SKINNER ID

Question 1

Skinner: Human behavior is shaped by three forces

Answer 1

(1) the individual’s personal
history of reinforcement
(2) natural selection
(3) the evolution of
cultural practices

Question 2

learning takes place mostly because of the effects that follow a response, and he called this observation

Answer 2

Thorndike the law of effect

Question 3

rewards or punishment more predictable?

Answer 3

effects of rewards are more predictable than the effects of punishments in shaping behavior

Question 4

second and more direct influence on Skinner was the work of

Answer 4

John B. Watson // consciousness and introspection must play no role in the scientific study of human behavior // the goal of psychology is the prediction and control of behavior

Question 5

Scientific Behaviorism (Skinner) can best be studied without reference to

Answer 5

needs, instincts, or motives

Question 6

interpretation should not be confused with an explanation

Answer 6

Skinner’s Philosophy of Science

Question 7

Characteristics of Science

Answer 7

cumulative

empirical observation

lawful relationships:
scientific method consists of prediction, control, and description

Question 8

classical conditioning, behavior is

Answer 8

elicited

Question 9

operant conditioning, behavior is

Answer 9

called operant because organism operates on the environment to produce a specific effect

Question 10

Skinner believed that most human behaviors are learned through

Answer 10

operant conditioning

Question 11

operant conditioning, three conditions are present:

Answer 11

the antecedent (A), environment
the behavior (B), telling a joke
the consequence (C) people laugh

Question 12

A response to a similar environment in the absence of previous reinforcement is called

Answer 12

stimulus generalization

Question 13

there are two types of punishment:

Answer 13

The first requires the presentation of an aversive stimulus

The second involves the removal of a positive reinforcer

An example of the former is pain encountered from falling as the result
of walking too fast on an icy sidewalk. An example of the latter is a heavy fine levied
against a motorist for driving too fast.

Question 14

money is a

Answer 14

conditioned reinforcer, sometimes called secondary reinforcers

it is a generalized reinforcer because it is associated with more than one primary reinforcer

Question 15

primary reinforcers

Answer 15

food, water, sex, or physical

comfort

Question 16

Thorndike’s ________________________ states that responses to stimuli that are followed by a satisfier tend to be learned.

Answer 16

Law of Effect

Question 17

_______________________, not B. F. Skinner, was the first behaviorist to insist that psychology should be limited to a study of observable behavior.

Answer 17

John Watson

Question 18

Psychology must be restricted to the study of _________________ behavior, according to Skinner.

Answer 18

observable

Question 19

While still in college. Skinner desired to become a ___________.

Answer 19

writer

Question 20

Human behavior is subject to the laws of _________________, according to Skinner.

Answer 20

science

Question 21

Pavlovian conditioning is also called ___________ conditioning.

Answer 21

classical

Question 22

In operant conditioning, the experimenter first rewards gross approximations of the target behavior and gradually rewards responses closer to the final target. Such a procedure is called _____________________, or successive approximations.

Answer 22

shaping

Question 23

An event that strengthens behavior is called a _______________.

Answer 23

reinforcer

Question 24

A _____________________ reinforcer is any stimulus that, when added to a situation, increases the probability that a given behavior will recur.

Answer 24

positive

Question 25

Like positive reinforcers, negative reinforcers _________________ behavior.

Answer 25

strengthen

Question 26

The effects of punishment are less ________ than those of reward.

Answer 26

predictable

Question 27

Many conditioned reinforcers are not by nature satisfying, but they become so because they are associated with ________________ reinforcers.

Answer 27

primary

Question 28

The least efficient schedule is the _________________ schedule.

Answer 28

continuous

Question 29

Nonreinforcement of a response leads to ___________________.

Answer 29

extinction

Question 30

Skinner rejected the notion of unconscious ___________________ but accepted the idea of unconscious behavior.

Answer 30

motivation

Question 31

Skinner believed that the _________________________, not free will, is responsible for behavior.

Answer 31

environment