Operant Conditioning

The Law of Effect is best credited by which scientist?

• B.F. Skinner

• Edward Thorndike

• Carl Rogers

• Sigmund Freud

What is the Law of Effect?

• Responses followed by negative stimuli is likely to increase behaviour

• Responses followed by a neutral stimulus is likely to remain neutral

• The effects stimulated on others are likely to reciprocate, causing a chain of negative or positive interactions.

• Responses followed by satisfaction (positive) are likely to increase behaviour and make it more likely to occur again and again.

Timmy has learned his lesson and his mother gives him his toys back. This is an example of

• Positive Punishment

• Negative Punishment

• Positive Reinforcement

• Negative Reinforcement

Billy's mom took away his punishment once he proved that he learned his lesson. This is an example of?

• Negative Punishment

• Positive Punishment

• Negative Reinforcement

• Positive Reinforcement

Learning to tie one’s shoes is most likely acquired via the process of:

• Operant conditioning
• Spontaneous recovery
• Classical conditioning
• Learned helplessness

The Law of Effect states that _____ lead to the _____ of the association between the stimulus and a response.

• Reinforcers; weakening
• Punishers; strengthening
• Satisfying events; strengthening 
• Unsatisfying events; strengthening

Danny’s skill at hitting a baseball gradually improves as his attempts produce more frequent & longer-distance hits. This is an example of:

• Shaping
• Stimulus generalization
• Extinction
• Stimulus discrimination

Micah really enjoyed his mom’s homemade apple pie, and he would have a huge slice every time she baked it. When he went to visit a friend, he tried a piece of apple pie that his friend’s mom had made. Unfortunately, it was terrible. Now Micah will only eat his mom’s apple pie; if anyone else offers him a piece of pie he politely turns them down. Micah’s behavior toward apple pie illustrates the concept of:

• Stimulus discrimination
• Stimulus generalization
• Noncontingent reinforcement
• Observational learning

Assuming that the reinforcer is the sound of a rattle, Johnny’s shaking of the rattle is reinforced according to which of the following schedules?

• Continuous reinforcement
• Fixed-interval
• Variable-interval
• Variable-ratio

Negative reinforcement _______ the rate of a response; punishment ______ the rate of a response.

• Increases; decreases
• Decreases; increases
• Decreases; decreases
• Increases; does not affect