Chapter 17 Flashcards
Diagram an example of respondent conditioning that is not in this chapter.
Respondent behaviors are elicited by prior stimuli and are not affected by their con- sequences. Examples include feeling anxious when walking into a final exam, salivating when you smell the food placed in front of you, or blushing when you walk out of a restroom and someone points out that your zipper is undone.
Operant behaviors, on the other hand, are behaviors that influence the environment to produce consequences and that are affected, in turn, by those consequences. Examples include turning on your cell phone or asking someone to pass you the salt.
Describe three differences between operant behavior and respondent behavior (see Table 17.1).
(see Table 17.1)
Describe the conditioning procedures and the results of conditioning for operant conditioning (positive reinforcement only) and respondent conditioning.
*in table above (17.1)
Describe the extinction procedure and the results of extinction for operant conditioning and for respondent conditioning.
*in table above (17.1)
Explain why an approaching deadline likely functions as a CS eliciting anxiety as a CR.
Like all of us, Janice probably had a history of being punished for failing to meet deadlines. Punishment elicits feelings of anxiety, a respondent reaction. As a consequence of prior pairings with punishment, stimuli associated with missing a deadline were likely CSs eliciting anxiety as a CR in Janice. The closer to the deadline, the stronger would be the CSs associated with missing the deadline, and hence the stronger would be the CR of anxiety.
What about working on the term paper—how does it fit into this picture? The relevant responses—looking up references, reading background material, taking notes, making an outline, and finally writing the paper—are operant responses. As these responses occurred and Janice began to see that she would meet the deadline, the anxiety decreased. us, stimuli associated with the deadline likely caused Janice to feel anxious, a respondent response, and responding to meet the deadline, operant responses, were maintained by the negative reinforcement of the decrease in Janice’s anxiety.
*Describe how respondent and operant conditioning interacted to influence Janice to get her term paper done by the deadline.
Respondent conditioning: being punished is a US that elicits anxiety as a UR. As a consequence of prior pairings of punishment with missing a deadline, missing a deadline became a CS eliciting anxiety as the CR. As a deadline approached, Janice began to feel anxious. Operant conditioning: when he responded to meet the deadline, the anxiety decreased. Thus, responding to meet the deadline was maintained by negative reinforcement involving the removal of Janice’s anxiety.
*Describe a behavior sequence that involves an aversive stimulus and that includes both respondent conditioning and operant conditioning. Diagram the respondent conditioning and the operant conditioning components.
See Figure 17-2.
*Describe a behavioral sequence that involves a positive reinforcer and that includes both respondent and operant conditioning. Diagram the respondent conditioning and the operant conditioning components.
See Figure 17-3.
Describe several physiological activities that we experience in a moment of great fear.
The respondent component of emotions involves primarily the three major classes of respondents discussed in Chapter 5—reflexes of the digestive system, the circulatory system, and the respiratory system. ese reflexes are con- trolled by the part of our nervous system referred to as the autonomic nervous system. What happens inside you in a moment of great fear? Your adrenal glands secrete adrenaline into your bloodstream, which physically arouses and mobilizes your body for action. Your heart rate increases dramatically—circulatory system. At the same time, you breathe more rapidly providing an increased supply of oxygen to the blood—respiratory system. Oxygen surges through your body with the increased heart rate, supplying more oxygen to your muscles. You may begin to sweat, which acts as a cooling mechanism in preparation for increased energy output of the body. At the same time that these changes are occurring, you may get a queasy feeling in your stomach—digestive system. Blood vessels to the stomach and intestines constrict, and the process of digestion is interrupted, diverting blood from your internal organs to your muscles. Your mouth becomes dry as the action of the salivary glands is impeded. You might even temporarily lose bowel or bladder control, a reaction that for our primitive ancestors lightened their bodies in preparation for flight and tended to distract their pursuers. ese internal reactions prepare the body for fighting or fleeing. They had survival value in our evolutionary history, but they may not always be useful in modern society.
Describe three unconditioned reflexes that are shown by newborn infants and that normally do not disappear as the child grows older.
The autonomic nervous system is not involved in all respondent behaviors. Some respondent behaviors are a part of skeletal reflexes—also called motor reflexes. Some skeletal reflexes that have been identified in normally developing newborn infants are a sucking reflex, which involves sucking in response to stimulating the area around the mouth; a grasp reflex, which involves squeezing a finger or similar object placed in the palm; the Moro reflex, which involves a startled look and flinging out the arms sideways in response to support being momentarily withdrawn; a startle reflex, which involves flinging out the arms sideways in response to a loud noise; a stepping reflex, which involves a stepping motion in response to the feet contacting a hard surface;
a swimming reflex, which involves swimming motions when placed in a prone position in water; a blink reflex, which involves blinking in response to the eyes being touched or a bright light; a cough reflex, which involves coughing when the airway to the lungs is stimulated; a gag reflex, which involves gagging when the throat or back of the mouth is touched; a sneeze reflex, which involves sneezing when the nasal passage is irritated; and a yawn reflex, which involves yawning when there is a decrease in oxygen intake.
All of these reflexes except for the last five normally disappear within a few months. e last five continue throughout the lifetime of the individual.
Describe the procedures that are major causes for each of the emotions of joy, anger, anxiety, and relief.
Presentation and withdrawal of reinforcers and presentation and withdrawal of aversive stimuli produce four major emo- tions. Presentation of reinforcers produces the emotion called joy. Getting an “A+” on an exam, receiving a compliment, cashing your paycheck, and watching a funny movie all involve the presentation of positive reinforcers. Withholding or withdrawing reinforcers produces the emotion called anger. All of us have experienced such anger-causing events as putting our money in a vending machine that takes it but fails to produce the goods, using a pen that stops writing in the middle of a quiz, and having a ticket office close just before you get to the window to buy a ticket. e presentation of aversive stimuli produces the emotion called anxiety. Approaching scary-looking strangers in a dark alley, seeing a car drive directly toward you at a high speed, or hearing a dog bark right behind you are all likely to cause you to feel anxious. Finally, withdrawal of aversive stimuli produces an emotion that is called relief. When a woman receives the results from a test of a lump on her breast or a man receives the results of an assessment of an enlarged prostate, each is likely to feel relief if she or he is told that the problem is not cancer.
Emotions can occur on a continuum from very mild to very strong. Presentation of reinforcers, for example, can cause emotions ranging from mild pleasure to ecstasy. Withdrawal of reinforcers can cause emotions ranging from mild annoyance to rage. Presentation of aversive events can cause emotions ranging from mild apprehension to stark terror. And the effects of withdrawal of aversive stimuli might range from mild relief to intense relief verging on an emotional collapse. Other emotions might represent a mixture of some of these basic emotions.
In a sentence for each, summarize three important components that make up our emotions and name the type of conditioning involved in each component.
To summarize, many of our emotions are caused by either the presentation or withdrawal of reinforcers or aversive stimuli. Our emotions have three important components: (a) the autonomic reaction that you feel during the experience of an emotion, typically accompanied by visible signs, such as frowns or smiles, which is influenced by respondent conditioning; (b) the way that you learn to express an emotion overtly such as shouting or jumping up and down, which is influenced by operant conditioning; and (c) the way that you become aware of and describe your emotions, which is also influenced by operant conditioning.
Describe an example of respondent thinking involving visual imagery that is not in this chapter.
Try the following exercise. Close your eyes and imagine that you are looking at the flag of your country. Chances are that you will be able to form a clear image of the flag. us, one type of thinking appears to consist of imagining in response to words—imagining so vividly that it can sometimes seem like the real thing. is probably comes about through respondent conditioning. If you actually look at your country’s flag, the sight of the flag elicits activity in the visual system much as food elicited salivation in Pavlov’s dogs. If you grew up in an English-speaking country, you experienced many trials in which the words “our flag” were paired with actually looking at the flag. As a consequence, when you close your eyes and imagine the flag, the words likely elicit activity in the visual part of your brain so that you experience the behavior of “seeing” the actual flag. is has been referred to as conditioned seeing.
Describe an example of operant thinking that is not in this chapter.
We learn to talk silently to ourselves at a very early age largely because we encounter punishers when we think out loud (Skinner, 1957). For example, teachers in school request children to think quietly because thinking out loud dis- turbs the other students. Naturally, distressed reactions from others teach us to keep certain thoughts to ourselves. When you are introduced to the hostess at a party, your first reaction might be, “Wow, what an ugly dress!” But you probably won’t say it out loud; instead, you’ll just “say it to yourself ” or “think” it.
*When behavior modifiers speak of private behavior, to what are they referring?
An individual’s private self-talk and/or imagery and/or the autonomic reactions that make up our feelings.
