Question 1

Psychotic residents of a psychiatric institution received conditioned generalized reinforcers for behaving in ways that helped the group. They could later exchange these reinforcers for backup reinforcers. (Ayllon, & Azrin, 1965) This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The use of conditioned generalized reinforcers that could be exchanged for backup reinforcers is a common practice in token economies, which is a type of behavioral intervention used in psychiatric institutions and other behavioral settings. Token economies involve rewarding desirable behaviors with tokens, which are then exchanged for backup reinforcers (e.g. snacks, privileges, etc.) Token economies have been shown to be effective in improving behavior and reducing symptoms in psychiatric populations.

Question 2

Token

Accepted Answer

Tokens are an example of a generalized conditioned reinforcer, as they acquire value through their association with a variety of different primary and conditioned reinforcers.

Question 3

Attention is a/an

Accepted Answer

Attention is a conditioned reinforcer because it is learned through association with other reinforcers, such as food or praise. It becomes reinforcing when paired with these primary reinforcers and is therefore a conditioned reinforcer.

Question 4

Water is a/n

Accepted Answer

Water is an unconditioned reinforcer because it is a naturally occurring reinforcer that does not require any learning or conditioning to be reinforcing. It fulfills a basic biological need and is inherently rewarding.

Question 5

The pain from touching a hot stove is a/n

Accepted Answer

The pain from touching a hot stove is an example of an unconditioned punisher because it is an innate and naturally occurring consequence (burn) that leads to a decrease in the behavior (touching the hot stove). It does not require prior association with any stimuli or learning.

Question 6

Select examples of unconditioned positive reinforcers with a direct biological benefit.

Accepted Answer

Food and water are necessary for survival and have a direct biological benefit, as they provide the nutrients and hydration the body needs to function properly. Visual and auditory stimulation may be pleasurable or interesting, but they do not have a direct biological benefit. Sweet taste may be pleasurable, but it does not provide any necessary nutrients or hydration.

Question 7

Select examples of unconditioned positive reinforcers with an indirect biological benefit.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Select examples of unconditioned positive reinforcers with...

Question 8

The pain of touching a hot stove is a/n

Accepted Answer

The answer of The pain of touching a hot stove...

Question 9

Select examples of unconditioned negative reinforcers associated with indirect biological harm.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Select examples of unconditioned negative reinforcers associated...

Question 10

What are some mentalistic interpretations of the causes of Helens psychotic talk?

Accepted Answer

A, C, and E are mentalistic interpretations because they attribute Helen's psychotic talk to internal psychological states or conflicts, such as distorted perceptions of reality (A), a need to express troubles (C), and deep-rooted psychic disorders (E).

Question 11

What are some psychiatrist objections to a behavioral analysis and intervention for Helen's psychotic talk?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are some psychiatrist objections to a...

Question 12

What happened when Helen's psychotic talk got bootleg reinforcement, after a few weeks of the extinction procedure?

Accepted Answer

The extinction procedure involves withholding reinforcement for a behavior in order to reduce its frequency. In this case, the reinforcement for Helen's psychotic talk was bootleg reinforcement, which means it was not intentionally provided by others but still reinforced her behavior. When this reinforcement was withheld for a few weeks, the frequency of her psychotic talk should have decreased. However, if her behavior received bootleg reinforcement again after the extinction procedure, her psychotic talk would increase. Therefore, the best choice is A, her psychotic talk increased.

Question 13

If attention is not paired with approval, attention will not reinforce behavior.

Accepted Answer

Attention can reinforce behavior even without explicit approval because it serves as a form of acknowledgment or recognition, which can be rewarding in itself.

Question 14

How'd Mae's staff established social approval as a reinforcer for Jimmy?

Accepted Answer

To answer the question of how Mae's staff established social approval as a reinforcer for Jimmy, we would need to know the specific context and details of the situation, which are not provided in the question. However, based on the options given, the most likely method for establishing social approval as a reinforcer would be through positive reinforcement techniques.
If we consider the options provided:
a. Showered him with love.
b. Turned off the loud noise and gave him a hug.
c. Said good and gave him some food when he touched his nose.
d. Let him out of the Skinner box when he pressed the lever.
Option (a) "Showered him with love" seems to be the closest to establishing social approval as a reinforcer. This is because social approval often involves showing affection or giving positive attention to someone. By showering Jimmy with love, Mae's staff would be using social interaction and affection as a way to reinforce desired behavior.
Options (b), (c), and (d) involve other forms of reinforcement that are not specifically related to social approval. Turning off a loud noise (negative reinforcement), giving food (primary reinforcement), and letting him out of a Skinner box (negative reinforcement) do not directly involve social approval.
Therefore, the full answer to the question is:
A: Mae's staff established social approval as a reinforcer for Jimmy by showering him with love. This method of positive reinforcement likely involved giving Jimmy affectionate attention and praise when he engaged in the desired behavior, thereby using social approval to encourage that behavior to occur more frequently in the future.

Question 15

After observing an increase in behavior following the contingent presentation of tokens, the most scientifically-sound procedure for determining the effectiveness of tokens as reinforcers is?

Accepted Answer

Noncontingent presentation of the tokens would allow for the assessment of the effectiveness of the tokens as reinforcers by providing them independently of the behavior, thus determining if the behavior changes in the absence of the contingent relationship.

Question 16

For pairing to be the most successful, the neutral stimulus must be followed by the reinforcer

Accepted Answer

For classical conditioning to be the most successful, the neutral stimulus must be immediately followed by the reinforcer. This reinforces the association between the two stimuli and increases the likelihood of a conditioned response occurring. Waiting too long to pair the neutral stimulus with the reinforcer can weaken the association and decrease the effectiveness of the conditioning.

Question 17

Ayllon and Azrin's token in their token economy are best described as

Accepted Answer

Ayllon and Azrin's token in their token economy are best described as generalized conditioned reinforcers. This is because the tokens acquire their reinforcing properties through association with a variety of other conditioned and unconditioned reinforcers, such as praise, food, and other tangible rewards. As a result, the tokens become a powerful and versatile tool for shaping and maintaining desired behaviors.

Question 18

When using a token economy in remedial education, Wolf and friends punished inappropriate behavior by

Accepted Answer

Wolf and friends used a token economy that included both rewards for appropriate behavior and punishments for inappropriate behavior. This involved giving negative marks for specific unwanted actions such as being out of their seats when an alarm rang or hitting each other, as well as removing privileges based on bad reports, indicating a system that balanced positive reinforcement with negative consequences.

Question 19

Conditioned punishers can be established by pairing with

Accepted Answer

Conditioned punishers are established by pairing a neutral stimulus with an already established punisher (A) or by pairing it with the loss of a reinforcer (B). This process allows the previously neutral stimulus to gain punishing properties through association.

Question 20

Extinction is one of the more effective ways decreasing the value of learned reinforcers.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Extinction is one of the more effective...

Quiz 12: Unconditioned and Conditioned Reinforcers and Punishers