Chapter 4: Behavioral Principles: Respondent and Operant Conditioning

Question 1

The term respondent conditioning is interchangeable with terms you may
be more familiar with…

Answer 1

classical conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning

Question 2

Behavioral principles

Answer 2

procedures that have a consistent effect and are so simple that they
cannot be broken down any further

Question 3

Behavioral techniques

Answer 3

combinations of behavioral principles

Question 4

The basic principle of respondent (classical/Pavlovian) conditioning

Answer 4

is that a
neutral stimulus, followed closely by an unconditioned stimulus that elicits an unconditioned
response, will no longer be a neutral stimulus and will instead come to elicit that response.

Question 5

Unconditioned stimulus

Answer 5

a stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response naturally
-e.g., you chew food (unconditioned stimulus) in your mouth and sweat when you are
hot (unconditioned stimulus), you didn’t need to learn that you need to do that

Question 6

Unconditioned response

Answer 6

• the innate response that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus
  (also called a respondent behavior)
  -e.g., you chew (unconditioned response) food in your mouth and sweat (unconditioned
  response) when you are hot, you didn’t need to learn that you need to do that

Question 7

Unconditioned reflex

Answer 7

the unconditioned stimulus causes an unconditioned response

-the stimulus-response relationship occurs without any learning taking place

Question 8

Respondent conditioning

Answer 8

*Most stimuli do not elicit an unconditioned response- therefore, stimuli often become paired
with what occurs immediately after it, linking these two things together.

Question 9

Conditioned stimulus

Answer 9

initially neutral stimulus that elicits a conditioned response, after it has been paired with a stimulus that elicited the response

Question 10

Conditioned response

Answer 10

the response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus after
classical/respondent conditioning has taken place

Question 11

Conditioned reflex

Answer 11

the conditioned stimulus causes a conditioned response
-the stimulus-response relationship occurs through learning (classical conditioning/respondent
conditioning)

–> which is a stimulus-response sequence in which a stimulus elicits a response b/c the stimulus was paired with a different stimulus that elicited that response

For example:
-a basketball player misses a free throw in the first game of the season with a new coach
(neutral stimulus). If the coach yells (unconditioned stimulus) at the athlete and the athlete
becomes scared of the coach (unconditioned response), they will be fearful (now a conditioned
response) of missing their next free-throw (now a conditioned stimulus)

Question 12

Eliminate

Answer 12

We can eliminate conditioned reflexes. For instance, if the coach did not yell at the athlete
after more missed free throws, we may see the extinction of the response- the athlete would
no longer be worried about missing a free throw.

Question 13

Counterconditioning

Answer 13

may occur if the sport psychologist talks to the coach about their
reaction. Instead of yelling, the coach is encouraged to say, “I’m proud of your efforts- keep your head high” after the athlete misses their free throw. We are now putting in a new and
very different conditioned response. This is effective because we’ve eliminated the initial
conditioned response and put a different conditioned response in its place.

Question 14

Operant conditioning

Answer 14

The other form of conditioning is operant conditioning. In operant conditioning, the behavior is
modified by the consequences within the environment.

Question 15

Positive reinforcement

Answer 15

comes in often in sport- athletes do something (behavior), and the
effect is something that encourages the behavior (a positive reinforcer), it is more likely for the
athlete to do it again.
e.g., a softball player at bat taps her bat on the ground in a specific rhythm and scores a home
run (a positive reinforcer). She would be more likely to tap it again in the future in the same
way.

Question 16

Reinforcers can be

Answer 16

natural (e.g., water break for thirsty athletes) or deliberately programmed
(e.g., buying a new piece of equipment after 30 consecutive days of practice).

Question 17

Extinction can occur when the reinforcer

Answer 17

is no longer paired with the behavior.

Question 18

Several types of reinforcement

schedules are introduced in the textbook;

Answer 18

depending on what behavior you want to see more
of you would select an appropriate schedule(i.e., whether the behavior happens all the time or
only sometimes, if the reinforcer is predictable, or if it changes or is based on time).

Question 19

Negative reinforcement

Answer 19

is where an aversive stimulus is removed/terminated from the environment immediately after a behavior; the behavior is more likely to happen in the future.

Question 20

Punishment

Answer 20

is a stimulus added or removed from the environment following a behavior that
will decrease the likelihood of that behavior happening in the future.
e.g., a hockey player is benched for the rest of the game after a fight.

Question 21

There are many side effects to punishment that are important to consider.

Answer 21

In the work I’ve
done, some coaches, trainers, and/or parents employ punishment without realizing the
magnitude or lasting impact on the athlete. A difficulty of this is that many coaches will see
results and attribute them to their punishment being effective. Of course, there is a bit of
selection and confirmation bias going on there, but many coaches believe that their methods
are the best ones for their athletes to achieve success.

Question 22

There are lots of examples that range from confused athletes to emotionally abused athletes
that quit their sport.

Answer 22

Many current coaches have been coached in this manner, which continues
the cycle of punishment-based coaching.

Question 23

An excellent example of the utility of a sport psychologist

Answer 23

We’ve heard lots of examples in the media where coaches have employed unsafe practices that
hinge on punishment. This is an excellent example of the utility of a sport psychologist, supporting a coach to recognize their coaching approach, the impacts of those decisions, and
developing a coaching approach that supports their athletes’ success as athletes and as
humans. Safe sport is an important area that is being integrated into the athletic and sport
landscape. One such initiative is training and certification- free training is available for (and
mandatory for many) coaches and sport organization members through Safe Sport Training
(https://safesport.coach.ca/participants-training).