Intro to VB - FoxyLearning

You are trying to think of examples of establishing operations and are having a difficult time. Not being able to think of an example is an example of a(n):

EO - If someone provided you with an example of an establishing operation at this time, it would presumably act as reinforcement for whatever behavior prceeded their giving you the example. (Again note that this also can simultaneously function as a discriminative stimulus for a response such as "I can't think of an example of an establishing operation.")

As a result of eating several cups of salted peanuts, you have an increased tendency to ask for water. Eating peanuts is an event that functions as a(n):

EO - This event functions to increase the current reinforcing effectiveness of water as reinforcement.

Your smelly uncle gets out a cigarette and then finds that he does not have any matches or a lighter. Having a cigarette that needs to be lit is an example of a(n):

EO - This situation would presumably increase the reinforcing effectiveness of receiving matches or a lighter. Up until this situation, matches or a ligther probably had almost no current reinforcing effectiveness for your smelly uncle. (Note that this situation is simultaneously a discriminative stimulus for a response such as "I have no matches.")

You are walking on some ice and you slip and fall. Falling is an example of:

It is not likely that this behavior was established or is being maintained by mediated reinforcement.

You write the word "water" as a result of hearing someone say "water," and someone says "correct." This increased your tendency to write "water" as a result of hearing someone say "water." This is an example of:

Mediated - Again, all of the defining features are present. The response mode is different from the first question, but that is listed as an irrelevant feature. Also, the reinforcement is conditioned; the milk in the first question was unconditioned reinforcement. Also note that the stimulus modes are different in these first two questions. In the previous question, the stimulus is visual, olfactory, and if drunk, gustatory; the stimulus in this question is auditory.

You emit the response "milk" and someone presents you with a glass of milk. This increases the probability that you will say milk in the future under similar circumstances. This is an example of:

Mediated - All three relevant features are present: the presentation of the glass of milk occurs after the response, the effect is an increase in the probability of the response occurring in the future, and the milk resulted from the action of another person.

You write the word "milk" as a result of hearing someone say "water," and someone says "That's dumb!" The effect is a decrease in your tendency to write "milk" as a result of hearing someone say "water." Someone's saying "That's dumb!" is an example of:

Neither - This is not an example of any type of reinforcement because it lacks the defining feature of having the effect of increasing the probability of the behavior it follows.

Someone presents you with a picture of a dog and you say "dog." Presenting the picture of the dog is an example of:

Neither - This is not an example of any type of reinforcement because the stimulus is prior to the response. It also has only the immediate effect of evoking a response, not strengthening it.

You turn on a light switch and the lights come on. This results in an increase in your tendency to turn on lights by turning on the switch. The lights coming on is an example of:

Non-mediated - This is an example of reinforcement, but it lacks the defining feature of resulting from the action of another person. The fact that another person built the light switch is irrelevant because the action must occur after the response has been made.

"A doughnut looks a lot like the letter "o" and you tend to say "o" whenever you see a doughnut. The doughnut is a visual stimulus that is:

Non-verbal behavior - A doughnut is typically not the result of someone's verbal behavior, but rather of one's cooking behavior.

You see the word "Pepsi" written in the sky and say "Those are really large letters." The size of the letters is a visual stimulus feature that is:

Non-verbal behavior - Although the letters are the result of verbal behavior, the controlling feature is the size of the letters and not their overall pattern.

Your ophthalmologist shines a bright light in your eye to get your pupil to contract. Shining the bright light is an example of:

Non-verbal behavior - Even though the reinforcement is mediated, the contracting of the pupil is not a response that was specifically trained for the purposes of reinforcing ophthalmologists for shining bright lights into people's eyes.

A bee when it flies produces an auditory stimulus that we call a buzzing sound. That buzzing sound is a(n):

Non-verbal behavior - The sound is not the result of someone's verbal behavior so it is a non-verbal stimulus.

Someone picks up a rock and throws it at you. Seeing the throwing motion and the approaching rock can be considered a visual stimulus that is:

Non-verbal behavior - The visual stimulation is not the result of verbal behavior on the part of someone else. Even though the reinforcement for throwing the rock may be mediated through another person, the action of the other person was not trained for the purpose of reinforcing the rock throwers.

As a result of the person refusing to give you a cigarette in the previous question, you go out and buy a pack, open it, and take out a cigarette. Taking out the cigarette is an example of:

Non-verbal behavior - This violates the second defining feature of verbal behavior: the reinforcement must be mediated through another person.

The stimulus is the written letter "a" and the response is the vocal response "a."

Not PTP correspondence - Although a strong controlling relationship may exist between this stimulus and response, there is no point-to-point correspondence because neither the stimulus nor the response has more than one component.

The vocal response "dog" is controlled by the written word "cat."

Not PTP correspondence - Although both the stimulus and the response have more than one component, it is not the case that each part of the stimulus controls the respective sequential part of the response. This would have been more obvious if the response had been "alligator."

The stimulus is the written letter "w" and the response is the written response "double-you."

Not PTP correspondence - This is not point-to-point correspondence because the stimulus only has one component. Both the stimulus and the response must have more than one component for point-to-point correspondence.

You write the word "cite" as a result of seeing the written word "sight."

Not PTP correspondence - Which components of "cite" would control which components of "sight"? Notice that if the stimulus "cite" were auditory, either saying or writing "sight" WOULD have point-to-point correspondence.

The visual stimulation produced by the shape of an actual fox.

Not a response-product - The visual stimuli are not the result of someone's behavior, although they could result in someone emitting the verbal, vocal response "fox."

Auditory stimulation that results from windshield wipers moving back and forth that could sound like the phrase "You're late."

Not a response-product - These auditory stimuli are not the result of someone's behavior, even if they do sound somewhat like it.

The vocal response "cat" is controlled by the written word "cat."

PTP correspondence - Both the stimulus and the response have more than one component. And the first part of the response, the "k" sound, is controlled by the visual stimulus of the "c," the second part of the response, the short "a" sound, is controlled by the second component of the stimulus, the visual stimulus "a." The final "t" sound is controlled by the last part of the visual stimulus, "t."

The vocal response "cat" is controlled by the auditory stimulus "cat."

PTP correspondence - This is just like the first question, except that the response is vocal rather than written. Remember that the formal characteristics of the stimulus and the response, which would include whether the form of the response is vocal or written, are irrelevant when it comes to deciding whether or not point-to-point correspondence is present.

The visual stimulation produced by a person making the sign for "mountain" with their hands using sign language.

Response-product - Remember, the form of the response is not important as long as the response is a type of verbal behavior. Technically, any response will produce some kind of response-product, but in an analysis of verbal behavior, we are only interested in those that are the result of someone's verbal behavior.

The auditory stimuli produced by someone who is standing behind you making the vocal response "fox."

Response-product - The stimuli produced are the result of the person's vocal response. If the person had been standing in front of you, an additional response-product might have been the visual stimulation of the person's lips moving.

As the result of seeing someone place a glass of water on the table in front of you, you say "water." Seeing someone place a glass of water on the table is a(n):

SD - Seeing someone place the glass of water signals the availability of reinforcement for saying "water," so it is a discriminative stimulus.

You are driving down the road and see a sign that says "Beware of falling rocks." The sign is a visual stimulus that is:

The sign is the result of verbal behavior and you are reacting to the pattern on the sign, and not the color or some other feature.

You enter a very cold room, see that the window is open, and say, "Close the window, please." Someone else in the room then gets up and closes the window. This results in an increase in your tendency to say, "Close the window" in the future under similar conditions. This is an example of:

Verbal behavior - All of the relevant features are present. The behavior is increased by the reinforcement it receives. The reinforcement is mediated by another person, and the other person's actions required specific training to come under the control of what was said.

You see the word "Pepsi" written in the sky. The spatial relationships between the letters and their overall pattern is a(n) _______________ stimulus that evokes the response "Pepsi."

Verbal behavior - In this case, the control is a result of the overall pattern of the stimulus.

You ask someone for a cigarette and she refuses to give it to you. In the past, you sometimes have received a cigarette when you asked. Asking for it now is an example of:

Verbal behavior - Just because there is not any reinforcement in the current situation doesn't make any difference. If the behavior was established and maintained for a while as a result of mediated reinforcement, then it is verbal behavior. The current schedule of reinforcement, even if it is extinction, is irrelevant.

Someone asks you how many cookies you would like and you hold up two fingers. He then gives you two cookies. In the past when you did this you got two cookies. Holding up two fingers is an example of:

Verbal behavior - Remember that the response topography is irrelevant. Giving someone two somethings when they hold up two fingers is a response that must be specifically trained for that reason.

Someone picks up a rock and throws it at you, but you don't see the person do it. Your friend says "duck." The auditory stimulus that results from your friend's vocal behavior is:

Verbal behavior - The auditory stimulation is the result of someone's verbal behavior and the controlling feature of the stimulation is the overall pattern or sequence of auditory stimulation, and not some other feature of the stimulation, such as the pitch or the loudness. (Note that it is the case that certain dynamic features do, in fact, come to differentially control our behavior. If "duck" is said very quietly, we may think someone is talking about a water bird, or that there is not any urgency in the situation; if it is shouted, however, we may react quickly and appropriately).

You find an email address on a person's Facebook profile and write it down. Copying the email address is an example of:

Verbal behavior - The response topography can be anything, and the controlling variable need not be something that you want, but can and often is some feature of the environment -- in this case, some colored pixels on your computer screen or mobile device. Although there is no current mediated reinforcement in this example, it can only occur now as a result of a history of mediated reinforcement, in the form of either praise or some other appropriate reaction to what you had written.