Behaviorism in the classroom

Phil wants to train his parrot to kick a ball into a soccer net. Which of the following should he do?

• Use positive punishment until the parrot kicks the ball into the net.

• Use negative punishment until the parrot kicks the ball into the net.

• Wait until the parrot kicks the ball into the net on its own and then give it a food treat.

• Begin by reinforcing when the parrot goes near the ball.

A reinforcer is a consequence that ______a behavior, while a punisher is a consequence that _______ a behavior.

• motivates; stimulates

• weakens; strengthens

• inhibits; motivates

• strengthens; weakens

Dr. Sardis provides his students with extra credit points every time they speak in class to encourage class participation. Dr. Sardis is using ___________.

• negative punishment

• positive reinforcement

• negative reinforcemet

• positive punishment

One difference between classical and operant conditioning is that :

• in classical conditioning the responses operate n the environment to produce rewarding or punishing stimuli

• in operant conditioning the responses are triggered by preceding stimuli

• in classical conditioning the responses are automatically triggered by stimuli

• in operant conditioning the responses are reflexive

Punishment is a controversial way of controlling behavior because:

• behavior is not forgotten and may return

• punishing stimuli often create fear

• punishment often increases aggressiveness

• all of the above reasons

Bill hates to clean up after dinner. One night, he volunteers to bathe the dog before cleaning up. When he finishes with the dog and returns to the kitchen, his wife has cleaned everything up for him. Which of the following statements is most likely true?

• Bill's wife has negatively reinforced him for bathing the dog.

• Bill will never bathe the dog again.

• Bill's wife has positively reinforced him for bathing the dog.

• Bill will start cleaning up the kitchen before he bathes the dog.

In Pavlov's studies, he was able to condition dogs to salivate in response to specific tones while not salivating to other similar tones. This is called ____________.

• stimulus discrimination

• extinction

• stimulus generalization

• spontaneous recovery

Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

• Going to the dentist and having a toothache relieved

• Taking away a child's toy when she misbehaves

• Spanking a child for swearing

• Giving a child a sticker for a correct answer