Question 1

A manager has a gut feeling that some members are contributing more to the organization than other members. The first step the manager should take to encourage all of his employees to contribute at a level he deems is appropriate is to ________.
A) identify the specific behaviors that he wants to encourage
B) reprimand the employees that he feels are not contributing as much
C) give general praise to those he feels are really contributing
D) do nothing; some employees just do not contribute as much as others

Accepted Answer

The manager should first identify specific behaviors that he wants to encourage so that all employees understand what is expected of them and can work towards meeting those expectations. Simply reprimanding or praising employees without clear guidance may not result in any significant changes in behavior. Doing nothing and accepting unequal contributions from employees can lead to morale issues and negative effects on the overall productivity of the organization.

Question 2

An employer offers a $5.00 bonus to every employee who arrives at work early every day in a given week. This is an example of a ________.
A) positive reinforcement
B) negative reinforcement
C) variable reinforcement
D) scheduled reinforcement

Accepted Answer

The $5.00 bonus offered for arriving at work early is a form of positive reinforcement, as it is presented as a reward for a desired behavior. Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an aversive stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior, while variable and scheduled reinforcement refer to specific schedules of reinforcement delivery.

Question 3

Sara Sincell wants to use negative reinforcement to get workers to come to meetings on time. She lets the workers know that she will assess a nickel fine for anyone who is late to a meeting. After a month, she has several dollars worth of nickels, but no change in meeting punctuality. The MOST LIKELY reason that operant conditioning did not work in Sara's situation is because ________.
A) the reinforcement schedule was delayed
B) individual preferences were not considered
C) the consequences were not equal in magnitude to the desired behavior
D) the antecedents of the desired behavior were improperly identified

Accepted Answer

The consequence (a nickel fine) was not perceived as a significant enough punishment, or was not equal in magnitude to the desired behavior (being on time to meetings). This means that workers may not have been motivated to change their behavior, as the consequences were not strong enough.

Question 4

A manager notices employees taking excessively long lunch breaks. To curtail this, the BEST action would be to ________.
A) politely ignore the behavior of the employees taking long lunch breaks
B) privately praise the workers who take reasonable lunch breaks
C) publicly reprimand the workers who take long lunch breaks
D) publicly announce incentives given to those taking reasonable lunch breaks

Accepted Answer

Publicly announcing incentives for reasonable lunch breaks encourages positive behavior without creating a negative work environment.

Question 5

Positive ________ increases the probability that a behavior will occur by administering positive consequences to employees who perform the behavior.
A) conditioning
B) reinforcement
C) corroboration
D) modification

Accepted Answer

Reinforcement is a process where a behavior is strengthened by the delivery of a consequence (positive or negative). Positive reinforcement involves administering positive consequences (such as rewards or recognition) to increase the probability of a behavior occurring again. Conditioning refers to the process of learning through association, corroboration means confirmation or collaboration of information, and modification is the act of making partial or minor changes. Therefore, B is the correct answer.

Question 6

A supervisor fines employees $5.00 for every 10 minutes they are late in the morning. Soon all employees come to work on time. The $5.00 is an example of ________.
A) an undesirable outcome
B) an operational switch
C) a negative reinforcer
D) a behavioral intervention

Accepted Answer

The $5.00 is a negative reinforcer, as it is a consequence (fine) that is intended to decrease the likelihood of a behavior (being late to work).

Question 7

A manager wants to encourage his workers to arrive on time and so he provides donuts to those that do so. This has no effect on the number of people arriving on time. What is MOST LIKELY NOT the reason that this did not work?
A) The boss did not provide an antecedent.
B) The workers are very health conscious.
C) The reward was less in magnitude than the sought after behavior.
D) The reward was greater in magnitude than the sought after behavior.

Accepted Answer

The reward being greater in magnitude than the sought-after behavior (arriving on time) is unlikely to be the reason the strategy did not work. Typically, if a reward is perceived as too valuable or significant, it would motivate the desired behavior rather than fail to do so.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT necessary when determining the types of reinforcements to assignment to specific behaviors?
A) knowledge of employees
B) creativity in decision making
C) personal relationship with employees
D) knowledge of desired outcomes

Accepted Answer

Personal relationship with employees is not necessary when determining the types of reinforcements to assign to specific behaviors. Knowledge of employees, creativity in decision making, and knowledge of desired outcomes are all important factors in determining appropriate reinforcements.

Question 9

The first step in the use of reinforcement is to ________.
A) understand what antecedents are needed to elicit the desired behavior
B) identify desired behaviors to be encouraged or reinforced
C) decide how to reinforce the behavior
D) explain positive or negative reinforcement to workers

Accepted Answer

Before using reinforcement, it is important to identify the specific behaviors that you want to encourage or reinforce. Without specific goals in mind, it will be difficult to determine what behaviors to reinforce, leading to ineffective reinforcement strategies.

Question 10

When positive and negative reinforcement is used to promote learning, the magnitude of the consequences should be ________ to the desired behavior.
A) related
B) unrelated
C) equivalent
D) simultaneous

Accepted Answer

The answer of When positive and negative reinforcement is used...

Question 11

To use positive reinforcement to facilitate the learning of desired behaviors, managers need to determine what consequences are ________.
A) considered discriminatory and preferential treatment
B) considered positive by a given worker
C) the least expensive
D) unusual or extraordinary

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement is based on providing rewards or consequences that are positive and desirable for the employee in order to increase the likelihood of the desired behavior being learned and repeated. Therefore, it is important for managers to determine what consequences are considered positive by each individual worker, as this will vary from person to person. Discriminatory and preferential treatment should be avoided, and the cost or uniqueness of the consequence is not necessarily relevant to its effectiveness as a reinforcer.

Question 12

Managers who use reinforcement must do all of the following EXCEPT ________.
A) choose whether to use continuous or partial reinforcement
B) decide whether to use conditioned or unconditioned stimuli
C) identify the correct behavior to reinforce
D) exercise caution so as not to too extensively reinforce a behavior

Accepted Answer

Managers who use reinforcement do not need to decide whether to use conditioned or unconditioned stimuli, as this is a concept typically associated with classical conditioning rather than operant conditioning. The other options are crucial for effective use of reinforcement.

Question 13

A teacher does not know how to handle one of her students. During her lessons, the student makes funny faces at her. The student is looking for attention from the teacher but disturbing nobody else in the class. Every time the student does this, the teacher stops the lesson and asks him why he is making faces. He doesn't answer her and continues to make the funny faces. The teacher wants to use positive reinforcement to encourage a change in this behavior. Which of the following is MOST LIKELY to change the behavior of this student with positive reinforcement?
A) The teacher pays attention to the student only when he raises his hand.
B) The teacher completely ignores the student.
C) The teacher gives stickers to all of the other students not making faces.
D) The teacher moves the student's desk to the front of the classroom.

Accepted Answer

The student is seeking attention from the teacher, so ignoring the behavior completely (B) would not provide the positive reinforcement the student is looking for. Giving stickers to other students (C) may actually exacerbate the behavior and make the student feel left out. Moving the student's desk to the front of the classroom (D) may not be effective if the student continues to make faces. However, if the teacher only pays attention to the student when he raises his hand (A), this would provide positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior and may encourage the student to engage in more appropriate ways to seek attention from the teacher.

Question 14

A professor instates a new classroom policy: For every five minutes a student is late, five points will be deducted from their participation grade for that day. The day after the policy is put into effect, three of the five students typically late come to class early. The MOST LIKELY reason for this change is the professor's use of a ________.
A) positive reinforcement
B) negative reinforcement
C) behavior modification
D) operant conditioning

Accepted Answer

The answer of A professor instates a new classroom policy:...

Question 15

All of the following are examples of positive reinforcers EXCEPT ________.
A) added responsibility
B) verbal praise
C) interesting work
D) reprimands

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcers are stimuli that increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring again in the future. Reprimands, which are a form of punishment, do not fit this definition and therefore are not examples of positive reinforcers. Choices A, B, and C are all examples of positive reinforcers, as they are stimuli that can increase the likelihood of a behavior happening again in the future.

Question 16

________ reinforcement reinforces behavior every time it occurs.
A) Fixed-interval
B) Immediate
C) Continuous
D) Variable-interval

Accepted Answer

Continuous reinforcement is a schedule where the behavior is reinforced every time it occurs. This type of reinforcement is the most effective for building new behaviors and is commonly used in the initial stages of learning. Fixed-interval and variable-interval schedules both involve reinforcing behavior after a certain amount of time has passed, and immediate reinforcement is not a specific schedule of reinforcement.

Question 17

The Parkman Company gives its salespeople awards every month for superior performance. Reinforcement is on a ________.
A) fixed-interval schedule
B) variable-interval schedule
C) fixed-ratio schedule
D) variable-ratio schedule

Accepted Answer

The Parkman Company gives awards to its salespeople every month, which indicates that the reinforcement is on a fixed-interval schedule. This means that the award is given after a fixed period of time, regardless of how much the salespeople sell.

Question 18

Which is NOT an example of positive reinforcement?
A) allowing students who received an average of 85% to be exempt from the final
B) allowing people who finish their work early to leave early
C) adding time to the end of the work day for employees who show up to work late
D) giving a free movie rental for every fifth movie returned on time

Accepted Answer

Adding time to the end of the work day for employees who show up to work late is an example of negative reinforcement, rather than positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement involves the removal or avoidance of an undesired event or circumstance in order to increase desired behavior. In this case, the undesired event is working a longer day and the desired behavior is arriving on time, so the offer of leaving earlier is a way to reinforce that desired behavior. Positive reinforcement involves providing a reward or incentive to increase desired behavior. Options A, B, and D are examples of positive reinforcement.

Question 19

The performance of a desired behavior is reinforced on ________ when partial reinforcement is used to encourage learning.
A) a timely basis
B) a continuous basis
C) a sequential basis
D) an intermittent basis

Accepted Answer

Partial reinforcement involves reinforcing a behavior only some of the time, which can result in stronger and longer-lasting behavior than continuous reinforcement. The reinforcement is given on an intermittent or unpredictable basis, thus reinforcing the behavior at different times. Therefore, the correct choice is D, an intermittent basis.

Question 20

In an effort to use operant conditioning to reduce on-the-job accidents, the 1-2-3 Company decided to pay a bonus to all employees in a department that went 90 days without an on-the-job accident being reported. This program may unintentionally reinforce employees who ________.
A) follow on-the-job safety procedures
B) have on-the-job accidents
C) do not report on-the-job accidents
D) falsely claim to have on-the-job accidents

Accepted Answer

The bonus program may unintentionally reinforce employees who do not report on-the-job accidents, as they may fear losing the bonus if they report an accident.

Quiz 5: Learning and Creativity

A manager has a gut feeling that some members are contributing more to the organization than other members. The first step the manager should take to encourage all of his employees to contribute at a level he deems is appropriate is to ________.

An employer offers a $5.00 bonus to every employee who arrives at work early every day in a given week. This is an example of a ________.

A manager notices employees taking excessively long lunch breaks. To curtail this, the BEST action would be to ________.

Positive ________ increases the probability that a behavior will occur by administering positive consequences to employees who perform the behavior.

A supervisor fines employees $5.00 for every 10 minutes they are late in the morning. Soon all employees come to work on time. The $5.00 is an example of ________.

A manager wants to encourage his workers to arrive on time and so he provides donuts to those that do so. This has no effect on the number of people arriving on time. What is MOST LIKELY NOT the reason that this did not work?

Which of the following is NOT necessary when determining the types of reinforcements to assignment to specific behaviors?

The first step in the use of reinforcement is to ________.

When positive and negative reinforcement is used to promote learning, the magnitude of the consequences should be ________ to the desired behavior.

To use positive reinforcement to facilitate the learning of desired behaviors, managers need to determine what consequences are ________.

Managers who use reinforcement must do all of the following EXCEPT ________.

All of the following are examples of positive reinforcers EXCEPT ________.

________ reinforcement reinforces behavior every time it occurs.

The Parkman Company gives its salespeople awards every month for superior performance. Reinforcement is on a ________.

Which is NOT an example of positive reinforcement?

The performance of a desired behavior is reinforced on ________ when partial reinforcement is used to encourage learning.

In an effort to use operant conditioning to reduce on-the-job accidents, the 1-2-3 Company decided to pay a bonus to all employees in a department that went 90 days without an on-the-job accident being reported. This program may unintentionally reinforce employees who ________.