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 the _____ of the clock situation.

Accepted Answer

Stimulus control refers to the ability of environmental cues to influence our behavior. In this case, the clock serves as a cue for when to leave the house. By setting it ahead, the cue is shifted to an earlier time, making it more likely for someone to leave on time. Even though the person may consciously know the clock is fast, their behavior is still influenced by the cue.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

Scolding misbehaving children in a classroom may actually increase misbehavior because it reinforces the behavior with attention. Even negative attention is still attention and can prompt the child to continue the misbehavior to receive attention. Therefore, it is important to use positive reinforcement techniques to encourage appropriate behavior rather than focusing on scolding and punishment.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

A "time-out" procedure typically involves removing a child from a situation where they are receiving attention and other rewards for disruptive behavior. This is meant to decrease the reinforcement of the behavior, making it less likely to continue in the future. Removing the child from an overly stimulating environment and threats of physical punishment are not necessarily part of a time-out procedure, and the negative reinforcement associated with extinction refers to the removal of an aversive stimulus, which is not the same as a time-out.

Question 4

Attention, approval, and concern

Accepted Answer

Attention, approval, and concern are common reinforcers for humans, but if they follow misbehavior they may increase it. During extinction training, these reinforcers are often intentionally removed or decreased to decrease the behavior they are reinforcing. Therefore, all of the options provided are correct.

Question 5

Mattie, an extremely overweight mental patient, 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.This therapist used _____ to produce extinction of Mattie's food stealing.

Accepted Answer

Non-reinforcement was used to produce extinction of Mattie's food stealing behavior. By removing Mattie from the dining room when she approached any other table, the therapist was not providing reinforcement for her stealing behavior, which eventually led to the behavior extinguishing. Aversive conditioning involves associating unwanted behavior with unpleasant consequences, covert desensitization involves exposing the patient to feared stimuli in a gradual and controlled way, and classical conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with a naturally occurring stimulus to elicit a desired response. None of these were used in this scenario.

Question 6

A _____ procedure is a variation of non-reinforcement and involves removing the individual from a situation in which reinforcement occurs.

Accepted Answer

This describes the time-out procedure, which involves removing the individual from a situation in which reinforcement occurs. Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations towards a desired behavior, stimulus control involves manipulating antecedent stimuli to increase or decrease behavior, and reciprocal inhibition involves applying a competing response to a target behavior.

Question 7

When two autistic boys were ignored after instances of self-destructive behavior, their tendency to injure themselves disappeared.The operant principle employed was

Accepted Answer

The operant principle employed was non-reinforcement (ignoring the self-destructive behavior) which led to extinction (the behavior disappearing as it was no longer being reinforced).

Question 8

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 operant principle demonstrated in this scenario is stimulus control, which refers to the phenomenon where behavior is influenced by the presence or absence of certain stimuli in the environment. In this case, the stimulus is the location of the game (at home or on the road), which has a significant impact on the team's behavior (winning or losing).

Question 9

Toby likes to play with his sister's cat, but he often plays "too rough" with the cat.So, every time Toby begins to terrorize his sister's cat, his mother takes the cat and puts it in another room away from Toby.Toby's rough treatment of his sister's cat will

Accepted Answer

The behavior of Toby is being extinguished by non-reinforcement, since his mother is removing the cat from the situation every time Toby is rough with it, which means Toby is not being reinforced for that behavior.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

Nonreward and time-out are used to bring about the extinction of maladaptive responses, which means that the behavior decreases or disappears due to lack of reinforcement. Aversive conditioning (B) uses punishment to decrease undesirable behaviors, positive reinforcement (C) rewards desired behaviors to increase their occurrence, and negative reinforcement (D) involves removing aversive stimuli to increase behaviors.

Question 11

It is Halloween night.The trick-or-treaters know that if the porch light is on at a house, there 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

This illustrates the operant principle of stimulus control, as the behavior of trick-or-treaters is determined by the presence or absence of a specific stimulus (the porch light).

Question 12

_____ are symbolic rewards, such as plastic chips, that can be exchanged for real rewards and are used to encourage positive changes in behavior.

Accepted Answer

Tokens are symbolic rewards that can be exchanged for real rewards and are used in token economy systems to encourage positive changes in behavior. Operants and stimuli are broader terms in behaviorism, and although positive reinforcers may be used in token economy systems, they do not specifically refer to the symbolic nature of tokens.

Question 13

The most frequently occurring human behaviors lead to some form of

Accepted Answer

The most frequently occurring human behaviors are typically reinforced through some form of reward, whether it be a tangible reward or a positive feeling. This reinforcement makes it more likely for the behavior to be repeated in the future. A and B are not accurate as extinction and aversion are not the typical outcomes of frequently occurring behaviors. Punishment may be used to deter certain behaviors, but it is not necessarily the most common outcome.

Question 14

Patti throws a temper tantrum in order to gain her mother's attention.However, her mother does not pay any attention and leaves the room.Patti stops her tantrum and follows her mother into the next room.Patti's mother has used _____ to eliminate Patti's tantrum.

Accepted Answer

Time-out involves removing the individual from the situation or removing attention, which is what Patti's mother did by leaving the room. This can eliminate the undesired behavior by reducing the reinforcement that was maintaining it. Reciprocal inhibition involves counteracting an undesired emotional state with a desired one, shaping involves gradually reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior, and aversive conditioning involves pairing an undesired behavior with an aversive stimulus to decrease its occurrence. None of these strategies were used in the scenario.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a typical example of tokens?

Accepted Answer

Tokens in behaviorism and psychology typically refer to symbolic, often physical, items like check marks, poker chips, or gold stars that are used as part of a token economy system. These systems reward individuals with tokens for desired behaviors, which can later be exchanged for specific rewards. Food or privileges, while they can be rewards in such systems, are not considered tokens themselves; they are what tokens can be exchanged for.

Question 16

_____ is a procedure that prevents a reward from following an undesirable response by removing the individual from the situation where he or she could be reinforced.

Accepted Answer

Time-out involves removing an individual from a situation where reinforcement could occur following an undesirable response, in order to decrease the occurrence of that response in the future.

Question 17

A parent who copes with quarreling among young children by placing them in separate rooms is using

Accepted Answer

This is an example of using a time-out as a behavior management strategy. The parent is removing the children from the situation and placing them in different rooms to calm down and reflect on their behavior. Desensitization, reinforcement, and shaping are not relevant to this scenario.

Question 18

Identifying and removing rewards is a behavioral technique designed to bring about

Accepted Answer

Identifying and removing rewards is a technique of extinction, which involves removing the consequences that reinforce a behavior, leading to a decrease in that behavior over time. The other options (A - operant shaping, C - respondent aversion, and D - token inhibition) do not accurately describe this technique.

Question 19

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 technique being used by the mother is time-out, which involves removing the individual from the situation until they can calm down and behave appropriately. This is a form of negative punishment, where the undesirable behavior of fighting over the toy results in the removal of the opportunity to play with it. Shaping (A) involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior, stimulus control (B) involves controlling the antecedents of a behavior to encourage or discourage its occurrence, and reciprocal inhibition (C) involves substituting a more adaptive response for an undesirable one through exposure to counter-conditioning stimuli. None of these techniques fit the scenario described.

Question 20

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 as a consequence of his behavior. This is an example of time-out, where a person is removed from the reinforcing environment for a brief period of time following a behavior that is considered undesirable.

Quiz 15: Extension B: Therapies