Chapter 5 Textbook Questions Flashcards
_______ behavior, like pressing the Start button in your car, is a generic class of behavior composed of lots of topographically (physically) different responses, all of which produce the same consequence.
contingent
noncontingent
operant
respondent
operant
Use your memory of the book’s flowchart to decide if the stimulus change (bolded) is a reinforcer or not. The behavior if interest is italicized: When Kleiner moved to Wales, he found that using an umbrella was useless in the rain because the wind kept inverting his umbrella. Frustrated with this (and how wet he was getting in the rain) Kleiner noticed that the Welsh people wore raincoats and rain pants. On his way home that evening, Kleiner bought some rain gear at a local shop. The next day, Kleiner wore his rain gear outside and avoided getting wet (not to mention avoiding wrestling with his umbrella). Thereafter, Kleiner wears his rain gear every time it is raining (which it is almost every day in Wales).
yes, this is a reinforcer
no, this is not a reinforcer
yes, this is a reinforcer
Decide if the stimulus change (italicized) is a reinforcer or not. The behavior of interest is bolded: Chuck says he loves the fries at the bowling alley, but Harvey says Chuck only orders the fries because he has a crush on the waitress, Sally. Each week, when Chuck orders his fries from the bowling-alley diner, Sally delivers them to him, makes small talk, and always winks at Chuck. At the end of the league season, Sally quits and, unsurprisingly to Harvey, Chuck stops ordering fries from the diner.
Indeed, Chuck quits bowling until, 2 months later, when Chuck learns that Sally is back working at the diner. Chuck signs up for the new bowling league season and orders fries each week, just like before.
No, this stimulus change (Sally’s attention) is not a reinforcer
Yes, this stimulus change (Sally’s attention) is a reinforcer
Not enough information is provided to make this decision
Yes, this stimulus change (Sally’s attention) is a reinforcer
A response-consequence ________ describes the casual (IF -> THEN) relation between an operant behavior and its consequence.
contingency
In the 1980s, the New York Islanders hockey team started the tradition of growing their beards until they won the Stanley Cup (the biggest prize in professional hockey).
We would classify this as
behavior because the players behaved as ________
though a response-consequence contingency existed (IF you grow your beard E THEN you will win the Stanley Cup) when in fact the relation between this response and this consequence is noncontingent.
evoked
elicited
superstitious
consequential
superstitious
When artificial intelligence (Al) programmers instruct computers how to learn, they ensure that no matter how successful the program is in solving a problem, it still spends some of its time trying different solutions. By doing so, the Al programs are continuously behaving variably. If a better solution is chanced upon, the program adopts it as its new problem-solving behavior (while continuing to behave variably some of the time). Behavioral scientists refer to this strategy built into Al programs as…
trial and succeeding learning
exploring and exploiting
intuition
insight
exploring and exploiting
Use your memory of the book’s flowchart to decide if the stimulus change (bolded) is a reinforcer or not. The behavior of interest is italicized: MacLean cut her finger so she immediately drove to the hospital. At the hospital, she was required to complete some forms, was eventually seen by a physician, and was released with 10 stitches.
Yes, this is a reinforcer
No, this is not a reinforcer
No, this is not a reinforcer
Drew is interested in being accepted into the highly competitive computer science program at the university. They want their computer-science professor to notice how attentive and interested they are relative to the many other students in the lecture hall. Drew waits until the instructor is looking at them and immediately nods and gives the professor a thoughtful look. Each time the professor is looking at them, Drew does this nodding and appearing to be interested behavior. After a few weeks, Drew finds that the professor is looking at them much more often. They try it in another class and finds it works there too. What procedure has Drew used to influence their professors’ behavior?
encouraging
reinforcement
rewarding
incentivizing
reinforcement
An operant behavior, like pressing the Start button in your car, is a _________ class of behavior composed of lots of topographically (physically) different responses, all of which produce the same consequence.
generic
genetic
phylogenetic
innate
generic
Imagine that a rat in an operant conditioning chamber is performing very well. He pulls a chain hanging from the ceiling and we give him a food pellet every time. Then we start a new phase. Now we will give him food pellets once, on average, every 15 seconds, regardless of what he is doing. What will happen to his rate of chain pulling after the phase change?
it will go up
it will go down
it will remain the same
the rat will reallocate its time to a tiny blender, which may be used to make pina coladas
it will go down
