Question 1

Hailey is taking dance lessons. Each time she makes a progressive move, her dance instructor commends her. In this scenario, Hailey's instructor is training her by _____.

Accepted Answer

Shaping involves reinforcing small steps or progressive moves to reach a desired behavior. In this scenario, the dance instructor is commending Hailey for each progressive move, which is an example of shaping. The other options, counterconditioning, flooding, and systematic desensitization, are not applicable in this context.

Question 2

_____ states that pleasant events stamp in responses, and unpleasant events stamp them out.

Accepted Answer

Thorndike's law of effect states that behaviors which lead to positive outcomes or satisfaction are more likely to be repeated, while behaviors that lead to negative outcomes or dissatisfaction are less likely to be repeated. This idea can be applied to learning and behavior change, as it suggests that individuals are more likely to repeat behaviors that result in positive outcomes, and less likely to repeat behaviors that result in negative outcomes.

Question 3

Teachers can learn to use__________to reinforce children when they are behaving appropriately and, when possible, to extinguish misbehavior by ignoring it.

Accepted Answer

Behavior modification is a technique used to reinforce positive behavior and extinguish negative behavior through rewards and consequences. This is a useful technique for teachers to use in the classroom to promote appropriate behavior in students. Systematic desensitization is a technique used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders, regularization refers to the process of making something regular or following a set of rules, and countertransference is a term used in therapy to describe when a therapist's personal emotions and experiences influence their treatment of a client.

Question 4

Which of the following statements is true in the context of classical conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning involves the learning of reflexive responses, also known as reflexes, by associating an unconditioned stimulus with a previously neutral stimulus (which becomes the conditioned stimulus). Therefore, reflexes can be learned through classical conditioning. Option A is incorrect because an unconditioned stimulus can elicit a response even before conditioning. Option B is incorrect because reflexes can be unlearned or modified through various forms of learning. Option C is incorrect because an unconditioned response is an automatic or reflexive response to an unconditioned stimulus, which is not learned but rather naturally occurs.

Question 5

In the context of behavior therapy methods, which of the following statements is true of flooding?

Accepted Answer

Flooding is a behavior therapy method that involves continuous exposure to fear-evoking stimuli until the fear response is extinguished. It works by overriding the principle of avoidance and promoting the principle of extinction. Flooding is not based on principles of operant conditioning, and it is not pleasant but effective.

Question 6

Biofeedback training, behavior modification, and programmed learning are all applications of__________.

Accepted Answer

Biofeedback training, behavior modification, and programmed learning are all applications of operant conditioning, which is a type of learning where behavior is shaped by consequences. The use of rewards and punishments to modify behavior is a core principle of operant conditioning. Latent learning, classical conditioning, and observational learning are all different types of learning theories.

Question 7

Walda's father is a gardener. She has been watching her father work for many years. She now has her own garden. Though she has never been taught the art of gardening, she is very good at it. In this scenario, Walda acquired gardening skills by the process of _____.

Accepted Answer

Walda acquired gardening skills through the process of observational learning by watching her father work for many years. She did not receive any formal training or instruction, but instead learned by observing and imitating her father's techniques and approach to gardening.

Question 8

Consider an experiment in which a pigeon is placed in a Skinner box with a button on the wall. The cage contains a small green light that is turned on and off intermittently throughout the day. When the pigeon pecks the button when the green light is on, the behavior is reinforced with food. When it pecks the button when the green light is off, the behavior is not reinforced. The pigeon soon learns that button pecking will be rewarded only when the green light is on. In this scenario, the green light is a(n)__________.

Accepted Answer

The green light is a discriminative stimulus because it signals to the pigeon when its behavior (pecking the button) will be reinforced. The pigeon has learned to discriminate between when the green light is on and off in order to receive reinforcement. A discriminative stimulus is any event or stimulus that signals when a particular behavior will lead to a certain consequence.

Question 9

Carl is teaching his dogs to jump through a hoop. At the onset of training, Carl gives the dogs treats for each movement toward the hoop. Then, he only gives them treats when they near the hoop. Later, he waits until they jump through the hoop before giving them treats. In this scenario, Carl reinforces _____ of the goal.

Accepted Answer

Carl is using the technique of successive approximations, where he rewards the dogs for gradually getting closer and closer to the final goal of jumping through the hoop.

Question 10

__________is Robert Rescorla's viewpoint that suggests that learning occurs only when a conditioned stimulus (CS) provides information about an unconditioned stimulus (US).

Accepted Answer

Robert Rescorla's viewpoint is known as the contingency theory which suggests that learning only occurs when the conditional stimulus (CS) is contingent upon the occurrence of the unconditioned stimulus (US). This means that the CS provides information about the US and predicts its occurrence. The other options, consistency paradox, contact hypothesis, and conflict theory, are not related to Rescorla's viewpoint on learning.

Question 11

According to _____, when we see modeled behavior being reinforced, we are vicariously reinforced.

Accepted Answer

Observational learning, also known as social learning or modeling, proposes that we learn and acquire behaviors and skills by observing and imitating others. When we observe someone else's behavior being reinforced (i.e., rewarded or praised), we are more likely to imitate that behavior, as we are vicariously reinforced by seeing the positive outcome.

Question 12

In the context of reinforcement schedules, a piece worker that gets paid on a per-shirt basis is on a__________.

Accepted Answer

A fixed-ratio schedule reinforces a behavior after a specific number of responses have been completed. In this case, the piece worker is being reinforced for completing a specific number of shirts, which is a fixed ratio. The other options are not relevant to this scenario.

Question 13

_____ are defined as stimuli that increase the frequency of behavior.

Accepted Answer

Reinforcers are stimuli that increase the frequency of a behavior. Unpleasant stimuli and aversive stimuli are types of punishments which decrease the frequency of behavior.

Question 14

Which of the following statements is true of shaping?

Accepted Answer

Shaping involves reinforcing progressive steps towards a desired behavior, rather than punishing incorrect actions. It can be used to teach complex behaviors, not just simple ones. It does not involve extinguishing learned or conditioned behaviors, but rather reinforcing the desired behavior through successive approximations.

Question 15

Justin is teaching his dog, Tiara, to jump on command. He gives her a treat when she jumps on command only when the treats are with him. When the treats are not in his reach, he does not give her a treat. In this context, Justin is using _____.

Accepted Answer

Justin is using partial reinforcement because Tiara receives a treat only sometimes when she jumps on command, specifically when the treats are available.

Question 16

Identify a true statement about punishments.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Identify a true statement about punishments. 
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Question 17

Which of the following statements is true of classical conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning is a type of learning that is involuntary and automatic. It involves pairing a neutral stimulus (such as a sound) with an unconditioned stimulus (such as food) to create a conditioned response (such as salivation to the sound alone). It does not involve consequences or reinforcement, and it focuses on how organisms react to stimuli in their environment.

Question 18

In the context of observational learning,__________allow us to anticipate other people's intentions when they reach for things.

Accepted Answer

Mirror neurons allow us to anticipate other people's intentions when they reach for things. Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, catecholamines are hormones that regulate the body's response to stress, and helper T cells are a type of immune cell that helps activate other immune cells. None of these have a direct relationship with observational learning.

Question 19

In Pavlov's experiment, he conditioned his dog to salivate when it was shown a circle. Later, the dog salivated when it was shown other closed geometric figures including squares. Through his experiment, Pavlov demonstrated _____.

Accepted Answer

Pavlov's experiment demonstrated generalization, where the dog began to respond to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus (the circle) by also salivating when shown other closed geometric figures such as squares. Discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish between similar stimuli, general adaptation refers to an organism's ability to adapt to different environments, and spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of rest.

Question 20

With a _____, an organism's response rate falls off after each reinforcement and then picks up again as the time when reinforcement will occur approaches.

Accepted Answer

This is describing the pattern of behavior seen in a fixed-interval schedule, where the response rate typically drops off immediately following reinforcement and increases as the next reinforcement becomes imminent. None of the other options describe this specific pattern of behavior.

Quiz 5: Learning