Chapter Eight : Part Two

Question 1

increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli such as food; a positive reinforcer, when presented, strengthens the response

Answer 1

positive reinforcement

Question 2

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock; a negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed, strengthens the response (not punishment)

Answer 2

negative reinforcement

Question 3

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Answer 3

reinforcer

Question 4

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

Answer 4

primary reinforcer

Question 5

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as secondary reinforcer

Answer 5

conditioned reinforcer

Question 6

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

Answer 6

continuous reinforcement

Question 7

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction that does continuous reinforcement

Answer 7

partial reinforcement

Question 8

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

Answer 8

fixed-ratio schedule

Question 9

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

Answer 9

variable-ratio schedule

Question 10

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

Answer 10

fixed-interval schedule

Question 11

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

Answer 11

variable-interval schedule

Question 12

an event that decreases the behavior that it follows

Answer 12

punishment

Question 13

administer an aversive stimulus

Answer 13

positive punishment

Question 14

withdraw a desirable stimulus

Answer 14

negative punishment

Question 15

a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment

after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it

Answer 15

cognitive map

Question 16

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

Answer 16

latent learning

Question 17

a desire to perform a behavior for its own sake

Answer 17

intrinsic motivation

Question 18

a desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishmnet

Answer 18

extrinsic motivation

Question 19

learning by observing others

Answer 19

observational learning

Question 20

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Answer 20

modeling

Question 21

frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so; the brain’s mirroring of another’s action may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy

Answer 21

mirror neurons

Question 22

positive, constructive, helpful behavior; the opposite of antisocial behavior

Answer 22

prosocial behavior

Question 23

Bobo doll experiment; observational learning; social learning theory

Answer 23

Albert Bandura

Question 24

reward responses that are ever-closer to the final desired behavior, and ignore all other responses

Answer 24

successive approximations