Chapter 7

Operant behavior

behavior that an organism performs that has some impact on the environment

Ray drank too much tequila last night. He spent much of this morning vomiting and nauseated. According to the principles of classical conditioning, how will Ray likely react today when he tastes or smells the tequila bottle that he drank out of last night?

He will find the scent and taste of tequila aversive.

_____ reinforcement increase(s) the likelihood of a behavior happening; _____ punishment decrease(s) the likelihood of the behavior.

Positive and negative; positive and negative

Generalization

The CR is observed, even though the CS is slightly different from the CS used during acquisition.

By repeatedly presenting the rat without the loud noise, one could use extinction to eliminate Little Albert's fear of a rat. However, a day later, Albert might show fear of the rat again because of _____.

Spontaneous recovery

Variable-interval schedule

a behavior is reinforced on the basis of an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement

Habituation

a general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in responding.

Explicit learning

a learning process that includes the ability to verbalize about the actions or events being learned

Cognitive map

a mental representation of the physical features of the environment

Classical conditioning

a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response.

Conditioned Response

a previously neutral stimulus that produces a reliable response in an organism after being paired with a US.

Conditioned stimulus

a previously neutral stimulus that produces a reliable response in an organism after being paired with a US.

Biological preparedness

a propensity for learning particular kinds of associations over others

Positive punishment

a stimulus is administered that reduces the likelihood of a behavior

Positiv reinforcement

a stimulus is presented that increases the likelihood of a behavior

Negative Punishment

a stimulus is removed that decreases the likelihood of a behavior

Negative reinforcement

a stimulus is removed that increases the likelihood of a behavior

Mirror neurons

a type of cell found in the frontal and parietal lobes of primates - when an animal watches someone else perform the same specific task

Operant conditioning

a type of learning in which the consequences of an organism's behavior determine whether it will repeat that behavior in the future

The initial pairing of a conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) in classical conditioning represents the _____ phase of learning.

acquisition

Researchers have discovered a woman who shows no fear responses. It is likely that this woman does NOT have a normally functioning:

amygdala

observational learning

an organism learns by watching the actions of others.

Punisher

any stimulus or event that increases the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

Reinforcer

any stimulus or event that increases the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

Maggie is a participant in a cognitive psychology experiment. On each trial, she vies in repeating long letter strings such as "XXNNYZZZKLLKZN." Maggie is MOST likely in an experiment using a(n) _____ to investigate _____ learning.

artificial grammar; implicit

The concept of _____ suggests that conditioning has an evolutionary origin in that certain associations will be more easily learned if they help the organism's survival.

biological preparedness

Schedules of reinforcement are based on the finding that conditioned behaviors:

continue or are even strengthened by irregular reinforcement.

Cruz, a 6-year-old, was recently bitten by his grandmother's Chihuahua. Cruz sees a different small dog in the park a week later and begins to cry, but he shows no fear when he sees a large dog. Cruz's behavior in response to the large dog indicates that he is showing:

discrimination

Kristen, a 3-year-old, enjoys taking baths and is always willing to get into the bathtub. Kristen hates to have her fingernails clipped and will run and hide if she sees her mother or father with the nail clippers. Edward Thorndike would explain her behaviors using the law of:

effect

Xenon purchases food that tastes good to her and avoid foods that do not taste good. Her behaviors are consistent with Edward Thorndike's law of _____.

effect

Secondary reinforcers

effectiveness from their associations with primary reinforcers

Obi always gives his cats treats before he goes to work each morning. When he is gathering the things he takes to work, his cats begin to circle around him and cry. Robert Rescorla and Allan Wagner would say this is occurring because Obi's cats have developed a(n) _____ for the treats.

expectation

The research on judgments of learning shows that people often mistake _____ for _____.

familiarity; understanding

Barbara is a college professor and often writes test bank questions for publishers. One publisher pays Barbara $50 for every question she writes. Barbara is on a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

fixed-ratio

Marlee was attacked at gunpoint in a parking garage. Her attacker was wearing strong cologne, and she now refuses to go through the male fragrance department at the department store, will not be alone by herself with any man, and will not park in any garages. This reaction BEST illustrates:

generalization

Justin has trained his beagle to come when called and to walk next to him without a leash. One day while walking in a park, his beagle sees a rabbit and takes off and would not listen when called. This misbehavior by Justin's dog supports the idea that Justin's beagle:

has a biological predisposition to chase rabbits and other small rodents.

Primary reinforcers

help satisfy biological needs

In a variable-ratio schedule, the _____ the ratio, the _____ the response rate.

higher; higher

Compared with other schedules of reinforcement, ratio schedules of reinforcement typically produce the:

highest and most consistent rates of response.

Bandele knows that he cannot show up to class naked even if he does not know when or how he learned this type of information. That is because this type of learning is:

implicit

A neuropsychological patient who experiences severe problems with explicit learning is MOST likely to have _____ implicit learning.

intact

Consider the two main types of conditioning. Classical conditioning is based on _____ responses; operant conditioning produces _____ behaviors.

involuntary; voluntary

Edward Tolman's third group of rats showed a dramatic change in their maze behavior when reinforcement was given on the 11th day of their maze running. Edward Tolman called this:

latent learning.

Shaping

learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desired behavior

Implicit learning

learning that takes place largely independent of awareness of both the process and the products of information acquisition.

"Cramming" for tests is an example of:

massed practice

Joella watches her older brother brush his teeth and then attempts to brush her teeth on her own. Joella's older brother is serving as a _____ for Joella.

model

Joey watches his older brother twirl his pasta around his fork using a spoon. Joey then attempts to twirl his pasta in the same way. Joey's older brother served as a _____ for Joey.

model

Johnny is "hammering" the nail in with his toy hammer as his father is hammering the deck boards. His behavior is a clear example of:

modeling

Jayson can make his Mom give him a cookie when he whines. She hates the sound so much, she will give Jayson whatever he wants to make him stop. When Jayson stops whining, it serves as _____ for his mother.

negative reinforcement

Classical conditioning occurs by pairing a(n) _____ with a(n) _____ to produce a response.

neutral stimulus; unconditioned stimulus

When a 4-year-old girl suddenly picks up her toy ironing board and plays it like it is an electric guitar, it is likely that she has seen someone playing a real electric guitar in the same manner. Thus, she has learned via:

observation

Albert Bandura's Bobo doll experiments were intended to demonstrate:

observational learning

Four-year-old Mia watched her mother sing while she was brushing her hair. The next day, Mia's mother saw Mia singing while brushing her dog. Mia acquired the behavior through:

observational learning

Lana is in dental school and is learning the correct way to take an X-ray of the mouth. Her instructor first shows the class a video that demonstrates the proper procedures for taking an X-ray and then demonstrates these same procedures using Lana as a patient. Lana and her class are learning how to take an X-ray of patients' teeth through the use of:

observational learning

One chimpanzee watches a second chimp solve a puzzle for a food reward. The first chimp then imitates how the second chimp solved the puzzle. This BEST illustrates:

observational learning

Intermittent reinforcement

only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement

Sensitization

presentation of a stimulus leads to an increased response to a later stimulus.

Fixed-ratio schedule

reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made

Fixed-interval schedule

reinforcers are presented at fixed time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made

Model

someone whose behavior might be a guide for others

Latent learning

something is learned, but it is not manifested as a behavioral change until sometime in the future

Unconditioned Response

something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism

Unconditioned stimulus

something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism

In Ivan Pavlov's famous studies, the _____ was the conditioned stimulus, and the _____ was the conditioned response.

sound; salivation

Learning

the acquisition, from experience, of new knowledge, skills, or responses that results in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner.

Angie's always-angry boss wears a particular type of cologne. One day, Angie was at a store when she smelled the same cologne. The smell produced a momentary feeling of uneasiness. In this example, the unconditioned stimulus is:

the boss

Discrimination

the capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli.

Variable-ratio schedule

the delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses

Intermittent reinforcement effect

the fact that operant behaviors that are maintained under intermittent reinforcement schedules resist extinction better than do those maintained under continuous reinforcement

Extinction

the gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US.

Spontaneous recovery

the gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US.

Declan does things that make him feel good and avoids things that make him feel bad. His behaviors are consistent with: Please choose the correct answer from the following choices, and then select the submit answer button.

the law of effect.

Researchers observed that rats who found food in one arm of a maze on one day would run down the other arm of the maze on the next day. This finding is:

the opposite of what operant conditioning would predict.

Acquisition

the phase of classical conditioning when the CS and US are presented together.

Law of effect

the principle that behaviors that are followed by a "satisfying state of affairs" tend to be repeated, and those that produce an "unpleasant state of affairs" are less likely to be repeated.