Question 1

In the middle of a difficult exam, Robert tells his teacher that his stomach hurts, and the teacher immediately sends him to the school nurse. On several later occasions when he has a difficult test or assignment, Robert again tells his teacher that he doesn't feel well. Robert's frequent trips to the nurse have:

Accepted Answer

Robert's behavior of telling his teacher he doesn't feel well has resulted in the teacher immediately sending him to the nurse, which provides relief from the difficult exam or assignment. This relief serves as a negative reinforcement, increasing the likelihood that Robert will continue to engage in this behavior in the future.

Question 2

When Judy becomes verbally aggressive toward her peers, she is placed in a quiet and boring room for five minutes. The procedure being used here is most commonly known as:

Accepted Answer

When a child is placed in a quiet and boring room for a short period of time following an undesired behavior, it is known as a time-out. The goal is to remove the child from the situation that is causing the undesirable behavior so they can calm down and regain control before returning to the situation. Systematic desensitization involves gradually exposing an individual to feared stimuli to reduce anxiety, response cost involves removing a reward when an undesired behavior occurs, and in-house suspension is a more severe consequence often used in schools for serious behavioral offenses.

Question 3

DeeDee is upset that she has been taken off the basketball team because of a failing grade in her history class. The consequence of DeeDee's failure in history is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The answer of DeeDee is upset that she has been...

Question 4

Alex loses his best friend Tyler when he tattles on Tyler at recess. Alex learns that tattling on friends is not a good idea. The loss of Tyler's friendship is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Punishment II involves the removal of a positive reinforcer after an undesirable behavior occurs. In this case, Alex loses Tyler's friendship (a positive reinforcer) after tattling on him (an undesirable behavior).

Question 5

In Mr. Marshall's classroom, students who acquire 10 points in one day can have 20 minutes of free time at the end of the day. Mr. Marshall awards points to his students for good behavior and deducts points if they misbehave. The deduction of points for misbehavior is known as:

Accepted Answer

The deduction of points for misbehavior is known as response cost.

Question 6

David's mother insists that he vacuum the living room carpet. But when she sees how haphazardly he vacuums (he misses two-thirds of the carpet), she tells him, "Never mind, I'll do it!" David's escape of household chores is:

Accepted Answer

David's escape from chores is negatively reinforced because his behavior (vacuuming poorly) results in the removal of an unpleasant task (vacuuming), thereby increasing the likelihood that he will repeat this behavior in the future to avoid chores.

Question 7

Which one of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus in response to a desired behavior. In this scenario, Lucas is complaining about a classmate picking on him and the teacher allows him to come in from recess on bitterly cold days, which removes the aversive stimulus of being outside in the cold.

Question 8

Stanley pokes his pencil point in Sharon's arm. The teacher gives him a stern look, and Stanley quickly puts his pencil back in his desk. The teacher's stern look is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The teacher's stern look is an example of Punishment I, which involves presenting an aversive stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Question 9

Punishment received little attention in the psychological research literature prior to the 1960s, primarily due to the fact that:

Accepted Answer

Early behaviorists, such as B.F. Skinner, believed that punishment is ineffective in reducing behavior and instead advocated for positive reinforcement as a more effective way of shaping behavior. Thus, punishment received little attention in the psychological research literature prior to the 1960s.

Question 10

When Mr. Thompson yells at his students, they all pay attention to him. Mr. Thompson is receiving ________ for his yelling behavior.

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by a favorable outcome, making the behavior more likely to occur in the future. In this case, Mr. Thompson's yelling results in the students paying attention, which is a favorable outcome for him, thus reinforcing his yelling behavior.

Question 11

When Rochelle has an on-the-road lesson as part of her driver education class, she fails to stop at a school crossing zone, as is required by law. Her instructor has her drive around the block several times and stop each time at the crossing zone. He also insists that, once she has stopped, she must wait at least eight seconds before proceeding. The instructor's strategy illustrates the use of _______ as a way of bringing about behavior change.

Accepted Answer

The instructor is using positive-practice overcorrection, which involves overlearning and repeating the correct behavior in order to replace the incorrect behavior. By having Rochelle drive around the block and stop at the crossing zone multiple times, and then insisting that she wait at least eight seconds each time, the instructor is reinforcing the correct behavior and providing opportunities for Rochelle to practice it. This is a form of positive punishment, as it involves adding a consequence (extra practice) that is unpleasant in order to decrease the likelihood of the incorrect behavior occurring again in the future.

Question 12

Which one of the following statements best describes research findings regarding the effectiveness of verbally reprimanding (e.g., scolding) children?

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that brief and unemotional reprimands are more effective in reducing inappropriate behavior in children than severe or lengthy ones. Mild reprimands can be just as effective as severe ones, as long as they are consistent and followed by positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior. Embarrassment or shaming is not an effective tool for discipline and can actually be harmful to children's self-esteem and emotional well-being.

Question 13

Linda wears bell-bottom pants to school, and her classmates tease her about them. As soon as she gets home, Linda throws the pants in the trash. Linda's being teased is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The classmates teasing Linda is an example of punishment I, because the behavior (wearing bell-bottoms) led to a negative consequence (being teased), which in turn led to the behavior being less likely to occur in the future (Linda throwing the pants away). Negative reinforcement would involve removing a negative consequence to increase a behavior, while avoidance learning involves learning to avoid negative consequences. Punishment II would involve presenting a negative consequence to decrease a behavior.

Question 14

Nadia is an only child who lives on a ranch that is located many miles from the homes of other children. Although she enjoys being with her peers at school, she is often physically aggressive toward them. School personnel have made many small attempts to curb Nadia's aggression (for example, they have scolded her, kept her in from recess, and put her in a time-out situation) but always without success. They are now thinking about taking more drastic measures. According to the textbook, which one of the following is most likely to be effective?

Accepted Answer

Putting Nadia in in-house suspension may be effective in curbing her aggressive behavior as it removes her from the environment where the behavior is occurring and gives her time to reflect on her actions. The other options do not address the root of Nadia's aggression and may not be effective in changing her behavior.

Question 15

Peter does his homework immediately after he gets home from school so he won't have to worry about it any more. The consequence of Peter's doing his homework can best be categorized as:

Accepted Answer

Peter does his homework immediately after school to remove the worry or stress of having it looming over him. This is an example of negative reinforcement, where a behavior is increased to remove or avoid a negative consequence. In this case, the negative consequence is the worry or stress of not having completed his homework.

Question 16

Tammy is scolded for submitting a messy math homework paper, so she tries to do her math problems more neatly after that. The scolding Tammy received is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The scolding Tammy received for submitting a messy homework paper is an example of punishment I, as it involves presenting an aversive stimulus (the scolding) to decrease or suppress a behavior (submitting messy homework).

Question 17

Which one of the following is the best example of punishment as behaviorists define it?

Accepted Answer

Punishment, as defined by behaviorists, is a consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated in the future. Option D is the best example of punishment, as Nora's time-out for hurting a classmate's feelings resulted in her being more careful not to hurt her peers' feelings in the future. Options A, B, and C are not examples of punishment as they do not decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated in the future.

Question 18

Which one of the following is the major reason why assigning extra schoolwork is not an appropriate punishment for classroom misbehavior?

Accepted Answer

Assigning extra schoolwork as punishment can inadvertently teach students to view schoolwork and learning as negative or undesirable tasks, rather than as valuable or enjoyable activities. This can undermine their intrinsic motivation to learn and engage with the material.

Question 19

Which one of the following accurately describes the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment?

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior. Punishment involves presenting an aversive stimulus to decrease the frequency of a behavior. Therefore, option B accurately describes the difference between the two.

Question 20

When several students spray-paint graffiti on the school walls, the school principal insists that they paint the walls to cover the graffiti; the principal also insists that the students pay for the necessary paint out of their own pockets. The principal's strategy illustrates the use of _______ as a way of bringing about behavior change.

Accepted Answer

Restitution is a form of corrective action in which the offender is required to repair the damage caused by their behavior. In this case, the students are required to cover the graffiti they sprayed on the walls, which is an example of restitution. Additionally, requiring the students to pay for the paint themselves is a form of response cost, which is a punishment that involves removing a reward or enforcing additional effort or cost in response to undesirable behavior. However, this is a secondary tactic used in conjunction with the primary restitution. Therefore, the best option is A, restitution.

Quiz 4: Instrumental Conditioning