Shelly had trained her dog that whenever it saw a photo of the cat next door, it would receive a treat. Through multiple pairings of the photo and the treat, the dog came to salivate when the photo alone was presented. Shelly then extinguished the salivation behavior by presenting the photo but withholding the treat. She was surprised to find that, a week later, when she happened to hold up the photo of the cat, her dog started to salivate. What is going on here?

Roland learned about classical conditioning in his psychology class, and he was eager to use it to train his dog. He presented a tasty morsel, rang a bell, then watched the animal drool as it ate. He repeated this multiple times: food, bell, response. Then he rang the bell all by itself—and nothing happened. No drooling, no response, just an indifferent look from a bored dog. Why had no learning taken place?

Rosie wants to buy a new microwave oven. She looks at two models in the same store. Both models have identical features. Both models suit her needs. But one model has a sticker of a smiley face on it, whereas the other one does not. Rosie decides to buy the stickered microwave. According to the principles of classical conditioning, why is that?

Angelo is afraid of heights. A friend suggests that Angelo should take a ride in an elevator to the top floor of a downtown high-rise while listening to his favorite soothing music through headphones. Angelo finds the courage to do so, then does it again several more times. Eventually he finds that his fear of heights has greatly diminished. What classical-conditioning principle has taken place?

Reggie likes to eat chicken fingers dipped in honey mustard sauce. One night, just after eating at Chubby’s Chicken Shack, he becomes painfully ill with stomach cramps and nausea due to the flu virus that had been percolating in his body the past few days. When his friends invite him back to Chubby’s in a month, Reggie swiftly declines. What principle of classical conditioning is at work in Reggie’s reaction?

Maria’s parents have really bad luck and show really poor planning. Each time they take Maria to the doctor for her immunizations, they dress her in the same red sweater. Without fail, Maria has her red sweater on when she gets an injection from the doctor. One day her mother pulled the sweater out of the closet and asked, “Would you like to wear this today, honey?” and could not understand why Maria burst into tears. Can you explain why?

Cats trapped in a puzzle box will at first make many random movements to try to get out, yet only one behavior trips the latch that opens the door that sets them free. Over time, random behaviors that do not produce that outcome will become less frequent, and the one behavior that does produce that outcome will become more frequent. In fact, eventually a cat put in such a box will immediately show that one effective behavior over and over. According to the principles of operant conditioning, why does this happen?

Praise, money, good grades, compliments, and applause are all examples of __________.

When trying to teach an animal to do something using operant conditioning, sometimes the animal will revert to performing behaviors that are characteristic of its species. This phenomenon is known as __________.

What common misconception do many people hold about B. F. Skinner?

When her child misbehaves, Honjoo uses several strategies to modify his behavior, such as placing him in time-out, redirecting him to another behavior, or ignoring the undesired behavior and reinforcing desired ones. She does not use physical punishment, because Honjoo knows that __________.

morning, she gives each of them a Good Arriver sticker. When she asks them to open their picture books, she awards every student a Bravo Bookworm badge whether they have a book or not. And before the students go out to play at recess, they all get Righteous Runner medals to hang around their necks. What would you predict about Ms. Cebe’s students’ intrinsic motivation to learn and achieve throughout the school year?

Roddy spent his childhood watching his father fix cars. Roddy’s father never actually let Roddy help, but he did agree to perch Roddy in a nearby chair so he could see what was going on. As a young adult, when Roddy purchased his first car, he was able to fix and maintain every aspect of it. What is going on here?

When Wanda rides in the car with her mother, Gladys, she notices that each time her mom has to slam on the brakes, she slaps the steering wheel and yells, “You dirty creep!” A few months later, Gladys notices that while Wanda is pedaling along in her toy pushcar and her brother cuts her off, Wanda slaps the steering wheel and yells, “You dirty creep!” at her brother. Gladys is horrified, but you are not; what is going on with Wanda?