Learning Theory (Principles Operant Conditioning)

Question 1

Thorndike’s law of _________ predicts that a response that is followed by a satisfying state of affairs is likely to be repeated

Answer 1

effect

Question 2

Skinner extended Thorndike’s work and distinguished between two types of consequences: ______ increases the behaviour it follows, while ______decreases the behaviour that precedes it.

Answer 2

reinforcement; punishment

Question 3

As used by Skinner, the term ______ refers to the application of a stimulus following a behaviour and the term _______ refers to the withdrawal of a stimulus

Answer 3

positive; negative

Question 4

_______ is occurring when the removal of a stimulus following a behaviour increases that behaviour

Answer 4

negative reinforcement

Question 5

Operant extinction occurs when reinforcement is withheld from a(n) ________ response

Answer 5

previously reinforced

Question 6

When extinguishing a behaviour, there’s often a temporary increase in that behaviour, which is referred to as a(n) __________

Answer 6

extinction (response) burst

Question 7

In operant conditioning, the timing of the reinforcement is important. In general, the rate of acquisition of a behaviour is fastest when a(n) _______ schedule is used, while a(n) _______ schedule is more effective for maintaining a behaviour

Answer 7

continuous; intermittent (partial)

Question 8

Skinner distinguished between four intermittent schedules: A _________ schedule is associated with a low rate of responding and a “scallop” in the cumulative recording, while a _______ schedule produces a fast, stead rate of responding and responses that are most resistant to extinction

Answer 8

fixed interval; variable ratio

Question 9

The correspondence between the rate of responding to two or more alternatives and the frequency of reinforcement for responding is predicted by the ________

Answer 9

matching law

Question 10

A pigeon learns that it will be reinforced if it pecks a key in the presence of a green light but will not be reinforced in the presence of a red light. The pigeon’s key-pecking behaviour is under ________, with the green light acting as a ________ stimulus and the red light serving as a _____ stimulus

Answer 10

stimulus control; positive discriminative; negative discriminative (S-delta)

Question 11

______ generalization occurs when stimuli similar to the original discriminative stimulus elicit the same response, while ______ generalization occurs when a discriminative stimulus elicits responses that are similar to the original response

Answer 11

stimulus; response

Question 12

escape and avoidance behaviours are both maintained by ______ reinforcement, but the establishment of avoidance behaviors also involves _____ conditioning (discrimination training)

Answer 12

negative; classical

Question 13

According to the __________, the relative frequency of responding to an alternative corresponds to the frequency of reinforcement for responding to that alternative.

Answer 13

Matching law

Question 14

A mother finds that, when she yells at her son, the boy stops picking on his little sister for a brief period of time. Over time, the mother finds that she has to yell more and more frequently at the boy to get him to leave his sister alone. The boy is influencing his mother’s behavior (yelling) through:

Answer 14

negative reinforcement

Question 15

A mother has been giving her 3-year-old son a hug whenever he says “please” following a request. She decides to stop reinforcing her son in this way. Right after she stops hugging her son, she can expect that the frequency with which he says “please” will:

Answer 15

temporarily increase

Question 16

A “scallop” in the cumulative recording is characteristic of which schedule of reinforcement?

Answer 16

fixed interval

Question 17

During the initial stages of a behavior change intervention, verbal or nonverbal prompts may be needed to evoke the desired behavior. However, after the behavior is established, the prompts should be gradually removed. The gradual removal of prompts is referred to as:

Answer 17

fading

Question 18

Escape conditioning becomes avoidance conditioning when:

Answer 18

a signal is provided that indicates that an aversive stimulus is about to be delivered.

Question 19

In the context of stimulus control, a positive discriminative stimulus:

Answer 19

signals that a behavior will be reinforced.

Question 20

Thorndike’s research with cats in puzzle boxes provided information about:

Answer 20

trial and error learning