3.8b

Which of the following is LEAST likely to be considered an important component of effective student instruction involving the use of interactive software?

• respondent behavior
• immediate reinforcement
• positive reinforcement
• shaping

B. F. Skinner believed that teaching machines could promote effective learning because they allow for both

• continuous reinforcement and latent learning.
• positive reinforcement and punishment.
• classical and operant conditioning.
• shaping and immediate reinforcement.

Golf instruction that reinforces short putts before attempting to reinforce long putts best illustrates the process of

• delayed reinforcement.
• shaping.
• modeling.
• discrimination.

Alex learned how to make 3-point basketball shots by successfully making very short shots before shooting from increasingly longer distances from the hoop. This learning strategy best illustrates the process of

• observational learning.
• delayed reinforcement.
• classical conditioning.
• shaping.

Tennis instruction that reinforces soft, short lobs over the net before attempting to reinforce hard, long, cross-court hits best illustrates the process of

• shaping.
• modeling.
• discrimination.
• insight learning.

Mr. Schlenker has improved worker productivity at his furniture manufacturing plant by occasionally sending notes of appreciation to his hard-working employees. Mr. Schlenker has improved productivity by means of

• latent learning.
• classical conditioning.
• modeling.
• operant conditioning.

Two years ago, the Castellane Manufacturing Company included its employees in a profit-sharing plan in which workers receive semi-annual bonuses based on the company's profits. Since this plan was initiated, worker productivity at Castellane has nearly doubled. This productivity increase is best explained in terms of

• observational learning.
• latent learning.
• operant conditioning.
• spontaneous recovery.

Compared with apartment renters whose landlords pay their electricity costs, those apartment renters who pay their own electric bills use less electricity. This most clearly illustrates that consumer electricity usage is influenced by

• operant conditioning.
• classical conditioning.
• observational learning.
• spontaneous recovery.

To modify your own behavior using operant conditioning principles, you should

• monitor and record the actual frequency of the operant behavior you wish to promote.
• formulate goals for behavior change that are a bit more ambitious than what you can actually accomplish.
• carefully observe and imitate the specific behaviors practiced by others who have successfully achieved your goals.
• systematically reinforce the operant behavior you wish to promote with delayed rather than immediate reinforcers.

Researchers trained pigs to pick up large wooden "dollars" and deposit them in a piggy bank. Instead of picking up the wooden discs, the pigs would drop them, push them with their snouts, and then pick them up to put them in the piggy bank. This behavior best illustrates

• instinctive drift.
• latent learning.
• spontaneous recovery.
• generalization.