Operant Conditioning

What did B.F. Skinner consider the most effective measure of response strength?

• Rate of response

• Intensity of response

• Duration of response

• Frequency of response

What behavior does the Skinner Box help to quantify?

• Social behavior

• Sleeping patterns

• Lever pressing or key pecking

• Vocalizations

What does negative reinforcement involve?

• Applying a stimulus to increase desirable behavior

• Removing a stimulus to increase desirable behavior

• Applying a stimulus to decrease undesirable behavior

• Removing a stimulus to decrease undesirable behavior

What are primary reinforcers?

• Stimuli that need to be learned

• Stimuli that occur naturally and satisfy basic survival needs

• Stimuli that are less susceptible to satiation

• Stimuli that are always monetary

Which type of reinforcer is more susceptible to satiation?

• Secondary reinforcers

• Primary reinforcers

• Conditioned reinforcers

• Neutral reinforcers

What are secondary reinforcers also known as?

• Unconditioned reinforcers

• Conditioned reinforcers

• Natural reinforcers

• Biological reinforcers

What is a characteristic of secondary reinforcers?

• They occur naturally

• They need to be learned

• They satisfy basic survival needs

• They are not susceptible to satiation

What is a common characteristic of secondary reinforcers?

• They are natural stimuli

• They need to be paired with a primary reinforcer

• They satisfy basic survival needs

• They are not learned

Which of the following best describes the Law of Effect?

• Behaviors that are reinforced will increase in frequency, while behaviors that are punished will decrease.

• Learning occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together.

• A behavior must have a consequence to be learned.

• Responses followed by reinforcement will gradually disappear over time.

What is the key difference between positive and negative reinforcement?

• Positive reinforcement weakens behavior, while negative reinforcement strengthens it.

• Positive reinforcement adds a stimulus, while negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus.

• Positive reinforcement involves punishment, while negative reinforcement involves extinction.

• Positive reinforcement applies only to animals, while negative reinforcement applies to humans.