Chapter 11: Positive Reinforcement

Question 1

Automatic Reinforcement

Answer 1

Reinforcement that occurs independent of the social mediation of others (e.g. scratching an insect bite relieves the itch).
- when a person’s behavior produces stimuli, often internal, that act as reinforcers in the absence of social mediation (others presenting reinforcers)

Question 2

Conditioned Reinforcer

Answer 2

A stimulus change that functions as a reinforcer because of prior pairing with one or more other reinforcers (sometimes called secondary or learned reinforcer).
- a neutral stimulus that becomes a positive reinforcer by being paired with an unconditioned reinforcer

Question 3

Generalized Conditioned Reinforcement

Answer 3

A conditioned reinforcer that as a result of having been paired with many other reinforcers does not depend on an establishing operation for any particular form of reinforcement for its effectiveness.
- a stimulus paired with many conditioned or unconditioned reinforcers

Question 4

Positive Reinforcement

Answer 4

A response followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus change that results in similar responses occurring more often.
- a functional relationship where, contingent on a behavior, a stimulus occurs and the future probability of the behavior is increased

Question 5

Positive Reinforcer

Answer 5

A stimulus whose presentation or onset functions as reinforcement.

Question 6

Premack Principle

Answer 6

A principle that states that making the opportunity to engage in a high probability behavior contingent on the occurrence of a low frequency behavior will function as reinforcement for the low frequency behavior.
- reinforcement by engaging in high frequency behavior contingent on low frequency behavior

Question 7

Reinforcer Assessment

Answer 7

Refers to a variety of direct, empirical methods for presenting one or more stimuli contingent on a target response and measuring their effectiveness as reinforcers.
- determining if a stimulus is a reinforcer by making it contingent on behavior and examining future probability

Question 8

Response-Deprivation Hypothesis

Answer 8

A model for predicting whether contingent access to one behavior will function as reinforcement for engaging in another behavior based on whether access to the contingent behavior represents a restriction of the activity compared to the baseline level of engagement.

Question 9

Rule-Governed Behavior

Answer 9

Behavior controlled by a rule (i.e. a verbal statement of an antecedent-behavior-consequence contingency);
- enables human behavior (e.g. fastening a seatbelt) to come under the indirect control of temporally remote or improbable, but potentially significant consequences.
- often used in contrast to contingency shaped behavior.
- a term used to indicate behavior selected and maintained by controlled, temporally close consequences.

Question 10

Socially Mediated Contingencies

Answer 10

A contingency in which an antecedent stimulus and/or the consequence for the behavior is presented by another person.

Question 11

Stimulus Preference Assessment

Answer 11

A variety of procedures used to determine the stimuli that a person prefers, the relative preference values (high v. low) of those stimuli, the conditions under which those preference values remain in effect, and their presumed value as reinforcers.
- presentation of two stimuli, and recording which is preferred (measured several ways)

Question 12

Unconditioned Reinforcer

Answer 12

A stimulus change that increases the frequency of any behavior that immediately precedes it irrespective of the organism’s learning history with the stimulus.
- product of the evolutionary development of the species
- a stimulus that innately (genetically) reinforces behavior