Learning Theory Operant Conditioning

Question 1

Law of Effect

Answer 1

developed by Thorndike. States that any response that is followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” is likely to be repeated, while any act that results in “annoying state of affairs” is less likely to reoccur.

Question 2

______ refers to the application of a stimulus

Answer 2

“positive”

Question 3

______ refers to the withholding or removal of a stimulus

Answer 3

“negative”

Question 4

Reinforcement

Answer 4

INCREASES the behavior is follows.

Question 5

Positive reinforcement

Answer 5

Performance of a behavior INCREASES as the result of the APPLICATION of a stimulus (reinforcer).

EX: Behavior is safe driving. Goal is to be a safe driver. Positive reinforcement would be to receive a gas gift card for driving safely.

Question 6

Negative reinforcement

Answer 6

A behavior INCREASES as the result of the WITHDRAWAL of a stimulus following the behavior.

EX: Behavior is safe driving. Goal is to be a safe driver. Negative reinforcement would be to have the seat belt sound stop when you put your seat belt on.

Question 7

Punishment

Answer 7

DECREASES the behavior it follows.

Question 8

Positive punishment

Answer 8

Occurs when the APPLICATION of a stimulus following a response DECREASES that response.

EX: Behavior is safe driving. Goal is to be a safe driver. Positive punishment is when you get a speeding ticket for speeding.

Slapping a dog after he chews your favorite shoes to stop the dog’s chewing behavior.

Question 9

Negative punishment

Answer 9

Occurs when REMOVAL of a stimulus following a behavior decreases that behavior.

EX: Behavior is safe driving. Goal is to be a safe driver. Positive punishment is when you get your license taken away because of reckless driving.

Taking away a child’s allowance whenever she talks back to decrease her back-talking.

Question 10

Operant extinction

Answer 10

Occurs when reinforcement is consistently withheld from a previously reinforced behavior to decrease or eliminate that behavior.

Findings: does not cause immediate cessation of the response, instead, has a gradual disappearance.

Question 11

Behavioral contrast

Answer 11

When a subject has been reinforced for 2 different behaviors and reinforcement for one behavior is withdrawn in order to extinguish it, the other behavior is likely to increase.

Question 12

What are the four intermittent schedules?

Answer 12

1) Fixed Interval (FI)
2) Variable Interval (VI)
3) Fixed Ratio (FR)
4) Variable Ratio (VR)

Question 13

____ are inherently desirable and do not depend on experience to acquire their reinforcing value

Answer 13

primary reinforcer

Question 14

____ acquire their value only through repeated association with primary reinforcers.

Answer 14

Secondary reinforcers

Question 15

Fixed Interval (FI)

Answer 15

When using an FI schedule, reinforcement is delivered after a fixed period of time regardless of the number of responses made.

Subjects in this schedule typically stop responding after a reinforcer is delivered and then begin responding again toward the end of the reinforcement interval, which produces a “scallop” in the cumulative recording of the number of responses made.

Question 16

Variable Interval (VI)

Answer 16

The interval of time between delivery of reinforcers varies in an unpredictable manner from interval to interval.

Produces a steady but relatively low rate of response. EX: specific amount of “pop quizzes” given during a semester, but the time between quizzes will vary.

Question 17

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Answer 17

a reinforcer is delivered each time the subject makes a specific number of responses.

EX: A pellet is provided every 6th peck a pigeon gives.
Piecework, when workers receive payment following completion of a specific number of units.

produces a high, steady rate of responding, usually with a brief pause following delivery of the reinforcer.

Question 18

Variable Ratio (VR)

Answer 18

Reinforcers are provided after a variable number of responses.

Number os responses needed for reinforcement varies.

Question 19

Matching Law

Answer 19

concurrent schedules of reinforcement are used which involves providing 2 or more simultaneous and independent schedules of reinforcement, each for a different response.
The correspondence between responding to 2 or more alternatives and the frequency of reinforcement for responding is predicted by the matching law.

Question 20

Stimulus control

Answer 20

a behavior is “under stimulus control” when certain cues signal that the
behavior will or will not be reinforced

cues that signal that a behavior will be reinforced are referred to as
positive discriminative stimuli

cues that signal that a behavior will not be reinforced are referred to as
negative discriminative stimuli

Question 21

positive discriminative stimuli

Answer 21

Simulus control:
cues that signal that a behavior will be reinforced are referred to as
positive discriminative stimuli

Question 22

negative discriminative stimuli

Answer 22

Simulus control:
cues that signal that a behavior will not be reinforced are referred to as
negative discriminative stimuli

Question 23

In operant conditioning, _____ evoke stimulus generalization.

Answer 23

positive discriminative stimuli

Question 24

_____ are verbal or physical cues that signal what behavior is
expected or that a particular behavior will or will not be reinforced

Answer 24

Prompts

Question 25

Difference between "fading" and "thinning"

Answer 25

fading refers to the gradual removal of a PROMPT thinning refers to reducing the number of REINFORCERS

Question 26

escape and avoidance conditioning are both applications of _______

Answer 26

negative reinforcement

Question 27

escape conditioning

Answer 27

escape conditioning occurs when a behavior increases because it permits escape from an undesirable consequence

Question 28

avoidance conditioning

Answer 28

avoidance conditioning occurs when a behavior increases because it permits avoidance of an undesirable consequence * avoidance conditioning is an application of two-factor learning that combines classical conditioning and negative reinforcement

Question 29

A "scallop" in the cumulative recording is characteristic of which schedule of reinforcement?

Answer 29

Fixed Interval (FI)

Question 30

Escape conditioning becomes avoidance conditioning when:

Answer 30

a signal is provided that indicates that an aversive stimulus is about to be delivered

Question 31

The Premack Principle

Answer 31

a behavior that occurs frequently is used to reinforce a behavior that doesn’t a behavior that occurs frequently is used to reinforce a behavior that doesn’t occur often enough *is particularly useful when it’s difficult to identify a stimulus that would serve as an effective reinforcer

Question 32

Shaping

Answer 32

used to establish complex behaviors and involves REINFORCING SUCCESSIVE approximations to the desired behavior

Question 33

Chaining

Answer 33

used to establish complex behaviors when the behavior consists of responses that must be linked together to form a “behavior chain” * when using shaping, only the final behavior is important * however, with chaining, each response in the behavior chain is important EX: Making a cake. getting the ingredients, following directions, baking it, eating it!

Question 34

Positive punishment findings

Answer 34

techniques that use positive punishment involve applying a stimulus following techniques that use positive punishment involve applying a stimulus following a behavior to reduce or eliminate that behavior * these techniques are usually less effective than those that rely on positive punishment * they tend to suppress rather than eliminate a behavior * they are associated with a number of negative consequences including fostering aggressive behaviors * they’re susceptible to habituation, which occurs when the punishment loses its aversive characteristics

Question 35

Negative Punishment findings

Answer 35

involves removing a stimulus following a behavior to decrease that behavior * response cost involves taking away a specific source of reinforcement following the undesirable behavior * time out involves removing all opportunities for reinforcement for a predefined period of time following the undesirable behavior defined period of time following the undesirable behavior * its effectiveness is increased when it’s combined with a warning signal or explanation about why it’s being applied

Question 36

Overcorrection

Answer 36

type of punishment in which the penalty for the undesirable behavior is performing more desirable alternative behaviors * consists of two phases – 1-during the RESTITUTION phase, the person corrects the consequences of his/her behavior 2-during the during the POSITIVE PRACTICE phase positive practice phase, the person practices appropriate the person practices appropriate behaviors * may also require physical guidance, which can be problematic for individuals who are very resistant or have been physically abused

Question 37

Negative practice

Answer 37

opposite of positive practice. IND is asked to repeat the undesirable behavior to the point that it becomes aversive to the individual or they become fatigued. Used in treating tics when people were asked to engage in their tic voluntarily versus suppressing it.

Question 38

Response cost

Answer 38

application of negative punishment and involves removing a specific reinforcer each time the target behavior is performed.

Question 39

An operant technique in which all opportunities for positive reinforcement are made unavailable for a specified period of time following the performance of an undesirable behavior in order to reduce that behavior is known as:

Answer 39

time out

Question 40

Operant extinction

Answer 40

entails withholding reinforcement from a previously reinforced response in order to eliminate/ decrease that response.

Question 41

Cons to operant conditioning

Answer 41

removal of reinforcement often produces an extinction burst, which is a temporary increase in the behavior * another problem is that it eliminates a behavior without fostering more desirable behaviors * differential reinforcement overcomes this problem by combining extinction with positive reinforcement for other behaviors

Question 42

A chimpanzee pushes a button to turn on a tone. Once the tone sounds, the chimpanzee pulls a lever to turn on a green light. Once the green light is on, the chimpanzee slides a door open to obtain a treat. Which of the following techniques was used to teach this sequence of behaviors to the chimpanzee?

Answer 42

chaining

Question 43

Differential reinforcement is best conceptualized as which of the following?

Answer 43

A combination of extinction and positive reinforcement -involves reinforcing the alternative behaviors while ignoring the target behavior.

Question 44

"Grandma's rule" (e.g., "You must eat your string beans before you can go outside to play.") is most similar to which of the following techniques?

Answer 44

the Premack Principle

Question 45

In a token economy, the tokens are:

Answer 45

generalized, secondary reinforcers

Question 46

You would conduct a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to:

Answer 46

identify the antecedents and consequences that control or maintain a specific behavior