Ch. 6: Operant Conditioning: Introduction

Question 1

avoidance behavior

Answer 1

behavior that occurs before the aversive stimulus is presented and thereby prevents its delivery.

Question 2

contrived reinforcers

Answer 2

reinforcers that have been deliberately arranged to modify a behavior; they are not a typical consequence of the behavior in that setting.

aka artificial inforcers

Question 3

discriminative stimulus (S^D)

Answer 3

a stimulus in the presence of which responses are reinforced and in the absence of which they are not reinforced, that is, a stimulus that signals the availability of reinforcement.

Question 4

discriminative stimulus for extinction (S^delta)

Answer 4

a stimulus that signals the absence of reinforcement.

Question 5

discriminative stimulus for punishment (S^Dp)

Answer 5

a stimulus that signals that a response that will be punished.

Question 6

escape behavior

Answer 6

a behavior that results in the termination of an aversive stimulus.

Question 7

extinction

Answer 7

the weakening of a behavior through the nonreinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior.

Question 8

extrinsic reinforcement

Answer 8

the reinforcement provided by a consequence that is external to the behavior, i.e. an extrinsic behavior.

Question 9

generalized reinforcer

Answer 9

a type of secondary reinforcer that has been associated with several other reinforcers.

aka generalized secondary reinforcer

Question 10

intrinsic reinforcement

Answer 10

reinforcement provided by the mere act of performing the behavior; the behavior itself is the reinforcer.

Question 11

law of effect

Answer 11

as stated by Thorndike, the proposition that behaviors that lead to a satisfying state of affairs are strengthened or “stamped in” while behaviors that lead to an unsatisfying or annoying state of affairs are weakened or “stamped out”.

Question 12

natural reinforcers

Answer 12

reinforcers that are naturally provided for a certain behavior; they are a typical consequence of the behavior within that setting.

Question 13

negative punishment

Answer 13

the removal of a stimulus (one that is usually considered pleasant or rewarding) following a response, which then leads to a decrease in the future strength of that response.

Question 14

negative reinforcement

Answer 14

the removal of a stimulus (one that is usually considered unpleasant or aversive) following a response, which then leads to an increase in the future strength of that response.

Question 15

operant behavior

Answer 15

a class of emitted responses that result in certain consequences; these consequences, in turn, affect the future probability (strength) of those responses.

Question 16

operant conditioning

Answer 16

a type of learning in which the future probability (strength) of a behavior is affected by its consequences.

Question 17

positive punishment

Answer 17

the presentation of a stimulus (one that is usually considered unpleasant or aversive) following a response, which then leads to a decrease in the future strength that response.

Question 18

positive reinforcement

Answer 18

the presentation of a stimulus (one that is usually considered pleasant or rewarding) following a response, which then leads to a increase in the future strength that response.

Question 19

primary reinforcer

Answer 19

an event that is innately reinforcing.

aka unconditioned reinforcer

Question 20

punisher

Answer 20

an event that 1) follows a behavior and 2) decreases the future probability of that behavior

Question 21

reinforcer

Answer 21

an event that 1) follows a behavior and 2) increases the future probability of that behavior

Question 22

secondary reinforcer

Answer 22

an event that is reinforcing because it has been associated with some other reinforcer.

aka conditioned reinforcer

Question 23

shaping

Answer 23

the gradual creation of new behavior through reinforcement of successive approximations to that behavior.

Question 24

three-term contingency

Answer 24

the relationship between a discriminative stimulus, an operant behavior, and a consequence (reinforcer or punisher).