Which one of the following best illustrates Skinner's concept of superstitious behavior?
A) Alice is praised for her accurate bookkeeping at work. After that, she continues to keep accurate books at work. She also begins to be more careful about balancing her personal checkbook each month, even though she receives no reinforcement for doing so.
B) Bradley thinks his reinforcement for cleaning his apartment is the good feeling that a clean place gives him. In reality, he cleans only when company is coming, and it is his company that makes him feel good.
C) Charlotte misinterprets a teacher's praise as sarcasm and therefore as punishment rather than reinforcement.
D) David usually struggles with his geography exams, but he recently got high scores on two occasions when he wore a Denver Broncos sweatshirt to school. He now wears his Broncos sweatshirt whenever a geography test is scheduled.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Skinner's concept of superstitious behavior refers to behavior that is reinforced by chance or coincidence, rather than a direct correlation between the behavior and its reinforcement. In this scenario, David's wearing of the Denver Broncos sweatshirt is not directly related to his geography test performance, but he believes it to be due to the coincidence of his recent high scores while wearing it. Therefore, his behavior of wearing the sweatshirt during geography tests is an example of superstitious behavior. The other options do not involve chance or coincidence in the reinforcement of behavior.

Which One of the Following Best Illustrates Skinner's Concept of Superstitious