often show more responding on the VI (variable interval) alternative than would be predicted by maximization theory, which suggests that organisms will distribute their responses in a way that maximizes reinforcement. This behavior indicates that other factors, such as the schedule of reinforcement, can influence response distribution beyond simple maximization of rewards.

Question 3

Robynne spends a lot of time hanging around the marketing department, an area that she finds quite interesting, and little time at her desk working. This distribution of behavior is consistent with the notion(s) of

Accepted Answer

Matching and melioration both describe how behavior can be distributed among various choices based on the relative rates of reinforcement. Matching suggests that the distribution of behavior across choices matches the distribution of reinforcement rates among those choices. Melioration refers to the process of shifting behavior towards alternatives that offer better reinforcement. Robynne spending more time in the marketing department, presumably because she finds it more reinforcing than working at her desk, illustrates these principles.

Question 4

Griffin spends most of his time studying the course that he enjoys studying rather than the one he needs to study. This is consistent with _____ theory of matching.

Accepted Answer

Melioration theory suggests that individuals allocate their time and resources to activities that provide the most immediate satisfaction or reward, rather than those that might be more beneficial in the long term. Griffin's behavior of studying the course he enjoys more, rather than the one he needs to study, aligns with this theory.

Question 5

Last year, Jacqueline had a psychology course and a physics course. She had more quizzes in the psychology courses and was earning better grades compared to the physics course. She devoted more than half of her study time to psychology last year. This year, she has another psychology course and another physics course.  This time she has more quizzes in physics, and her grade is also better in physics. She still spends more than half of her time studying for psychology. According to the matching law, this distribution of effort can be accounted for by _____.

Accepted Answer

The matching law suggests that the distribution of behavior (in this case, study effort) across alternatives is proportional to the distribution of reinforcements (grades and quiz frequency) obtained from those alternatives. Jacqueline's disproportionate allocation of study time to psychology despite better grades and more quizzes in physics this year indicates a bias in her behavior, not necessarily aligned with the principles of optimization, self-control, or the cost of delay (COD).

Question 6

According to the matching law, in an experiment where a pigeon has to press colored keys to receive food, the percentage of responses emitted on a green key should have been 25% under one condition of the experiment and 55% under another condition of the experiment. The respective percentages were instead 35% and 70%. This is most likely an example of

Accepted Answer

Bias occurs when there is a consistent deviation from the expected matching proportions, as seen in the discrepancy between expected and actual response percentages.

Question 7

In order to maximize overall reinforcement on a concurrent VI 20-sec VR 50 schedule, a pigeon should ideally respond

Accepted Answer

The VR 50 component provides more reinforcement than the VI 20-sec component, so the pigeon should respond more on the VR 50 component in order to maximize overall reinforcement.

Question 8

According to the matching law, in an experiment where a pigeon has to press colored keys to receive food, the percentage of responses emitted on the green key should have been 65% when it was associated with the richer schedule and 15% when it was associated with the poorer schedule. The respective percentages were instead 55% and 10%. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of bias because the pigeon's responses deviate from the expected percentages based on the matching law, indicating a preference or bias towards one option over what the reinforcement schedules would predict.

Question 9

According to the matching law, in the context of the time it spent outside its own territory, a pied wagtail should have spent 30% of its time in a meadow when there were fewer insects and 70% of its time in the meadow when there were more insects. In reality, the respective percentages were 40% and 80%. What could account for this result?

Accepted Answer

The pied wagtail might have spent more time in the meadow than predicted by the matching law because the insects in the meadow were more preferred, making the meadow more attractive despite the lower availability of insects.

Question 10

On a concurrent VI 10-sec VR 100 schedule, _____ theory predicts that a pigeon would spend most of its time on the VR 100 schedule and switch over to the VI schedule approximately every 10 seconds. In contrast, _____ theory predicts that the pigeon will spend much more of its time on the VI schedule than is predicted by matching.

Accepted Answer

Maximization theory predicts that an organism will allocate its responses in a way that maximizes overall reinforcement, which would lead to spending more time on the VR 100 schedule due to its higher rate of reinforcement. Melioration theory, on the other hand, predicts that the organism will distribute its behavior towards the schedule that currently provides the highest rate of reinforcement, leading to a preference for the VI schedule due to its consistent reinforcement opportunities.

Question 11

From a behavioral perspective, the term willpower

Accepted Answer

All of these statements are correct from a behavioral perspective because they highlight common criticisms of the concept of willpower: it's often used in circular reasoning (explaining behavior by attributing it to willpower, which is defined by the behavior itself), it doesn't add explanatory value beyond the description of behaviors it's supposed to explain, and it often merely labels rather than explains behavior patterns.

Question 12

One problem with the tendency to meliorate is that

Accepted Answer

Melioration, the tendency to shift towards activities that are more rewarding, can lead to habituation, where the individual becomes accustomed to the stimulus and it loses its effectiveness.

Question 13

The tendency to meliorate means that our behavior might sometimes be too strongly directed toward alternatives that provide

Accepted Answer

The tendency to meliorate refers to the inclination to choose options that offer more immediate or greater reinforcement for less effort, thus both A (a lot of reinforcement for little effort) and B (relatively immediate reinforcement) are correct.

Question 14

David loves to go to baseball games. He inherits a substantial amount of money and because of this he is able to quit his job and do whatever he wants. Given that he has a tendency to meliorate, David will most likely

Accepted Answer

David's tendency to meliorate suggests he seeks improvement or betterment. While he may attend more games due to his newfound freedom, he might also seek new interests, leading to a decreased interest in baseball over time.

Question 15

Greediness probably involves _____.

Accepted Answer

Greediness likely involves melioration, which is the tendency to choose options that provide immediate gratification or higher short-term rewards, even if they are not optimal in the long term.

Question 16

One day, Kylie provides 80% of the verbal reinforcers during a group conversation and Justin directs 95% of his comments toward her. The next day, Kylie provides only 10% of the verbal reinforcers. Yet, Justin directs 70% of his comments toward her. Justin's behavior is an example of

Accepted Answer

Justin's behavior demonstrates a bias towards Kylie, as he disproportionately directs his comments to her regardless of the change in her behavior from one day to the next.

Question 17

According to melioration theory, an organism shifts its behavior toward higher value alternatives

Accepted Answer

Melioration theory suggests that organisms tend to shift their behavior towards alternatives that provide higher immediate value, often without considering the long-term effect on the overall level of reinforcement.

Question 18

Melioration can reduce overall reinforcement due to

Accepted Answer

Melioration, a decision-making process where individuals shift their behavior towards alternatives that offer immediate higher reinforcement, can lead to a reduction in overall reinforcement due to overresponding to alternatives that may not require it, overconsumption and habituation to highly valued reinforcers, and a preference for immediate reinforcement even if it is not the most beneficial choice in the long term.

Question 19

According to _____ theory, an organism will shift its behavior toward higher value alternatives without regard to the effect on the overall level of reinforcement.

Accepted Answer

Melioration theory suggests that an organism will shift its behavior towards alternatives that offer higher immediate value or reinforcement, even if this shift does not maximize the overall level of reinforcement received. This contrasts with maximization, which would imply choosing options that lead to the greatest overall level of reinforcement, and delay reduction, which focuses on reducing the time to reinforcement.

Question 20

On a concurrent VI 30-sec VR 200 schedule, a pigeon will likely spend more time on the _____ alternative, which provides evidence of _____.

Accepted Answer

Melioration theory suggests that animals (including humans) will allocate their behavior to alternatives that offer higher rates of reinforcement. In a concurrent VI 30-sec VR 200 schedule, the VI 30-sec schedule is likely to provide reinforcement more frequently than the VR 200 schedule, leading the pigeon to spend more time on the VI 30-sec alternative. This behavior is consistent with melioration, as the pigeon is gravitating towards the option that offers a better rate of reinforcement.

Quiz 10: Choice Matching and Self Control