Operant Conditioning

Rex, Liz's dog, runs towards Liz whenever he hears the electric tin opener being used.

Providing food to Rex could be seen as positive reinforcement because it would add a/n ​ (a)   stimulus that ​ (b)   the likelihood of the behaviour of running towards Liz at the sound of the electric tin opener.

Yelling at Rex could be seen as positive punishment because it wouId add a/n ​ (c)   stimulus that ​ (d)   the likelihood of the behaviour of running towards Liz at the sound of the electric tin opener.

• aversive
• decreases
• pleasant
• increases
• neutral
• maintains

Rex, Liz's dog, runs towards Liz whenever he hears the electric tin opener being used. The role of the learner (Rex) in this situation is relatively ________ and the nature of his response is _________.

• active; reflexive

• passive; voluntary

• passive; reflexive

• active; voluntary

Shakira has caught the flu. Gerard gives Shakira a call to ask her how she is going. Shakira’s phone rings, she picks up, and she talks with Gerard.

Which of the following is the antecedent in this scenario for Shakira?

• Gerald's phone call

• Shakira's phone ringing

• Shakira picking up the phone

• Shakira talking with Gerald

Ken drinks some water when he begins to feel a headache. This results in his headache going away. Which of the following best describes the three-phase model of conditioning for Ken?

The antecedent is ​ (a)   ; the behaviour is ​ (b)   ; the consequence is ​ (c)   . This is ​ (d)   which ​ (e)   the likelihood of repeating the behaviour in the future.

• beginning to feel a headache
• drinking water
• the headache going away
• negative reinforcement
• increases
• positive reinforcement
• negative punishment
• positive punishment
• decreases

Kitty the cat is fed her meal each evening next to the kitchen bench. Harry first uses the can opener to open the tin of cat food on top of the bench, while Kitty rubs up against his legs, purring with excitement.

Kitty the cat has now started to jump onto the kitchen bench and steal food. Whenever Harry gets home from work and notices that food is missing from during the day, he yells and locks Kitty out of the kitchen. This strategy is _____ to be successful in teaching Kitty not to steal food, because _____.

• likely; Kitty's inappropriate behaviour is being negatively reinforced

• likely; Kitty's inappropriate behaviour is being positively reinforced

• unlikely; a punisher must precede the unwanted behaviour

• unlikely; a punisher should come very soon after the unwanted behaviour

Label the diagram illustrating the four different types of consequences

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j

pleasant stimulus

increase behaviour

decrease behaviour

positive punishment

Negative punishment

add

Positive reinforcement

Negative reinforcement

remove

pleasant reward

Hayley's weekly chores including making her bed each morning and taking out the binds on bin night. If she completes all chores, she receives pocket money. If she doesn't complete the chores, then she doesn't get to stay up late on the weekend. In terms of reinforcement and the punishment, the pocket money is ______ and therefore will likely _____ Hayley's behaviour of completing her chores each week.

• negative reinforcement; increase

• positive reinforcement; increase

• negative punishment; decrease

• positive reinforcement; decrease

For punishment to be effective it must

• occur at any time after a response is made

• be given each time the undesirable response occurs

• be extremely severe

• be given only once

When Mrs Osborne asks her class a question and a student answers correctly, she gives that student a chocolate frog. What type of consequence is provided by Mrs Osborne?

• negative reinforcement

• positive punishment

• positive reinforcement

• negative punishment

Which statement about positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement is correct?

• positive reinforcement strengthens a response; negative reinforcement weakens a response

• positive reinforcement makes it less likely for a response to be repeated; negative reinforcement makes it more likely for a response to be repeated

• positive reinforcement involves applying something pleasant in order to strengthen a response; negative reinforcement involves removing something unpleasant in order to strengthen a response

• positive reinforcement involves removing something unpleasant in order to strengthen a response; negative reinforcement involves applying something pleasant in order to strengthen a response