4.2 learning through operant conditioning

Question 1

operant conditioning

Answer 1

Learning to associate behaviors with their consequences. Behaviors that are reinforced (lead to satisfying consequences) will be strengthened, and behaviors that are punished (lead to unsatisfying consequences) will be weakened.

Question 2

law of effect

Answer 2

A principle developed by Edward Thorndike that says that any behavior that results in satisfying consequences tends to be repeated and that any behavior that results in unsatisfying consequences tends not to be repeated.

Question 3

reinforcer

Answer 3

A stimulus that increases the probability of a prior response.

Question 4

punisher

Answer 4

a stimulus that decreases the probability of a prior response.

Question 5

reinforcement

Answer 5

the process by which the probability of a response is increased by the presentation of a reinforcer.

Question 6

punishment

Answer 6

the process by which the probability of a response is decreased by the presentation of a punisher.

Question 7

appetitive stimulus

Answer 7

A stimulus that is pleasant.

Question 8

aversive stimulus

Answer 8

a stimulus that is unpleasant.

Question 9

positive reinforcement

Answer 9

Reinforcement in which an appetitive stimulus is presented.

Question 10

positive punishment

Answer 10

Punishment in which an aversive stimulus is presented.

Question 11

negative reinforcement

Answer 11

Reinforcement in which an aversive stimulus is removed.

Question 12

Premack principle

Answer 12

The principle that the opportunity to perform a highly frequent behavior can reinforce a less frequent behavior.

Question 13

negative punishment

Answer 13

punishment in which an appetitive stimulus is removed.

Question 14

primary reinforcer

Answer 14

A stimulus that is innately reinforcing.

Question 15

secondary reinforcer

Answer 15

A stimulus that gains its reinforcing property through learning.

Question 16

behavior modification

Answer 16

The application of classical and operant conditioning principles to eliminate undesirable behavior and to teach more desirable behavior.

Question 17

shaping

Answer 17

Training a human or animal to make an operant response by reinforcing successive approximations of the desired response.

Question 18

cumulative record

Answer 18

A record of the total number of operant responses over time that visually depicts the rate of responding.

Question 19

acquisition
(in operant conditioning)

Answer 19

The strengthening of a reinforced operant response.

Question 20

extinction
(in operant conditioning)

Answer 20

The diminishing of the operant response when it is no longer reinforced.

Question 21

spontaneous recovery
(in operant conditioning)

Answer 21

The temporary recovery of the operant response following a break during extinction training.

Question 22

discriminative stimulus
(in operant conditioning)

Answer 22

The stimulus that has to be present for the operant response to be reinforced or punished.

Question 23

stimulus generalization
(in operant conditioning)

Answer 23

Giving the operant response in the presence of stimuli similar to the discriminative stimulus. The more similar the stimulus is to the discriminative stimulus, the higher the operant response rate.

Question 24

stimulus discrimination
(in operant conditioning)

Answer 24

Learning to give the operant response only in the presence of the discriminative stimulus.

Question 25

continuous schedule of reinforcement

Answer 25

Reinforcing the desired operant response each time it is made.

Question 26

partial-reinforcement effect

Answer 26

The finding that operant responses that are reinforced on partial schedules are more resistant to extinction than those reinforced on a continuous schedule.

Question 27

partial schedule of reinforcement

Answer 27

Reinforcing the desired operant response only part of the time.

Question 28

fixed-ratio schedule

Answer 28

A partial schedule of reinforcement in which a reinforcer is delivered each time a fixed number of responses is made. The fixed number can be any number greater than one.

Question 29

variable-ratio schedule

Answer 29

a partial schedule of reinforcement in which the number of responses it takes to obtain a reinforcer varies on each trial but averages to a set number across trials.

Question 30

fixed-interval schedule

Answer 30

A partial schedule of reinforcement in which a reinforcer is delivered after the first response is given once a set interval of time has elapsed.

Question 31

variable-interval schedule

Answer 31

A partial schedule of reinforcement in which the time that must elapse on each trial before a response will lead to the delivery of a reinforcer varies from trial to trial but averages to a set time across trials.

Question 32

motivation

Answer 32

the set of internal and external factors that energize our behavior and direct it toward goals.

Question 33

drive-reduction theory

Answer 33

A theory of motivation that proposes that our behavior is motivated to reduce drives (bodily tension states) created by unsatisfied bodily needs to return the body to a balanced internal state.

Question 34

incentive theory

Answer 34

A theory of motivation that proposes that our behavior is motivated by incentives, external stimuli that we have learned to associate with reinforcement.

Question 35

arousal theory

Answer 35

A theory of motivation that proposes that our behavior is motivated to maintain an optimal level of physiological arousal.

Question 36

Yerkes-Dodson law

Answer 36

A law describing the relationship between the amount of arousal and the performance quality on a task— increasing arousal up to some optimal level increases performance quality on a task, but increasing arousal past this point is detrimental to performance.

Question 37

extrinsic motivation

Answer 37

The desire to perform a behavior for external reinforcement.

Question 38

intrinsic motivation

Answer 38

the desire to perform a behavior for its own sake.

Question 38

overjustification effect

Answer 38

A decrease in an intrinsically motivated behavior after the behavior is extrinsically reinforced and then the reinforcement is discontinued.