Theresa was very nervous as she stepped up to the free-throw line in her first college basketball game.She carefully bounced the ball three times, snapped her gum twice, and tossed the ball.It sailed in for a basket.Now Theresa ensures that she bounces the ball exactly three times and snaps her gum before every free throw, and she makes about 70% of her shots.Based on what is known about operant conditioning, you should conclude that Theresa's behavior best illustrates the concept referred to as:
A)adventitious reinforcement
B)successive approximations
C)classical conditioning
D)the Premack principle

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Theresa's behavior illustrates adventitious reinforcement, where a behavior is followed by a positive outcome that was not necessarily intended to reinforce the behavior. In this case, her initial ritual of bouncing the ball three times and snapping her gum was followed by making a basket, which reinforced the behavior, even though the actions themselves do not directly influence the outcome of the shot.

Theresa Was Very Nervous as She Stepped Up to the Free-Throw