Question 1

If you set your clock ten minutes fast,it may be easier to leave the house on time in the morning.Even though you know that the clock is fast,your departure is under which of the following regarding the clock?

Accepted Answer

The behavior of leaving the house on time is being controlled by the stimulus of the clock. By setting the clock ahead, it serves as a signal or cue to prompt the behavior of leaving the house. This is an example of stimulus control.

Question 2

Time-out,which involves removing a person from a situation in which reinforcement could occur,is a variation of

Accepted Answer

Time-out involves removing a person from a situation in which reinforcement could occur, and response cost involves the removal of a reinforcing stimulus following an undesired behavior. Therefore, time-out is a variation of response cost. Classical conditioning involves learning through the association of two stimuli, shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior, and reciprocal inhibition involves the inhibition of an undesired behavior through the activation of a conflicting response.

Question 3

Nonreward and time-out are typically used to bring about the

Accepted Answer

Nonreward and time-out are commonly used in behavior modification to bring about the extinction of maladaptive responses. This means that by removing the reinforcement (nonreward) or removing the individual from the reinforcing environment (time-out), the undesired behavior will decrease over time. Aversive conditioning (B) involves pairing an unpleasant stimulus with an undesirable behavior, positive reinforcement (C) involves providing a reward for a desired behavior, and negative reinforcement (D) involves removing an unpleasant stimulus when a desired behavior is exhibited.

Question 4

Which of the following is a variation of response cost and involves removing the individual from a situation in which reinforcement occurs?

Accepted Answer

The behavior intervention described is time-out, a variation of response cost that involves removing the individual from a situation in which reinforcement occurs. This is typically used when a negative behavior is occurring and the reinforcement is the attention or stimulation provided by the environment. By removing the individual from the environment, the reinforcement is removed and the behavior is less likely to occur in the future. Shaping is a method of gradually teaching a behavior by reinforcing successive approximations of the target behavior. Stimulus control involves modifying the antecedents (stimuli) that prompt a behavior. Reciprocal inhibition is a therapeutic approach that involves pairing an anxiety-provoking stimulus with a pleasurable stimulus to reduce anxiety.

Question 5

It is Halloween night.The trick-or-treaters know that if the porch light is on at a house,they will get candy if they knock on the door and say "Trick-or-Treat." If the light is off,they know that there will be no reward waiting for them.The trick-or- treaters' behavior is determined by the date (Halloween night)and if a light is on or off.This illustrates the operant principle of

Accepted Answer

The operant principle being illustrated here is stimulus control. The behavior of the trick-or-treaters is being controlled by the presence or absence of a specific stimulus (the porch light being on or off).

Question 6

Which of the following procedures prevents a reward from following an undesirable response by removing the individual from a situation in which he or she could be reinforced?

Accepted Answer

Time-out is a procedure that involves removing an individual from a situation in which they could be reinforced, such as after an undesirable response. This is done to prevent future occurrences of the undesirable behavior through the absence of any possible rewards. Therefore, option C, time-out, is the correct answer.

Question 7

Scolding misbehaving children in a classroom may actually increase misbehavior because of the

Accepted Answer

Scolding misbehaving children can inadvertently reinforce their behavior because it provides attention, which the child may view as a reward. This can lead to an increase in misbehavior as the child seeks to receive more attention, even if it is negative attention.

Question 8

Mattie,an extremely overweight patient at the mental hospital,had a persistent and disturbing habit of stealing food from other patients.The behavior therapist assigned Mattie to a special table in the dining room.If Mattie approached any other table,she was immediately removed from the dining room.To produce extinction of Mattie's food stealing,the therapist used which of the following regarding this behavior?

Accepted Answer

Nonreinforcement was used to produce extinction of Mattie's food stealing behavior by removing her from the dining room immediately if she approached any other table. This serves as a consequence that decreases the likelihood of the behavior occurring again in the future. Aversive conditioning involves pairing a negative stimulus (e.g. electric shock) with the behavior, covert desensitization involves reducing anxiety towards a specific stimulus, and respondent conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an automatic response (e.g. Pavlov's dogs salivating at the sound of a bell). None of these techniques were used in this scenario.

Question 9

A staff psychologist who recommends the use of a "time-out" procedure for treating disruptive behavior is referring to time-out from

Accepted Answer

The time-out procedure involves removing the individual from the reinforcing environment in order to decrease the likelihood of the disruptive behavior occurring again. Therefore, the individual is being given a time-out from attention and other rewards for the disruptive behavior.

Question 10

The most frequently occurring human behaviors lead to some form of

Accepted Answer

The most frequently occurring human behaviors lead to some form of reward, either intrinsically or extrinsically. This reward could be in the form of satisfaction, pleasure, or other positive feelings that reinforce the behavior and increase the likelihood of it being repeated in the future. Extinction, aversion, and punishment may also occur as consequences of certain behaviors, but they are not the most common outcomes of behavior.

Question 11

You are setting up a behavior modification plan for a classroom.In dealing with the undesirable behaviors in this classroom,you will identify and remove the rewards for these behaviors and in doing so bring about

Accepted Answer

The best choice is extinction because it involves removing the rewards for the undesirable behaviors, which should decrease the frequency of those behaviors over time. Operant shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations towards a desired behavior, respondent aversion involves pairing an aversive stimulus with a behavior to decrease its frequency, and token inhibition is not a recognized term in behavior modification.

Question 12

A behavior therapist wants to reward a language delayed child for saying a new word,but rewards the child first for saying the first letter sound and then another letter sound,and so on.The language therapist is using

Accepted Answer

The behavior therapist is using shaping, which involves rewarding successive approximations towards a desired behavior until the target behavior is reached. In this case, the desired behavior is saying a new word, and the therapist is rewarding the child for saying letter sounds as a way to gradually shape the behavior towards saying a full word.

Question 13

An athletic team almost always wins the game when they play at "home" but they seldom win a game played "on the road." Their winning appears to be influenced by where the game is played.This illustrates the operant principle of

Accepted Answer

The principle of stimulus control states that a behavior is more likely to occur in the presence of a particular stimulus. In this case, the stimulus is the location of the game - "home" or "on the road". The behavior (winning or losing) is more likely to occur in the presence of the stimulus of playing at home, suggesting that the location of the game is exerting stimulus control over the team's performance.

Question 14

If you are helping a person relearn how to walk after a stroke,you begin by reinforcing the person for being able to stand with a walker,then taking a step,then taking another step,then moving the walker and taking another step and so on.You are using the behavioral procedure known as

Accepted Answer

The described procedure of reinforcing small steps towards a larger goal is an example of shaping, a behavioral procedure used to teach new behaviors by reinforcing successive approximations towards the ultimate behavior goal. The other options, such as reciprocal inhibition (a relaxation technique used to reduce anxiety) and classical conditioning (an association between two stimuli), do not fit the described procedure. Stimulus control is the ability of a particular stimulus to evoke a particular response, which is unrelated to the procedure described.

Question 15

Rewarding actions that are closer and closer approximations to a desired response is called

Accepted Answer

Rewarding actions that are closer and closer approximations to a desired response is called shaping. Reciprocal inhibition involves the presence of an incompatible response to a anxiety-producing stimulus, desensitization involves gradual exposure to anxiety-producing stimuli, and negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior.

Question 16

Stimulus control is an operant conditioning procedure in which

Accepted Answer

Stimulus control is the process of a response coming under the influence of the situation or stimulus cues in which it occurs. This means that the behavior is more likely to occur in the presence of specific environmental cues or stimuli. For example, a person may only smoke when they are around friends who smoke, rather than when they are alone. This response may be further reinforced by the pleasurable effects of smoking in that specific social context. Thus, stimulus control is an important aspect of learning and behavior change.

Question 17

Two-year-old Dennis is outside with his mother when he begins pulling the dog's ears.When he refuses to stop,his mother picks Dennis up and carries him back into the house and away from their dog.Dennis is experiencing

Accepted Answer

Dennis is being removed from the situation and placed in a time-out, which is a common consequence used for young children who exhibit inappropriate behavior.

Question 18

Jeffery and Logan are brothers who are fighting over a new toy.Their mother sends them to separate rooms until they can calm down and agree to share the toy and play "nicely." Mother is using the operant conditioning technique known as

Accepted Answer

The scenario describes a classic example of a time-out technique, where the mother removes the source of conflict (the toy) and separates the brothers in a non-reinforcing environment to reduce the occurrence of the undesirable behavior (fighting over the toy). Through this negative punishment, the brothers learn that aggressive behavior leads to a loss of access to the toy, which can promote better behavior in the future. The other options are less applicable in this scenario; shaping refers to rewarding successive approximations to a desired behavior, stimulus control refers to modifying the antecedent conditions that elicit certain behaviors, and reciprocal inhibition involves substituting a competing response to reduce the occurrence of an unwanted behavior.

Question 19

Attention,approval,and concern

Accepted Answer

Attention, approval, and concern can be reinforcing for humans, but they may also increase misbehavior if provided following inappropriate behavior. In some cases, these reinforcers may be removed during extinction training in order to decrease problem behavior. Therefore, all three statements are true, making choice D the best answer.

Question 20

Three-year-old Timmon misbehaves,and his mother places him in a chair facing the corner of the room for five minutes until he clams down and behaves more appropriately.This is an example of the use of

Accepted Answer

Time-out is a behavioral technique that involves the temporary removal of a child from a situation where they are misbehaving to a designated place, such as a chair in the corner, for a specific period until the child calms down and their behavior improves. This technique is used to reduce or eliminate undesired behaviors and encourage positive behaviors. In this scenario, Timmon's mother is using time-out as a punishment for his misbehavior, which will help him learn appropriate behavior in the future. Reciprocal inhibition, desensitization, and shaping are not applicable in this scenario.

Quiz 15: B: Therapies