Learning Curve 7b:Operant Conditioning

Cats love to chase the light produced by laser pointers. Some people may believe that this behavior shows how dumb cats are but, in reality, it supports the idea of cats':

biological predisposition to chase moving objects.

_____ is/are explained by operant conditioning as mistakenly inferring a causal relationship between a specific behavior and a reinforcer.

Superstitions

Edward Tolman suggested that rats in a maze do not simply produce behaviors without using any previous spatial information, but instead develop a _____ of the maze.

cognitive map

B. F. Skinner's three-term contingency refers to a(n) _____ stimulus, a response, and a reinforcer. Please type the correct answer in the following input field, and then select the submit answer button or press the enter key when finished.

discriminative

Ernest's has learned that, when his girlfriend smiles at him, and he knows that she probably would welcome his kiss. Her smile is functioning as a:

discriminative stimulus.

Abraham trained a rat to run up a set of miniature steps whenever he plays the theme song to a specific movie by giving the rat treats at the same time as the song is playing. After acquisition, if Abraham were to present the song but no longer provide the treats, the rat's behavior would show:

extinction; the rat will stop responding to the song.

The _____ schedule arranges reinforcement on a set period of time if a response has been made

fixed interval

Checking one's postal mailbox is generally reinforced on a _____ schedule because the mail only comes once per day at about the same time.

fixed-interval

Which schedule arranges reinforcement on the basis of time if a response has been made?

fixed-interval

Sayyid has a part time job putting new tires on cars. He gets $10 for every tire he puts on a car. Sayyid is on a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

fixed-ratio

Ramona learned to drive a car with a stick shift 20 years ago but has not driven one until she rented a car in Italy. She found that she recovered this skill within a few minutes which is an example of:

latent learning

A teacher originally wanted to increase class participation, so she positively reinforced the asking of questions with nickels. After a few days, students had stacks of nickels on their desks and were asking far too many questions. To reduce question asking, the teacher could remove a nickel whenever they ask a question, a process known as:

negative punishment

B. F. Skinner's idea of stimulus control refers to:

particular responses only occurring when distinctive stimuli are present.

Lawrence slaps his baby sister. His mother yells at Lawrence, and he stops slapping his sister. For Lawrence, being reprimanded acted as a(n):

punisher

_____ schedules of reinforcement typically produce the highest and most consistent rates of response.

ratio

Operant behavior will undergo extinction if _____ stops. Please type the correct answer in the following input field, and then select the submit answer button or press the enter key when finished.

reinforcement

Thee-year-old Carlton is whining because he wants a cookie. His mother gives him a cookie when he begins to whine. For Carlton, the cookie acted as a(n) _____.

reinforcer

Edward Thorndike's law of effect states that behaviors leading to pleasant situations will be _____, and behaviors that result in unpleasant situations will be _____.

repeated; avoided

A rat is foraging in the country for food. On Tuesday, the rat finds food in Farmer Brown's barn. A behaviorist like B. F. Skinner would predict that on Wednesday, the rat would:

return to Farmer Brown's barn.

On a daily basis, people generally experience more _____ reinforcers than they do _____ ones.

secondary; primary

Because of _____, a person can differentiate between the men's restroom and the women's restroom, and know which one to use.

stimulus control

Georgia likes to make tuna sandwiches for lunch. She uses her electric can opener and then usually gives the can with a few bits of tuna left inside to the cat. Georgia recently noticed that the cat comes running into the kitchen every time she uses her can opener to open anything. The cat's behavior is a result of:

stimulus generalization.

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.

Silvia is a Parkinson's disease patient taking the medication called L-dopa. As a result, she has developed a problem with compulsive shopping and has extended her credit cards up to their limits. Her behavior is the result of:`

the positive reward prediction error.

Zarita's instructor wants students in the class to choose a lab partner. Zarita's friends tell her that Theo is very trustworthy and that he will not slack off during the class. The research on trustworthiness suggests that Zarita will continue to view Theo as _____, regardless of his behavior.

trustowrthy

Which example illustrates negative reinforcement?

turning off extremely loud music (offering someone food giving someone money, giving someone a hug)

Radio stations generally use a _____ schedule of reinforcement when they do promotional giveaways so that people will continue to listen to the station throughout the day.

variable interval