Test bank for human learning 7th edition ormrod download

CHAPTER 3 BEHAVIORIST PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES Multiple Choice Questions Which one of the following statements best describes the view of early behaviorists about how learning can best

Test bank for Human Learning 7th Edition Ormrod

CHAPTER 1

PERSPECTIVES ON LEARNING

Multiple Choice Questions

Human beings undoubtedly learn more during the course of a lifetime than any other species on earth The major result of this capacity to learn is that:

New instincts begin to emerge

Human thought becomes less logical with each generation

Humans can benefit from their experiences

Humans are the only species whose behavior cannot be analyzed in terms of stimuli and responses

Three of the following are examples of learning Which one is not?

Abigail cries when she steps on a sharp pebble

After many hours of heated debate, Brian begins to advocate political practices he has previously opposed

Cara suddenly recognizes how the division fact ―24 ’ 4 = 6‖ is related

to the multiplication fact ―6 x 4 = 24.‖

David has been running away from German shepherds ever since he was bitten by a German shepherd two years ago

Reynelda has trouble tracing a complex shape with a pencil when she is in kindergarten, but she can do it quite well by the time she is in second grade Is

this an instance of learning?

Yes, because her behavior has changed

No, because the circumstances are too dissimilar

Maybe, although the change may simply be due to physiological maturation

Maybe, but only if she is being reinforced for tracing accurately

Three of the following illustrate various ways that learning might be

reflected in a person‘s behavior Which one of the following changes does not

necessarily reflect learning?

Although it‘s a school night, Dean plays video games until well past his usual bedtime As he becomes more tired, he finds it increasingly difficult to concentrate on what he‘s doing

Even as a young child, Jerry could tell you that his grandparents immigrated to the United States from Ireland But after a

conversation with his grandmother, he can now describe the circumstances of the family‘s immigration in considerable detail

Day after day, Martin practices his basketball skills (shooting, dribbling, etc.) on a basketball court at a local park With each practice session, his movements become faster and smoother

Lewis occasionally asks for help when he has difficulty with his classwork, but most of the time he just struggles quietly on his own After his teacher assures him that asking for help is not a sign of weakness or inability, he begins asking for help much more frequently

_ research examines learning in tightly controlled settings and _ research examines learning in real-world settings

Applied; Basic Basic; Qualitative Qualitative; Applied Basic; Applied

A principle of learning can best be characterized as:

A description of the results of a particular research study

A statement that describes how a particular factor affects learning The measurement of how much learning has occurred in a

particular situation

An explanation of the underlying processes through which learning occurs

A theory of learning can best be characterized as:

A description of the results of a particular research study

A statement that describes how a particular factor affects learning The measurement of how much learning has occurred in a

particular situation

An explanation of the underlying processes through which learning occurs

Three of the following are principles of learning Which one is a theory

of learning rather than a principle?

A behavior that is followed by punishment decreases in frequency

People learn by making mental associations between new information and their existing knowledge

A response that is rewarded every time it occurs increases more rapidly than a response that is only occasionally rewarded

Students tend to remember more of a lecture if they take notes on the lecture‘s content

Which one of the following common sayings best reflects the concept

of introspection?

―Where there‘s a will, there‘s a way.‖

―Nothing ventured, nothing gained.‖

―A penny for your thoughts.‖

―Old habits die hard.‖

Which one of the following common sayings best reflects the basic

premise underlying social learning theory?

―Monkey see, monkey do.‖

―Spare the rod and spoil the child.‖

―A friend in need is a friend indeed.‖

―A rolling stone gathers no moss.‖

Which one of the following statements provides the most credible

explanation for the fact that human beings seem to surpass all other animal

species in their thinking and learning capacities?

Only human beings have the capability to make tools

Humans communicate regularly with one another and, in doing so, pass along what they‘ve learned to future generations

Human beings have a huge repertoire of instinctual behaviors from which they can draw when they encounter new experiences

Human brains are smaller than those of other intelligent species (e.g., elephants, dolphins) and therefore can transmit messages more quickly and efficiently

Behaviorists and cognitivists tend to focus on different aspects of learning

Which one of the following statements best describes this difference?

Behaviorism focuses on temporary changes; cognitivism focuses

on relatively permanent changes

Behaviorism focuses on relatively permanent changes; cognitivism focuses on temporary changes

Behaviorism focuses on internal mental changes; cognitivism focuses

on external behavioral changes

Behaviorism focuses on external behavioral changes; cognitivism focuses on internal mental changes

Theories are advantageous in several ways Three of the following

describe advantages of learning theories Which one does not?

Theories enable objective, unbiased reporting of research findings

Theories help to condense large bodies of information

Theories help practitioners design interventions that facilitate learning Theories provide an impetus for new research

Which one of the following statements is most accurate statement

regarding theories of learning?

They have been proven to be true

They will eventually be replaced by physiological explanations of how learning occurs

They are often modified as new data emerge

Any theory can be used to explain virtually every instance of learning

The textbook‘s perspective regarding various theories of learning is that:

Behaviorist theories are probably more accurate

Cognitivist theories are probably more accurate

There is currently no ―right‖ theory, but one will eventually be developed Different theories may be applicable in different situations

Essay Questions

Sometimes we know learning has occurred because the learner engages in a new behavior—one that he or she has never before exhibited But other kinds of behavior changes may also indicate that learning has taken place Describe

three additional ways in which behavior might change as a result of learning Give a concrete example to illustrate each one

Distinguish between principles and theories of learning, and give a

specific example of each

Theories of learning have both advantages and disadvantages Describe at least two advantages and one disadvantage; in each case, explain the particular effect that the advantage or disadvantage has on the advancement of our

understanding of human learning

CHAPTER 2

LEARNING AND THE BRAIN

Multiple Choice Questions

Which one of the following is the best example of the central nervous system (rather than peripheral nervous system) at work?

Parts of the hindbrain are involved in regulating heart rate

Cells in the retina at the back of the eye transmit information about light Some cells in the nose respond to certain kinds of chemicals

Some cells in the skin are sensitive to heat or cold

Which one of the following statements most accurately describes a

neuron‘s threshold of excitation?

A neuron responds when it is stimulated by some of its neighboring neurons, but not when it is stimulated by other neighbors

A neuron fires only when its electrical charge reaches a particular level

A neuron is receptive to stimulation from other neurons only at points where there are gaps in its myelin sheath

A neuron will fire at a maximum rate of no more than once every three seconds

Which one of the following best describes how neurons transmit messages

to one another?

By stimulating the growth of surrounding glial cells

By attaching themselves to the same terminal buttons

By fusing the axon of one with a dendrite of the other

By sending chemical substances across a tiny gap between them

Which one of the following is the best example of a reflex as

psychologists define the term?

Going to sleep when you are tired Feeling sad when a close relative dies Pulling your foot away from a painful object Jumping up and down for joy when you get a good grade

Three of the following describe methods what researchers commonly use

to determine how the human brain probably functions Which one is not a

commonly used method to study the brain?

Documenting the behaviors of people with various kinds of brain injuries

Recording brain activity through PET scans, CAT scans, and similar technologies

Measuring the levels of various hormones and other substances in the blood

Removing a certain part of an animal‘s brain and observing the animal‘s subsequent behaviors

After a severe head injury, Mary has exceptional difficulty setting goals and

in other ways planning her actions Without knowing anything else about

Mary‘s injury, you might reasonably conclude that it affected her:

forebrain midbrain hindbrain reticular formation

Given how the left and right hemispheres of the brain typically specialize, which one of the following activities would be most heavily dependent on

the right hemisphere?

Writing a speech for a political campaign Following the logic of a persuasive argument

Solving for x in a complex algebraic equation

Recognizing human forms in a Picasso painting

Given the roles that the right hemisphere typically plays in language comprehension, which one of the following tasks would rely most heavily

on the right hemisphere?

Hearing the rhyme in the words hypocrisy and democracy Writing precise definitions of abstract words such as hypocrisy and democracy

Realizing that ―That blonde is really hot‖ has as least two possible meanings

Translating Leo Tolstoy‘s novel War and Peace into English

Given what psychologists believe to be true about how information is typically

stored in the brain, how is the concept dog probably represented in your brain?

As a single neuron located in the prefrontal cortex

As a network of neurons spread across multiple brain regions

As a cluster of interconnected neurons located in the left parietal lobe

As a cluster of interconnected neurons located in one of the occipital lobes

Which one of the following best describes the growth of neurons during the prenatal period?

An overabundance of neurons emerges early in prenatal development, but about half of the neurons die before birth

Neurons continue to be generated at a rapid rate throughout the last six months of the prenatal period

Neurons begin to develop in the fifth month of pregnancy, and they proliferate rapidly during the third trimester

Neurons that will support basic physiological functioning appear in the first two months after conception; those that will be responsible for higher-level thinking processes don‘t appear until two or three months before birth

In the human brain, a great deal of synaptic pruning occurs in early

childhood This pruning appears to be:

The unfortunate result of insufficiently stimulating home environments

An adaptive process that allows children to deal more efficiently with their environment

Due to an imbalance of important nutrients, and especially to low levels of the B vitamins in many children‘s diets

Reflective of the fact that the forebrain is slowly taking over responsibility for functions that have previously been regulated by the hindbrain and midbrain

As children grow older, many of their neurons begin to transmit messages more rapidly than they did in the early years of life, thanks to:

synaptic pruning synaptogenesis myelination maturation of the limbic system

During the elementary and secondary school years, much of the brain‘s development occurs in regions of the brain that are largely responsible for

thinking and reasoning generation of emotional responses muscular strength and coordination making discriminations among highly similar stimuli

John is an adolescent who makes impulsive decisions (e.g., ditching school) and engages in risky behavior (e.g., driving well over the speed

limit) His behavior can best be explained by which of the following?

Adolescents have limited concepts of consequences and punishment Adolescents‘ brain stems are still not fully developed, and will not

be until middle adulthood

Adolescents‘ pre-frontal cortices are still not fully developed and will not be until their late teens and early twenties

During adolescence, synaptic pruning has stopped

According to the textbook, which one of the following conclusions is most true regarding factors that influence brain development?

Genetic factors have the strongest influence on brain development, particularly later in life

Environmental factors and people‘s experiences have the strongest influence on brain development in middle childhood

Together, brain development is shaped by genetic and environmental factors throughout the life span

Environmental factors are particularly influential in abnormal brain development

Three of the following statements are consistent with research findings

about factors that influence brain development Which statement has not been

Opportunities to learn certain skills may lead to detectable differences

in brain structures or patterns of brain activation

In which one of the following situations should we be most concerned

about missing a critical period in a person‘s development?

Rachel is born with a cataract in her left eye that is surgically removed when she is 8 years old

Phoebe doesn‘t learn how to write until she is 12 years old

Although Ross knows how to count, he gets no formal instruction in mathematics until he is 15

Joey has his first tennis lesson when he is 25

Which one of the following best exemplifies experience-expectant plasticity?

Learning how to play the guitar Mastering one‘s native language Understanding abstract ideas in philosophy Applying principles of psychology to real-world settings

Which one of the following best exemplifies experience-dependent plasticity?

Hearing subtle differences in similar-sounding words Learning how to pronounce words like a native speaker Learning syntactical structures of one‘s native language Learning how to read

Which one of the following research findings is most consistent with

the concept of core knowledge as described in the textbook?

Children must have basic knowledge of numbers and counting before they can master arithmetic operations such as addition and multiplication

Some motor skills are prerequisites for others; for example, children must learn how to walk before they can learn how to run or skip

Some linguistic knowledge is prerequisite to other knowledge; for example, children must know how to read before they can learn how

to write

Very young infants appear to have more knowledge of the physical world than they could have acquired from their own, limited experiences with objects

Which one of the following best describes mirror neurons?

They are pairs of neurons that have identical functions on opposite sides of the cortex

They are the primary reason why infants can recognize their own reflections as early as 3 months of age

They fire when a person either makes a particular response or observes someone else make that response

They are the only kinds of neurons that are consistently found in all primate species

Which one of the following best describes psychologists‘ current beliefs about the brain and learning?

Learning involves changes in synapses and possibly also involves the growth of new neurons and astrocytes

Large doses of certain vitamins promote brain growth and lead to more rapid learning

Left-hemisphere-dominant individuals are, on average, more effective learners than right-hemisphere-dominant individuals

The brains of rapid learners are about 20% larger than the brains

of slower learners

Naomi wakes up several hours after a severe blow to her head has rendered her unconscious She can remember nothing about events leading up to the incident, reflecting the importance of _ in learning and memory

neurogenesis consolidation

a critical period the corpus callosum

According to the textbook, which one of the following conclusions is most warranted from research on brain development?

To become truly skilled in such domains as art and music, children should begin systematic instruction in these domains before the age

of five

The ability to think abstractly depends on the development of many synaptic connections during the first five years of life

Children probably won‘t acquire the basic skills essential to succeed

in the adult world (e.g., reading, writing, math) unless they begin developing those skills in the early elementary grades at the latest

Classroom experiences can significantly enhance people‘s cognitive development throughout the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary school years

Essay Questions

The textbook describes five general research methods that scientists use to

determine how the brain functions In three short paragraphs, describe three

of them

Several teachers tell you that they are ―teaching to students‘ right brains‖ by spending a lot of time on painting, map interpretation, geometry, and other highly visual and/or spatial activities Critique their claim using what you have learned about how the human brain functions

Someone tries to convince you that parents should put their children in

enriching preschool environments by their second birthday at the latest

How would you respond to this individual? In your response:

State whether you agree or disagree with the person

Defend your position given recent findings about brain development Include the following concepts in your discussion:

synaptogenesis synaptic pruning experience-expectant and experience-dependent plasticity

CHAPTER 3

BEHAVIORIST PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES

Multiple Choice Questions

Which one of the following statements best describes the view of

early behaviorists about how learning can best be studied?

Psychologists can determine how learning occurs only if they can identify its physiological basis

Introspection—reporting what and how one is thinking—is likely to yield the most accurate results

To study learning scientifically, researchers must confine their investigations to animal research in a laboratory setting

The study of learning will be more objective and scientific if only observable events are considered

When behaviorists describe an organism as a ―black box,‖ they mean that:

Many stimuli have no noticeable effect on the organism

Learning processes occurring within the organism cannot be studied scientifically

Learning is, by its very nature, something that takes place outside the organism

An organism makes many responses even in the absence of any observed external stimulus

Which one of the following statements best reflects behaviorists‘ notion

of tabula rasa (―blank slate‖)?

Organisms inherit few predispositions to behave in particular ways; instead, the behaviors they exhibit are largely the result of

environmental experiences

Stimuli that occur after responses are made are usually more influential on

an organism‘s learning that stimuli that occur before responses are made

The things that organisms learn in a new situation largely override the things that they‘ve learned in previous situations; as a result, newly learned behaviors often replace previously learned behaviors

Learning is more a function of what the environment does to the organism than of what the organism does to the environment; in other words, the organism plays a relatively passive role in the learning process

Ivan Pavlov conducted a series of studies that led him to propose his theory of

classical conditioning In these studies, Pavlov observed how a dog learned to:

Bark when meat was presented Bark when meat was taken away Wake up when an auditory stimulus (e.g., a bell) was presented Salivate to a simple stimulus such as a light or bell

Classical conditioning typically occurs when:

A response is followed by two stimuli

A response is followed by a single aversive stimulus Two stimuli are presented at about the same time Two responses occur (usually coincidentally) at about the same time

Which one of the following responses is most likely to be learned

through classical conditioning?

Feeling anxious around horses Taking a walk on a nice day Doing homework

Waving to a friend

When Julie‘s father comes home from work he opens the front door and picks her up to give her a big hug Before long, Julie starts smiling whenever she hears her father turn his key to open the door In this situation, Julie‘s smiling at the sound of her father‘s key turning in the door is a(n) _; the hugging is a(n)

_

unconditioned stimulus; conditioned response unconditioned response; conditioned stimulus conditioned stimulus; unconditional response conditioned response; unconditional stimulus

After repeatedly being hugged by her father when he comes through the door, Julie begins to smile when she hears a key turning to open the door

opening by any person Julie‘s behavior can be explained by:

spontaneous recovery generalization

higher-order conditioning stimulus discrimination

Gina became ill after eating Turkey on Thanksgiving and was unable to look

at Turkey without feeling ill for two months However, during that two-month period Gina was able to look at chicken without feeling ill Gina‘s behavior when presented with chicken is explained by:

Generalization extinguishing a conditioned response stimulus discrimination

counterconditioning

At the dentist‘s office, Teresa has a painful experience that leaves her tense and fearful The next time her mother brings her to the dentist‘s office, Teresa begins to get tense and anxious In this situation, the dentist and dentist‘s office are

_; Teresa‘s fear of pain is a(n) _

unconditioned stimuli; conditioned response unconditioned responses; conditioned stimulus conditioned stimuli; unconditioned response conditioned responses; unconditioned stimulus

After a painful experience at one dentist‘s office, Teresa‘s mother takes Teresa to a different dentist, who takes great care to make her visits painless Teresa is anxious at first, but after a few visits, Teresa gradually becomes less resistant about going to the new dentist Teresa‘s change in behavior can

probably best be explained in terms of _ But then Teresa doesn‘t go to see the dentist again until three years later On her first visit to the painless dentist after that time interval, she is anxious once again, even though she had not been anxious in her previous visits The return of this response after it had previously disappeared is known as _

extinction; spontaneous recovery generalization; discriminative learning higher-order conditioning; discriminative learning generalization; higher-order conditioning

Jacob is suffering from a mild case of flu and, as a result, is feeling a bit nauseous He decides that he needs to eat something to keep up his strength, so he gets out of bed, puts on a heavy sweater to keep himself warm, heats up a bowl of leftover chili, and settles down in an easy chair to watch a television game show while he eats A few days later, after Jacob has recovered from the flu, one of the stimuli in the situation just described elicits a feeling of nausea With the

phenomenon of associative bias in mind, choose the stimulus that is most likely to

elicit nausea

The sweater The chili The easy chair The television game show

Paul is usually successful on the math problems his teacher assigns at school, although he occasionally fails on one or two problems In contrast,

Peter‘s experiences with mathematics are almost always associated with

frustration and failure Considering contemporary views of the roles of

contiguity and contingency in classical conditioning, who will acquire

classically conditioned anxiety regarding mathematics?

Both Paul and Peter will develop a considerable degree of mathematics anxiety

Only Paul will develop math anxiety, because the relationship between math and failure is unpredictable

Only Peter will develop math anxiety, because whenever math

is presented, failure always follows

Neither Paul nor Peter will develop math anxiety, because neither situation reflects contingency of the CS and UCS

If students associate failure with punishment, and then associate playing

sports with failure, they may begin to fear playing sports through a process of:

generalization spontaneous recovery higher-order conditioning stimulus discrimination

Which one of the following best describes contemporary theorists‘

perspective on classical conditioning?

Cognitive factors, such as mental representations of stimuli and predictions that organisms make, must often be considered in addition to observable stimuli and responses

Despite Pavlov‘s early findings to the contrary, higher-order conditioning and generalization seldom occur

Classical conditioning typically occurs only in conjunction with operant conditioning; for example, conditioned stimuli elicit conditioned responses only when those responses are followed by reinforcement

Classical conditioning occurs primarily in artificial laboratory conditions; it rarely occurs in more naturalistic, real-life settings

David is addicted to a drug that increases his blood sugar level, temporarily giving him more energy David always takes this drug in the bathroom He finds that he becomes tired when he enters the bathroom and also that he needs more and more of the drug to maintain the same high energy level From the

perspective of classical conditioning, which one of the following is the most likely explanation of David‘s increasing addiction to the drug?

Lowering blood sugar level to counteract the effect of the drug has become a conditioned response to the ―bathroom‖ stimulus

David has learned to respond to some drugs but not to others through the combined processes of stimulus discrimination and higher-order conditioning

Taking the drugs provides negative reinforcement, in that David no longer feels tired

Associative bias has predisposed David to associate the bathroom with fatigue

Extinction is one method of eliminating undesirable conditioned responses, but there are several problems associated with its use Which one is not a problem

encountered in using extinction?

Some responses extinguish slowly, if at all

Extinguished responses may reappear through spontaneous recovery Extinction often occurs too quickly to be controlled

Organisms tend to stay away from stimuli they have learned to fear, thus preventing their exposure to the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus

After being bitten by a neighbor‘s dog, Kathy is now afraid of the puppy her family has just adopted Kathy‘s father gives Kathy a hot fudge sundae; then, while she is happily eating it, he brings the puppy about fifteen feet from where she is sitting On each successive day, Kathy gets another ice cream treat, and her father brings the puppy a little closer than he did on the previous day Eventually

Kathy is able to pet and enjoy the new puppy Kathy‘s father is using a

procedure known as:

generalization stimulus discrimination extinction

counterconditioning

Nick is extremely anxious whenever he takes a test From a classical conditioning perspective, a teacher can best reduce his anxiety by:

Giving him a few extremely difficult tests at first, and then gradually giving him easier ones

Giving him a few easy tests while he is feeling relaxed Reinforcing him for each test question he answers correctly Reassuring him that he can do well if he tries hard

Which one of the following educational practices is most clearly derived from behaviorist principles?

Having students make overt responses Teaching students how to apply information Asking students to generate questions about what they read Presenting information in a logical sequence that stresses interrelationships among idea

Thorndike‘s original law of effect described the ways in which the learning of

a response:

has an effect on other organisms has an effect on stimuli in the environment has an effect on other responses

is affected by the consequences of that response

A child who was once spanked for running into a busy street no longer runs into the street This can best be explained by which one of the following?

Pavlov‘s concept of extinction Thorndike‘s original law of effect Thorndike‘s revised law of effect Skinner‘s basic principle of operant conditioning

Mr Loosigian is worried about Jerri, a girl who is struggling in his seventh grade class He thinks about several different reasons why she might be having

so much difficulty with her schoolwork Which one of the possible reasons that

he considers is consistent with a behaviorist perspective of learning?

―Maybe she isn‘t paying attention as much as she should be.‖

―Maybe I don‘t praise her enough when she does something well.‖

―Maybe she has trouble understanding the things she reads.‖

―Maybe she has trouble remembering things from one day to the next.‖

When Lily is presented with money after many different behaviors (e.g.,

cleaning her room, getting a good grade or eating her vegetables) she is more likely to perform each of those behaviors The fact that this single reinforcer (i.e., money) can increase many of Lily‘s behaviors is explained by:

Classical conditioning Instrumental conditioning Transituational generality Secondary reinforcement theory

Six-year-old Jack has recently learned to appreciate the value of money, so his father assigns him some simple housekeeping chores to be performed throughout the week He tells Jack that completion of these chores will earn him an

allowance of one dollar every Saturday Jack rarely completes his chores From an

operant conditioning perspective, which one of the following is most likely to be the reason why Jack is not doing his chores?

There is a delay in reinforcement

Reinforcement is not contingent on the desired response

Money is rarely an effective reinforcer for people

The ―reinforcer‖ is presented before the response

Mr Smart tells his students that they can do whatever they want for the first ten minutes of class but must then turn their attention to the day‘s assignment The students are delighted with their ten minutes of free time but they don‘t attend to

the assignment when it‘s time to do so From an operant conditioning

perspective, what mistake has Mr Smart made?

There is a delay in reinforcement

He has used negative reinforcement instead of positive reinforcement Free time is not an effective reinforcer for the students

The ―reinforcer‖ is presented before the response

Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are two learning paradigms within the behaviorist tradition A major difference between these two

Which one of the following is a primary reinforcer?

A cookie

A good grade

A thousand dollars

A feeling of pride about a job well done

Good grades are reinforcing to some children but not to others Someone

explaining this fact from an early operant conditioning perspective would say

that good grades are most likely to be reinforcers to children who:

Have never received a grade above C Come from middle-income or upper-income backgrounds Have previously associated those grades with primary reinforcers Have been told that good grades are important for getting a college scholarship

Bill‘s behaviors in Ms Kennedy‘s class are really distracting to other students For example, he whispers to the boy beside him when Ms Kennedy is giving directions on how to do any assignment He flings paper clips at a girl across the room He makes strange grunting noises that a few classmates find amusing Ms Kennedy glares at him or admonishes him whenever he behaves in a distracting

way, yet his inappropriate behaviors are increasing rather than decreasing

Which one of the following interpretations of this situation best explains why Bill‘s behaviors are increasing?

Ms Kennedy is positively reinforcing him for the distracting behaviors

Ms Kennedy is negatively reinforcing him for the distracting behaviors

Ms Kennedy is vicariously reinforcing him for the distracting behaviors

Ms Kennedy is punishing him for the distracting behaviors

Which one of the following is the best example of a social reinforcer?

Getting a new outfit you think is ―cool‖

Being allowed to play basketball at a friend‘s house after you finish your homework

Being told that you did a good job Feeling good about your own generosity toward a less fortunate classmate

Which one of the following is the best example of intrinsic reinforcement?

Getting a new outfit you think is ―cool‖

Being allowed to play basketball at a friend‘s house after you finish your homework

Being told that you did a good job Feeling good about your own generosity toward a less fortunate classmate

Feedback about one‘s performance is most likely to be effective when it:

Is given after a short delay (perhaps 30 minutes after the performance) Describes only the things that the person has done correctly

Comes from a peer rather than from an authority figure Provides information about how to improve

Which one of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

When Kevin does his homework, his teacher praises him profusely, to the point that it embarrasses him

When Kathleen insults another student while waiting in line for lunch, her teacher moves her to the end of the line

When Lucas complains about a classmate who is picking on him, his teacher allows him to come in from recess on bitterly cold days When Priscilla answers a teacher‘s question incorrectly, Mike teases her unmercifully

David‘s mother insists that he vacuum the living room carpet But when she sees how haphazardly he vacuums (he misses two-thirds of the carpet), she tells him, ―Never mind, I‘ll do it!‖ David‘s escape of household chores:

positively reinforced negatively reinforced punished

an example of passive avoidance learning

Which one of the following best illustrates Skinner‘s concept of

superstitious behavior?

Alice is praised for her accurate bookkeeping at work After that, she continues to keep accurate books at work She also begins to be more careful about balancing her personal checkbook each month, even though she receives no reinforcement for doing so

Bradley thinks his reinforcement for cleaning his apartment is the good feeling that a clean place gives him In reality, he cleans only when company is coming, and it is his company that makes him feel good

Charlotte misinterprets a teacher‘s praise as sarcasm and therefore

as punishment rather than reinforcement

David usually struggles with his geography exams, but he recently got high scores on two occasions when he wore a Denver Broncos sweatshirt

to school He now wears his Broncos sweatshirt whenever a geography test is scheduled

Imagine that you want to improve a distractible child‘s ability to sit still and listen in class Which one of the following procedures illustrates how you

might use shaping to do so?

Explain the purpose of sitting quietly before reinforcement begins

Reinforce the child for sitting still on some occasions, but not on others Reinforce the child for sitting still and listening for only a minute, then for progressively longer and longer periods of time

Frequently change the specific consequence you use to reinforce sitting still-and-listening behavior (e.g., you might use candy a few times, then praise, then privileges, and so on)

A ski instructor is teaching a class of beginning skiers how to do a snowplow turn She first teaches her students to stand with the fronts of their skis together and the backs of their skis far apart She then has her students bend their knees slightly and lean forward in this ―snowplow‖ position After the students can do these two things successfully, the instructor has them add more behaviors to the sequence: gliding across the side of a gentle slope in a snowplow, putting their body weight on the downhill ski, gradually turning downhill, and so on The instructor praises her students each time they successfully add a new movement

to the sequence In behaviorist terminology, the procedure that the ski instructor

is using can best be described as:

the Premack principle chaining

a differential schedule of reinforcement higher-level conditioning

Note: Questions 39 and 40 both refer to the same situation

Warren has earned himself a reputation for being the class clown His teacher,

Ms Washington, used to laugh at Warren‘s funny remarks, but is now trying

to discourage Warren‘s disruptive behavior by ignoring his jokes In

behaviorist terminology, Ms Washington is now trying to modify Warren‘s joke-telling behavior through:

stimulus discrimination extinction

shaping negative reinforcement

Ms Washington tries to ignore Warren when he tells jokes in class But sometimes Warren tells a joke so funny that Ms Washington laughs in spite of herself Rather than decreasing his joke-telling, Warren begins telling even

more outrageous jokes Inadvertently, Ms Washington is modifying Warren‘s joke-telling behavior through:

stimulus discrimination extinction

shaping negative reinforcement

In the basement of Marcy‘s college dormitory is a Coke machine that dispenses a can of Coke whenever someone firmly pounds the side of the machine Marcy is delighted when she discovers this fact, because she can now get Cokes from the machine without having to pay for them One morning a repairman fixes the machine The next time Marcy goes to get a soft drink from the machine, she finds that her usual pounding strategy doesn‘t yield her the Coke she wants But rather than insert the required coins to purchase a drink, Marcy begins pounding the side of the

machine vigorously for several minutes In behaviorist terminology,

Marcy‘s behavior at this point can best be described as:

an extinction burst discrimination shaping

a response reinforced by an activity reinforcer

Tiffany is a hyperactive child who rarely sits still for more than 30 seconds at

a time Ms Garcia decides to use positive reinforcement to help Tiffany learn to sit quietly in her seat during class time Which one of the following approaches will bring about the fastest change in Tiffany‘s behavior?

a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement

a variable interval schedule of reinforcement continuous reinforcement

a fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement

John and Bill have both learned that when they whine and complain, their teacher will hurry over to see what‘s wrong John‘s teacher gives him attention every time he complains However, Bill‘s teacher gives him attention only on some of the occasions he complains Both teachers eventually realize that they are reinforcing the boys for inappropriate behavior and so both stop attending to the boys when they whine and complain From a behaviorist perspective, we can predict that:

Both boys will whine and complain even more than before

Both boys will stop their whining and complaining almost immediately Bill‘s complaining will decrease more rapidly than John‘s

John‘s complaining will decrease more rapidly than Bill‘s

At the beginning of the school year, Mr Webber is concerned that Frances rarely does her independent seatwork He begins praising Frances for each

seatwork assignment she completes, and by January she is completing her

assignments regularly To make sure that the behavior continues in the years

to come, what would behaviorists tell Mr Webber to do now?

Praise her more often than before

Praise her for only some of her completed assignments

Punish Frances when she doesn‘t complete an assignment

Switch from a social reinforcer to an activity reinforcer

George has learned that if he pesters his father about using the family Cadillac enough times, his father will eventually break down and give George the keys to the Cadillac George‘s ―pestering‖ behavior is apparently being reinforced on a

_ schedule

variable ratio variable interval fixed interval differential rate of low responding

Mr McDonald wants his students to ask him for help on their geometry problems only after they have tried to solve the problems independently for

at least five minutes Mr McDonald should reinforce students‘ help-seeking behavior on a _ schedule

fixed ratio variable ratio differential rate of low responding differential rate of high responding

Lori has learned that when she wants to say something in class, she must raise her hand before doing so At home, however, she speaks without ever raising her hand ahead of time We can say that the classroom has become a(n) for Lori‘s hand-raising behavior

generalized stimulus antecedent stimulus positive stimulus negative reinforce

Sharon has learned that her language arts teacher answers her questions willingly but that her biology teacher discourages questions Sharon therefore asks questions in language arts but not in biology In behaviorist terminology, Sharon is:

on a differential rate of low responding schedule showing generalization

on a fixed interval schedule under stimulus control

A teacher claps his hands together loudly three times as a way of reminding his students that they need to talk more quietly during their free time at the end of the day In behaviorist terminology, his strategy can best be described as:

cueing

an intermittent schedule negative reinforcement

a setting event

A teacher wants to encourage her students to work cooperatively with one another as they study classroom subject matter If she were to use the concept of

a setting event to encourage such cooperative behavior, she would:

Praise her students when they cooperate with one another

First give students a task in which they can’t work with one another

Say ―I like how Sally and John are helping one another today‖

loudly enough that other students can hear

Provide instructional materials that students can use only by working together

Mark‘s previous girlfriend always told him how handsome he looked whenever he wore his green sweater Tonight Mark is going out with a new girlfriend and puts on the same green sweater In behaviorist terminology, Mark is:

on a differential rate of low responding schedule showing generalization

on a fixed interval schedule showing stimulus discrimination

A physics teacher wants her students to work on several difficult physics problems that involve calculating velocity, acceleration, or time using the

formula v = a t The teacher first has her students work on a few easy problems

involving the formula She then presents the more difficult problems; when she does so, she finds that her students are reasonably persistent in working at the problems, and most of them eventually solve the problems correctly By using the easy problems to promote persistence in her students during the more difficult ones, the teacher is, in behaviorist terminology, using the concept of:

cueing behavioral momentum

a DRL schedule

a DRH schedule

Mandy has learned that whenever her father comes home drunk, he is likely

to yell at her, so she usually goes to her friend‘s house before he has the chance

In this situation, the father‘s coming home drunk is:

Punishment I Punishment II

An unconditioned stimulus

A pre-aversive stimulus

Martin went to two or three school dances but felt uncomfortable and conscious at them Martin no longer goes to school dances His lack of

self-attendance is an example of:

Passive avoidance learning Active avoidance learning Punishment I

Punishment II

Which one of the following statements best describes behaviorists‘

two-step theory of avoidance learning?

Avoidance of the aversive stimulus is negatively reinforced by the presence of the pre-aversive stimulus

Remaining in the situation is punished by the aversive stimulus; avoiding

it is positively reinforced by the pre-aversive stimulus

Fear of the pre-aversive stimulus is classically conditioned, and escape from that stimulus is negatively reinforced

Escape responses occur prior to avoidance responses

An avoidance behavior of a previously aversive situation is particularly

difficult to extinguish because:

It has typically been reinforced on a fixed ratio schedule

It has typically been reinforced on a variable ratio schedule

It has typically been reinforced on a variable interval schedule

The learner has no opportunity to learn that the situation is no longer aversive

Which one of the following alternatives best describes

Which one of the following is the best example of punishment as

behaviorists define it?

Kelly has been acting up in the classroom all year Her teacher‘s frequent reprimands haven‘t made much of a difference in Kelly‘s behavior

Leo is a real distraction to his classmates, often burping in a way that makes other students laugh His teacher places him in a corner where others can‘t hear him burping

Whenever Marvin has trouble sitting still, his teacher has him run up and down the hall three times to release pent-up energy

After Nora spends a few minutes in the time-out room for hurting a classmate‘s feelings, she is more careful not to hurt her peers‘ feelings

in the future

Which one of the following accurately describes the difference

between negative reinforcement and punishment?

Negative reinforcement is essentially the same as punishment, but without the negative connotations that punishment has

Negative reinforcement increases the frequency of behavior, whereas punishment decreases it

Negative reinforcement always decreases the frequency of behavior, whereas punishment often increases it

Both consequences decrease behavior, but punishment is more likely

to make students angry and defiant

DeeDee is upset that she has been taken off the basketball team because of a failing grade in her history class The consequence of DeeDee‘s failure in

history is an example of:

Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement Punishment I

Punishment II

Tammy is scolded for submitting a messy math homework paper, so she tries

to do her math problems more neatly after that The scolding Tammy received is

an example of:

Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement Punishment I

Punishment II

Which one of the following statements best describes research findings

regarding the effectiveness of verbally reprimanding (e.g., scolding) children?

Reprimands rarely reduce inappropriate behavior

Reprimands are more effective when they‘re brief and unemotional Reprimands are effective only when they embarrass children to some extent

Severe reprimands are more effective than mild ones

Julie gets very upset when her mother will not let her help her bake cookies Julie yells at her mother and throws flour all over the kitchen Julie‘s mother makes Julie clean up all of the flour and do all of the dishes Julie‘s mother

created from baking the cookies Her mother‘s punishment was a form of:

Positive-practice overcorrection Response cost

Restitutional overcorrection Punishment II

When Rochelle has an on-the-road lesson as part of her driver education class, she fails to stop at a school crossing zone, as is required by law Her instructor has her drive around the block several times and stop each time at the crossing zone He also insists that, once she has stopped, she must wait at least eight

seconds before proceeding The instructor‘s strategy illustrates the use of

_ as a way of bringing about behavior change

An intermittent reinforcement schedule Positive-practice overcorrection

Response cost Restitution

When Judy becomes verbally aggressive toward her peers, she is placed in a quiet and boring room for five minutes The procedure being used here is

most commonly known as:

time-out systematic desensitization response cost

to the textbook, which one of the following is most likely to be effective?

Putting Nadia in in-school suspension Giving Nadia extra classwork in school subjects she knows well Scolding Nadia in front of her peers about her inappropriate behavior Suspending Nadia from school

In Mr Marshall‘s classroom, students who acquire 10 points in one day can have 20 minutes of free time at the end of the day Mr Marshall awards points

to his students for good behavior and deducts points if they misbehave The deduction of points for misbehavior is known as:

time-out restitution response cost in-house suspension

Which one of the following is the major reason why assigning extra

schoolwork is not an appropriate punishment for classroom misbehavior?

It gives students the message that classwork is an unpleasant task

It decreases the likelihood that students will do their assignments appropriately

It asks students to perform tasks without the support they need to complete those tasks successfully

It is negative reinforcement rather than punishment

Jimmy misbehaved in class and his teacher punished him by forcing him to skip recess Withholding recess is generally an ineffective form of punishment because:

teachers do not consider recess a pleasant stimulus

many arguments arise during recess making it a negative situation for most children

recess provides a break from academic activities, which improves children‘s concentration

recess is too short of a time interval

Three of the following statements reflect contemporary perspectives

of instrumental conditioning and reinforcement Which one does not?

Punishment has a more pronounced effect on behavior than reinforcement does

Behavior can sometimes be better understood if we look at complex environmental conditions rather than at simple, specific stimuli

Instrumental conditioning can more adequately be explained when we talk about mental processes as well as observable events

Any single consequence may be more or less reinforcing depending on

a learner‘s particular motives at the time

A mother has been paying her daughter Melissa one dollar an hour to shovel snow off the driveway At the end of January, the mother raises the rate to two dollars an hour Based on research related to contrast effects, we can predict that Melissa will probably:

Shovel half as much snow as she would have otherwise, and then she‘ll quit

Shovel the same amount of snow as she would have at a dollar-an-hour rate

Shovel less snow than if the pay for shoveling snow had always been two dollars an hour

Shovel more snow than if the pay for shoveling snow had always been two dollars an hour

Essay Questions

Behaviorist theories tend to share a number of common underlying

assumptions In five short paragraphs, describe five of these assumptions

On several occasions, Edward is yelled at by his soccer coach Before

long, Edward begins to shake whenever he drives to soccer practice

Explain this situation in terms of classical conditioning, identifying the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR

Edward soon shows signs of fearing other men in addition to his soccer coach, even though they have never yelled at him Identify and describe the classical conditioning process that accounts for Edward‘s fear of men

Explain how you might eliminate Edward‘s fear of men through a process of counterconditioning

Last week Gretel was accidentally hurt in her physical education class when a much larger student ran into her and knocked her to the floor Gretel is now afraid to go to physical education Explain this situation in terms of classical conditioning, identifying the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR

Shelby rarely interacts with her peers She is obviously quite lonely but

apparently has no confidence in her ability to make friends Using a behaviorist perspective, describe how you might help Shelby develop social skills through

shaping In your discussion, be sure to include:

The specific behavior(s) you would shape

A specific reinforcer you might use, and why you make the choice you do The sequence of steps you might take as you shape the desired behavior

Explain the difference between continuous reinforcement and

intermittent reinforcement When is each most useful?

You are giving tennis lessons to a beginning tennis player Describe how

you would teach the proper tennis swing Specify:

A reasonable end result toward which you would work

A reinforcer you might use When you would use continuous reinforcement When you would use intermittent reinforcement

Distinguish among positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, Punishment

I, and Punishment II Give an example of each

Classify each of the following situations as involving either classical conditioning or operant conditioning In each case, defend your answer by analyzing the situation

within the context of the learning paradigm you have chosen

A father reminds his son James to be quiet at the dinner table James stops talking, and his father smiles at him

Ralph‘s friend offers him an illegal drug Ralph takes the drug and finds that it makes him feel euphoric Ralph begins to buy the drug himself and takes it more and more frequently

Linda is a bright, academically capable girl Once, when she was sick, she failed an important test Now she is very anxious whenever she takes

a test

In each of the following situations, a person is learning through either

reinforcement or punishment Classify each situation as involving one of these four consequences: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, Punishment

I, or Punishment II Then explain why you chose the answer you did

Because Danielle fails her math class, she is taken off the school dance squad

Joe always does his homework assignments as soon as he gets them so

he won‘t have to worry about them anymore

Lisa and Fran are giggling together in the back of the classroom

Their teacher scowls at them They are embarrassed and shut up

A teacher finds that by yelling at her students when they get too rowdy, they will settle down and be quiet for a while (Focus on what is

happening to the teacher.)

Stacey dislikes physical education class because her classmates tease her about her lack of strength and coordination One day Stacey unintentionally hits one of her classmates, and the teacher sends her to the principal‘s office for the remainder of

the class time Stacey becomes increasingly aggressive in class and so spends more and more time in the principal‘s office Use one or more concepts and/or principles from behaviorism to explain why Stacey has become more (rather than less) aggressive

Avoidance responses are extremely difficult to eliminate Explain why this is

so, and describe two different procedures that can effectively reduce or

eliminate avoidance behavior

CHAPTER 4

APPLICATIONS OF BEHAVIORIST PRINCIPLES

Multiple Choice Questions

B F Skinner has criticized traditional educational practices for:

Failing to teach students to work for delayed reinforcement Using concrete reinforcers more often than social reinforcers Using intrinsic reinforcers more often than concrete reinforcers Relying heavily on artificial reinforcement for mastery of classroom topics

Three of the following common criticisms of using behaviorist approaches

in the classroom are valid ones Which one usually is not true about behaviorist

When a student has cognitive deficits that interfere with performance, simply reinforcing desired behaviors will be insufficient to bring about important changes

In Mr Greene‘s third-grade class, math problems are easy enough that students always solve them quickly and correctly From the textbook‘s perspective, is this

a good situation? Why or why not?

Yes, this is the ideal situation for learning math: Although the students may not move as quickly through the school‘s math curriculum as students in other classes do, they will learn that math is an easy and enjoyable activity

Yes, this is a good situation provided that Mr Greene also warns

students that the math curriculum will be more difficult for them once they reach high school

This might be a good situation if students are solving problems in small, cooperative groups However, if they‘re working on the problems individually, they need harder problems to help them discover whether they have a natural aptitude for math

No If students never have any trouble with math problems, they won‘t know how to handle the occasional failure and frustration they‘re likely to

encounter when they tackle more challenging problems at higher grade levels

Tracy enjoys reading mystery novels and reads at least two a week Her mother wants to encourage Tracy‘s reading and so begins to pay her daughter one dollar for each completed mystery novel Considering research regarding the extrinsic reinforcement of intrinsically reinforcing activities, we would expect Tracy eventually to:

Double her rate of reading mystery novels Triple her rate of reading mystery novels Lower her rate of reading mystery novels Stop reading mystery novels altogether

Matthew knows his teacher will give him credit for each assignment he completes on time, without regard for the accuracy of what he does As a result, Matthew often completes his work quickly, sloppily, and sometimes incorrectly This situation illustrates which one of the following concerns regarding the use

of behaviorist techniques in the classroom?

Reinforcement is a form of bribery

Reinforcement of some behaviors may impede optimal learning

Even very mild punishment adversely affects his self-esteem

Applied behavior analysis ignores the cognitive factors that affect learning

Teachers and other practitioners must be very careful in their use of

punishment as a means of changing behavior Three of the following are potential

disadvantages in using punishment Which statement about punishment is false?

Punished behaviors typically decrease slowly, if at all

Punishment can in some instances lead to increased aggression

Harsh psychological punishment can adversely affect emotional well-being

Punishment in the classroom can make students fearful of school and/or their teacher

Mr and Mrs Mercado don‘t allow their daughter Maggie to chew gum at home and have punished her severely on the few occasions they have found her with gum

in her mouth Now Maggie rarely chews gum at home but chews it almost constantly

at school, where she is not punished for doing so Maggie‘s different behaviors at home and at school illustrate an effect of punishment known as:

emotional arousal reversal

behavioral contrast restitution

Mrs Berk gives extra credit to each of his students who pick up 5 pieces of trash

in the classroom before the bell rings at the end of the day Despite the fact that most

of the students pick up 5 pieces of trash before the end of the day, some students never participate in the cleanup Which of the following statements explains why some students do not participate in the cleanup at the end of the day

The classroom context is a context in which only some children are reinforced

One reinforcer does not reinforce behavior for every learner

Some students will never produce socially desirable behaviors

When a group of students are reinforced together, the reinforced behavior is acquired more slowly than if the students are reinforced individually

If you were to apply the concept of terminal behavior in teaching a

lesson, which one of these things would you do?

Identify the things students should be able to do at the end of the lesson Identify the sequence in which you should teach various parts of

the lesson

Reward students who successfully complete the lesson

Make sure all students have mastered the prerequisite skills on which the lesson depends

Ms Delahanty has several students who are chronic misbehavers She meets individually with each student, and together the teacher and student agree to a plan for improving the student‘s behavior and a suitable reinforcement for

appropriate behavior change Ms Delahanty is using:

a contingency contract Keller‘s personalized system of instruction

a token economy

a group contingency

An essential element of a contingency contract in the classroom is that:

Behaviors are reinforced at least once a day

Every student receives the same reinforcer

Both teacher and student agree upon the desired behavior and its consequence

Every student has a contract concerning the same behavior

Ms Hernandez is concerned about Brian, a student in her high school chemistry class who rarely interacts with other students Ms Hernandez decides

to smile at Brian on those occasions when she happens to notice him talking with another student Yet after three weeks she sees little change in his behavior Based

on this information, which one of the following is definitely wrong with Ms

Hernandez‘s approach?

Brian has little to gain by changing his behavior

Brian is receiving intermittent rather than continuous reinforcement Social interaction is not an intrinsically reinforcing activity

A smile is not an effective reinforcer

In Marcia‘s first tennis lesson, her instructor Keith is trying to teach her the correct way to swing a tennis racket Keith praises Marcia every time she hits the tennis ball over the net and into the ―in bounds‖ area of the opponent‘s side of the court using the correct body position Marcia shows little improvement

during the one-hour lesson From a behaviorist perspective, what mistake is Keith probably making in teaching Marcia to play tennis?

He fails to realize that Marcia has little to gain by changing her behavior

He is using intermittent rather than continuous reinforcement

He should shape the behavior rather than expect immediate mastery Praise is rarely an effective reinforcer

Healthier eating habits make people feel better and give them more energy

over the long run Yet many people do not improve their eating habits, especially

if healthful foods are difficult and time-consuming to prepare Three of the

following are possible explanations for the lack of improvement (i.e., behavior change) in people‘s eating habits Judging from what you have learned about

instrumental conditioning, choose the alternative that is not a likely explanation

Extrinsic reinforcers are usually more effective than intrinsic reinforcers Eating junk food also has its reinforcers

From a cost-benefit perspective, change is not worthwhile

Reinforcement (in the form of feeling healthier) is delayed

Which one of the following examples best illustrates the concept of baseline

as behaviorists use the term?

After Louisa notices the attention she gets from boys on days she wears tight clothes, she often wears tight sweaters

Justin talks in class all the time, even though his teacher and classmates

do nothing to encourage him

Dimitri is afraid of the school swimming pool after he almost drowns in it during a swimming lesson

Marsha starts copying her best friend‘s homework assignments regularly after she finds out that she gets better grades if she does so

If you wanted to encourage kindergartners to delay gratification,

research indicates that an effective strategy would be to:

Tell them that how well they behave at the end of the day is really what counts

Ask them to focus on how good it feels to do something nice for

a classmate Talk about how their learning efforts today will pay off in the years

to come Occasionally remind them that they will get a bigger reward if they wait for an hour or two

Sean is a high school student who is angry much of the time He often vents his anger by swearing at his teacher One day his teacher decides to extinguish Sean‘s swearing by ignoring him whenever he swears Yet over the next few weeks, Sean continues to swear as frequently as he always has Three of the following are possible explanations as to why, from a behaviorist perspective, the

teacher‘s ―extinction‖ strategy is not working Which alternative is the least

likely explanation?

Other students are reinforcing Sean‘s swearing

Sean‘s swearing has previously been reinforced on an intermittent basis Swearing allows Sean to release pent-up anger, so he is being

negatively reinforced

Sean is being reinforced for swearing by means of the Premack Principle

Eight-year-old Amy always seems to be in ―overdrive‖—she has trouble sitting still for any length of time Her teacher occasionally gives her short breaks

in which she can get up and move around a bit as a way of releasing pent-up energy Such breaks occur unpredictably, without regard for whether Amy is behaving appropriately or inappropriately at the time Research indicates that

such noncontingent reinforcement:

May improve Amy‘s behavior somewhat, but she will likely not replace the inappropriate behaviors with appropriate behaviors

Is likely to make Amy‘s behavior worse Will probably lead to behavioral contrast Will confuse Amy and significantly increase her anxiety about classroom tasks

Which one of the following statements best characterizes how reinforcement

of incompatible behavior can help reduce people‘s inappropriate behaviors?

When we reinforce different people for different behaviors, they begin

to discover which behaviors are appropriate and which are not

Negative reinforcement of an incompatible behavior can ultimately reduce the frequency of that behavior

An undesirable behavior will decrease when a person is reinforced for behaving in an opposite manner

We can reduce serious behavior problems by allowing people to engage

in less serious misbehaviors

Which one of the following is an example of reinforcing an incompatible behavior as a way of eliminating an undesirable behavior?

Samantha is very shy and socially withdrawn Her teacher reinforces her with a smile whenever she interacts with her classmates

Johnny‘s wisecracks have become so annoying that his teacher keeps him in from recess whenever he speaks inappropriately

Mary has learned to reinforce herself whenever she gets all her spelling words correct

Jerry must stay after school on days when he arrives late

Loretta has been painting graffiti on the school walls after school hours The school principal and the school counselor discuss the problem The counselor thinks they should try to eliminate the graffiti-painting by asking her to chair a clean-up-the-school committee, then giving her school-wide recognition for her efforts The counselor is suggesting:

extinction noncontingent reinforcement the reinforcement of an incompatible behavior punishment II

Research indicates that when appropriate precautions are taken, the most effective method of reducing inappropriate behavior typically is:

extinction punishment reinforcement of incompatible behaviors

an intermittent schedule of reinforcement

Ms Smythe keeps Eric after school whenever he swears in class Even though Eric has been kept after school each day for the past three weeks, his swearing has increased rather than decreased Given what we know about the effects of punishment on behavior, Ms Smythe should probably conclude that:

Her punishment is only temporarily suppressing Eric‘s swearing

The punishment is too severe

Eric‘s swearing will decrease eventually

Staying after school is not a punishment for Eric

Three of the following are recommended practices when using punishment

to reduce an inappropriate behavior Which one is not recommended?

Punish the behavior each time it occurs

Describe the inappropriate behavior to the would-be offender in concrete terms

Change the environment to lessen the chances that the misbehavior will occur

Punish frequently to get the point across

Three of the following are recommended practices when using punishment

to reduce an inappropriate behavior Which one is not recommended?

Threaten punishment several times before administering it

Explain why the behavior is unacceptable

Teach the appropriate behavior for the situation

Whenever possible, punish the behavior as soon as it occurs

One of the following strategies, in addition to suppressing the punished behavior, is likely to suppress similar misbehaviors as well Furthermore, it is likely to be effective even when punishment does not occur immediately

Which strategy best fits this description?

Annette is told that she is a ―bad girl‖ because she accidentally broke