Chapter 7 Quiz

. Edwin Guthrie argued that learning occurs as a gradual process because

learning that a particular response leads to a particular outcome is more difficult than learning a stimulus–stimulus association.

only a small set of stimulus elements gets connected to the response on each trial.

learning to perform a response correctly takes practice, since the subject inevitably gets confused or has difficulty producing a series of behaviors in the correct sequence.

competing evolutionary tendencies must be overcome before a subject can learn to produce the arbitrary instrumental response the researcher has designated.

. Which instrumental learning theorist assumed that behavior is inherently flexible and goal-oriented, and that instrumental associations also involve S-O associations?

Edwin Guthrie

Edward Thorndike

Edward Tolman

Clark Hull

. Skinner assumed that reinforcement is powerful enough to

result in one-trial operant learning.

produce superstitious responding when delivered noncontingently.

prevent extinction if it is sufficiently large during acquisition.

produce cognitive expectations that are resistant to forgetting.

. The procedure of fading involves gradual changes in

the response requirement in order to obtain a more complex behavior.

the amount of reward offered so that a subject does not become satiated.

reward frequency, from continuous to partial reinforcement.

stimulus complexity, from simple to more subtle.

. In operant conditioning, the stimulus that sets the occasion for a response to be nonreinforced is a(n)

S^Δ.

S^D.

CS.

S₂.

. Which term does not belong with the others?

S^Δ

Intrinsic reinforcer

Primary reinforcer

S^D

. A behavior chain is

a group of related behaviors (e.g., a dog's digging, gnawing, chewing, swallowing) that are controlled by a single primary reinforcer.

a group of related behaviors (e.g., a dog's digging, gnawing, chewing, swallowing) that are controlled by a single conditioned reinforcer.

a sequence of behaviors controlled by a primary reinforcer and conditioned reinforcers.

a sequence of behaviors controlled by different primary reinforcers.

. Which schedule results in a conditioned or primary reinforcer after every target behavior?

FI

VI

FR

CRF

. A rat gets a food pellet every time it presses a lever five times. The rat is on a(n) _______ schedule.

FI

VI

FR

VR

. A pigeon pecks a red key and is reinforced for a peck after either 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, or 40 seconds, with these times arranged in random order. The pigeon is on a(n) _______ schedule.

FI

VI

FR

VR

. In general, the schedule that produces the highest and most stable rate of responding is the _______ schedule.

VR

VI

FR

FI

. A food vending machine presents a variety of options, many with different prices. If we think of price as the equivalent of effort or behavior (i.e., putting in more money requires more effort), the food machine options can be seen as an example of a _______ schedule.

tandem

multiple

mixed

concurrent

. Many cafeterias have different prices for lunch and dinner offerings, even though the food is the same for both meals. This mixed food pricing, which requires the consumer to pay more depending on the time of day, is a type of _______ schedule.

tandem

multiple

mixed

concurrent

. Impulsiveness decreases when

the time to the larger reward increases.

the size of the smaller reward increases.

the time to the smaller reward increases.

the availability of a reward decreases.

. A rat must press a lever for a variety of food options and access to water. When the schedule requirements for food options and water are varied, lever-pressing for food options varies as the schedule changes, but water consumption is not affected by the food schedule. In this scenario, water would be classified as a(n) _______ commodity.

complement

independent

substitute

alternative

. A rat in a Skinner box spends 50% of its time pressing for sucrose pellets and 50% of its time pressing for food pellets. The rat is then fed all the food it can eat in its home cage. When it returns to the Skinner box it spends 50% of its time pressing for sucrose, only 20% of its time pressing the food-pellet lever, and 30% of the time chewing the bars in the bottom of the cage. This result can be explained by

the matching law.

Hull's theory of drive reduction.

behavioral economics.

multiple chained schedules of reinforcement.

. Which statement does not express one component of Hull's theory of learning?

Drive is a theoretical, intervening variable.

Drive reduction is assumed to stamp in associations.

Drive is assumed to increase general activity or exploration.

Drive is produced by unfulfilled biological needs.

. Premack assumed that the real or effective contingency operates between

a more-preferred and a less-preferred behavior.

the physiological need and the outcome that fulfills it.

the primary and the conditioned reinforcer.

the behavior and the conditioned reinforcer

. The minimum distance model assumes that

the bliss point can easily be achieved by means of responses that are at a rate proportional to the preferences for each behavior.

schedule constraints prevent achievement of the bliss point; however, the subject can allocate responses to get as close to bliss as possible.

as the preferences for two behaviors become more similar, the bliss point is easier to achieve.

the time it takes to complete each schedule requirement—regardless of time interval or ratio schedule—determines which behavior is preferred.

. The behavioral version of selection by consequences assumes that

reinforcement stamps in successful or useful behaviors.

reinforcement prevents some behaviors from becoming extinguished.

behavioral variation can occur even when the organism's original behavior is not variable.

nonrewarded behaviors never really disappear, they just become less frequent.

Chapter 7 Quiz

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