week 7

Question 1

token economy

Answer 1

token = secondary reinforcer
- used for: attention deficit disorders, tantrums
Adv:
- reduces delay between response and reinforcement
- can reward small improvements in behaviour
- can vary number of tokens required for reinforcement
- can vary the nature of primary reinforcement
- e.g. nadia W’s driving simulator:
found people with feedback and token drove below speed limit, people wit just token drove similar to those with feedback and token and those with just feedback didn’t drive at speed limit.

Question 2

Glynn (1990) on token economy

Answer 2

said that behaviours are not usually maintained when the reinforcement is discontinued
- social reinforcers?:
- smile praise, nod, affectionate touch
- importance of neutrality of reinforcers
advantages of social reinforcers:
- easy and quick
- given immediately after desired behaviour which is more effective
- natural and can therefore continue after programme

Question 3

modification of thoughts, beliefs and attitudes as well as behaviour

Answer 3

stop smoking treatment:

• 2 groups: one told improvement due to treatment and one told improvement due to own willpower
• willpower group showed better long term improvement
• beliefs influence behaviour

Question 4

human phobias

Answer 4

may arise by classical conditioning:

• dog bite -> fear of dogs
• fall off ladder -> fear of heights

Question 5

treatment of phobias using behaviour modification

Answer 5

systematic desensitisation:

1. draw up ‘anxiety hierarchy’ of fear-evoking events:
   - spider: imagine -> photo -> plastic -> real
   - claustrophobia: stuck in dress -> train journey -> stuck in lift
2. learn relaxation techniques
3. relax and experience lowest in hierarchy
4. if successful, move up hierarchy

Question 6

animal behaviour and intelligence chimp

Answer 6

chimp thorwing stones at zoo visitor showed unsuspected ability to plan for future events

Question 7

natural concepts in pigeons

Answer 7

• learned how to discriminate pictures of trees, bodies of water or a particular person

Question 8

tolman 1930 rats

Answer 8

• concluded rat had cognitive map

- putting blocks at different points

Question 9

Bischof-kohler hypothesis

Answer 9

only humans can predict and prepare for future

• other animals are incapable of anticipating future needs, future-oriented behaviours are either fixed action patterns or cued by their current motivational state
• jays can act in the present in a way that demonstrates planning for the future

Question 10

insight in pigeons: epstein

Answer 10

- using box to reach banana 
trained separately to:
- push box to wall 
- climb on box under banana and peck it 
to test it:
- box provided away from banana

Question 11

self recognition Today 2008

Answer 11

pigeons recognise themselves basically

- does this show that pigeons have a sense of self?

Question 12

beninger 1974 rats sense of self

Answer 12

• rats trained to press 1 of 4 leaves for food when it heard a sound
• each level corresponded o a behaviour that the rat was performing when the sound was heard: rearing, grooming, walking, immobile
• rats could learn this but does not mean they have a sense of self - only that it can use its own behaviour as a CS

Question 13

Hayes and Hayes (1952) chimp Vicki

Answer 13

attempted to teach ape English - failed

Question 14

Gardner and Gardner (1966) chimp washoe

Answer 14

taught American sign language 
- trained by reward - imitation of human singer, moulding = show object to be signed 
types of sign:]
- appeal e.g. gimme
- location e.g. in out up
- action e.g. kiss
- object e.e. dog
- attribute e.g. mine, colours
- origin of signing uncertain

Question 15

Terrace (1973-77) chimp Nim

Answer 15

meaning of signs could be ambiguous

- chimps reach the equivalent of the ‘two-word utterance stage’ of children, 18-24 months of age