Question 1

Lois and Peter want to teach Brian,their dog,to fetch the newspaper.Lois aims to encourage Brian's behavior when he brings in the newspaper.Peter's goal is,instead,to discourage Brian's behavior when he brings in a stick.Lois will most likely use ____,and Peter will most likely use ____.

Accepted Answer

Lois is using reinforcers to increase the likelihood of Brian fetching the newspaper by adding a positive stimulus when he performs the desired action. Peter is using punishment to decrease the likelihood of Brian fetching a stick by applying a negative consequence to the undesired behavior.

Question 2

Theresa discovers that reading her textbook the night before a sociology test is an effective study strategy.She decides to try the same thing in studying for psychology quizzes.We can say that her study behavior has

Accepted Answer

Theresa has generalized her study behavior from sociology to psychology, assuming that the same strategy will be effective in both subjects.

Question 3

One of the most difficult problems for any teacher is a child who consistently disrupts class.Researchers have shown that giving attention in the form of scolding to a disruptive child actually increases the child's misbehavior.In the terms of operant conditioning,the scolding is a ____.

Accepted Answer

Scolding, although intended to decrease a behavior, can act as a positive reinforcer if it results in increased attention for the child, thereby potentially increasing the misbehavior it aims to reduce. In operant conditioning, a positive reinforcer is anything that, when presented after a behavior, causes the frequency of that behavior to increase.

Question 4

Tim doesn't want to run into his ex-girlfriend on campus,so he changes the route that he used to take to get to class when he sees her.The first day this occurs,Tim does not run into his ex-girlfriend.Tim ends up using this route for a month because he fails to run into her.Tim has learned through ____ conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Tim's behavior of changing his route to avoid running into his ex-girlfriend is an example of avoidance conditioning, where a behavior is reinforced by the removal or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus (in this case, running into his ex-girlfriend).

Question 5

Two-year-old Hannah says the word hell in the middle of dinner,and her parents immediately stop talking to each other and scold her.They spent the rest of the meal paying close attention to what Hannah said.Later,Hannah says hell repeatedly,and each time,her parents spend time talking to her and paying attention to her.In this situation,the parents' attention is a ____ and Hannah's inappropriate language is a(n)____.

Accepted Answer

The parents' attention acts as a positive reinforcer because it encourages Hannah to repeat the behavior (saying "hell") by providing her with attention each time she does it. Hannah's inappropriate language is an operant because it is a behavior that is modified by its consequences (receiving attention).

Question 6

Eve breaks things when she gets angry.Whenever Eve begins breaking anything,her parents stop what they are doing and pay attention to her.Now,Eve breaks things more than ever.Apparently,her parents' attention serves as a(n)____for Eve's behavior.

Accepted Answer

Eve's parents paying attention to her whenever she breaks something has served as a positive reinforcer for her behavior. A positive reinforcer is a stimulus that, when presented after a behavior, increases the likelihood of the behavior occurring again in the future. In this case, the attention Eve receives from her parents after breaking things serves as a reward that reinforces her behavior, causing her to break things more often.

Question 7

Lavonne despises"new age" music.So,when Lavonne refuses to clean her room,her mother makes her stay in her room and plays new age music through the intercom.Her mother tells Lavonne that as soon as she finishes cleaning her room,the music will stop.This is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

This situation is an example of negative reinforcement because Lavonne's mother is removing an aversive stimulus (the new age music) when Lavonne finishes cleaning her room.

Question 8

Bart notices that his father,Homer,is usually in an agreeable mood after his mother,Marge,fixes him pork chops.However,Homer is quite grumpy after a meal of three-eyed fish.Bart has learned that it is much in his favor to ask Homer permission to do fun things on pork chop night and to avoid asking such questions when three-eyed fish is served.Bart is using the type of meal served as a ____.

Accepted Answer

Bart has learned to discriminate between the two different types of meals served - pork chops and three-eyed fish - as they have become a discriminative stimulus. Depending on the type of meal served, Homer's mood changes and this influences his behavior.

Question 9

Whenever Lisa's aunts visit,they kiss her on the cheek.Lisa hates this and eventually learns that they will not kiss her if she is coughing.Now whenever her aunts enter her home,she pretends to cough.This is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

Lisa's behavior of pretending to cough in order to avoid being kissed by her aunts is an example of avoidance conditioning. She has learned that by exhibiting this behavior, she can avoid an aversive stimulus (the kiss) from her aunts.

Question 10

Carolyn knows a couple of tall people who happen to also be arrogant.Because of this,she tends to act negatively toward anyone who she sees as being tall.Carolyn's behavior is the result of ____.

Accepted Answer

Carolyn's behavior is an example of stimulus generalization because she is applying her negative feelings towards a specific group of tall people she knows to all tall people, indicating she is responding similarly to a broader category of stimuli (tallness) based on her experiences with a subset of that category.

Question 11

Which action is an example of negative reinforcement?

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior. Taking aspirin removes the unpleasant stimulus of a headache, thereby increasing the likelihood of taking aspirin in the future when a headache occurs.

Question 12

Krystle is always late for meetings.After many stern looks and being scolded by her co-workers,Krystle learns that if she brings snacks to the meetings,her co-workers will not scold her for being late.This is an example of ____ conditioning.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of avoidance conditioning, where Krystle learns to bring snacks to avoid the negative consequences of being scolded for being late.

Question 13

After Nadia spills water all over her painting,her first-grade art teacher gives her some candyto make her feel better.The next time art class meets,Nadia promptly and purposefully spills water.The candyhas acted as a(n)____.

Accepted Answer

The candy acts as a positive reinforcement, meaning that it increases the likelihood of the behavior (spilling water) happening again. Nadia learned that spilling water led to a reward (candy), so she repeated the behavior.

Question 14

It's a very hot summer day and Ai is sweating in her apartment.She turns on the air conditioning and right away,her apartment gets cooler.The fact that Ai is now more likely to turn on the AC when she is hot to reduce her discomfort illustrates ____.

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement is the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. In this case, Ai turns on the AC to remove the unpleasant sensation of being hot, which increases the likelihood of her turning on the AC in the future when she is feeling hot. Positive reinforcement involves providing a pleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Punishment involves providing an unpleasant consequence to decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. A penalty is a consequence for breaking a rule or law, which is not applicable in this situation.

Question 15

Chris does not like it when his infant son,Jacob,cries.Chris finds that if he makes goofy faces while Jacob is crying,Jacob will stop.Which learning principle best explains why Chris is more likely to make goofy faces in the future to make Jacob stop crying?

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior is strengthened because it removes or diminishes a negative outcome. In this case, Chris is more likely to make goofy faces in the future because it stops Jacob's crying, which is a negative experience for Chris.

Question 16

Martina's upstairs neighbors play their stereo loudly.Martina hates loud music and has found that if she bangs on the ceiling with a broom,they turn the volume down.Now,as soon as the loud music starts,Martina bangs on the ceiling and it is muted.This is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of escape conditioning because Martina is escaping from the unpleasant stimulus of loud music by banging on the ceiling with a broom, which leads to the removal of the music. Positive reinforcement, shaping, and avoidance conditioning do not fit the scenario as well as escape conditioning.

Question 17

Pookie,the dog,quickly learns that when she scratches at the door,her owner will allow her to go outside to play.This is an example of ____ conditioning.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of operant conditioning, where Pookie's behavior (scratching at the door) is reinforced by a consequence (being allowed to go outside), leading to an increase in that behavior.

Question 18

Alex has learned that if his mom is upset and he praises her,she will cook him a great meal.However,if he praises his mom when she is in a good mood,she responds by saying,"Are you trying to butter me up?" and doesn't cook at all.In this example,Alex's mom's mood is a ____.

Accepted Answer

Alex's mom's mood is acting as a discriminative conditioned stimulus because it is signaling to Alex when it is appropriate to praise her for a desired outcome (cooking a great meal) and when it is not appropriate (when she is already in a good mood and doesn't need to be "buttered up"). The discriminative stimulus is signaling when that behavior will be reinforced.

Question 19

While at the grocery store,Jeremy begins to throw a fit because he wants a candy bar.His mom gives him the candy bar so that he will stop screaming.Jeremy's mom has experienced ____ conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Jeremy's mom has experienced escape conditioning because she gave Jeremy the candy bar to stop an ongoing unpleasant situation (his screaming), which is a form of negative reinforcement.

Question 20

Whenever Calvin throws his sister's doll in the toilet,his mother locks Calvin in his room.As soon as Calvin apologizes,his mother lets him out.Eventually,Calvin learns to apologize immediately,so that he can get out of his room sooner.Calvin is demonstrating ____.

Accepted Answer

Calvin is demonstrating escape conditioning, as he learns to engage in a behavior (apologizing) to escape or end an aversive consequence (being locked in his room). Punishment and avoidance conditioning both involve the use of aversive consequences to decrease behavior, but in this scenario, Calvin's behavior is actually increasing (he is apologizing more quickly) in order to escape the aversive consequence. Positive reinforcement involves the use of a pleasant consequence to increase behavior, which is not present in this scenario.

Quiz 5: Learning

Lois and Peter want to teach Brian,their dog,to fetch the newspaper.Lois aims to encourage Brian's behavior when he brings in the newspaper.Peter's goal is,instead,to discourage Brian's behavior when he brings in a stick.Lois will most likely use ,and Peter will most likely use .