L&M CH. 6

Thorndike referred to the principle of strengthening a behavior by its consequences as __________; in modern terminology, this is called.

In photographing cats in the puzzle box, Guthrie and Horton found that the behaviors of an individual cat were ____________ from trial to trial, but they were _________ from cat to cat.

Superstitious behaviors are more likely to occur when an individual has _________ of the reinforcer.

When using food to shape behavior of a rat, the sound of the food dispenser is a ____________, and the food dispenser is a _________, and the food itself is a _________.

Thorndike's research with the puzzle box is an example of a ________ procedure, whereas Skinner's research used a __________ procedure.

The three parts of a three-term contingency are the _________, the ____________, and the _________.

Each stimulus in the middle of a response chain serves as a _________ for the previous response and as a __________ for the next response.

The procedure in which pigeons start to peck at a lighted response key when it precedes food deliveries is called ___________.

The Brelands used the term instinctive drift to refer to cases where an animal stopped performing _________ behaviors and started performing ___________ behaviors as its training progressed.

Another name for Thorndike's Law of Effect is: (This law is based upon reinforcement)

Which of the following terms refer to the method of successive approximation to a goal? (A method used in behavior modification)
A. Shaping
B. Backward Chaining
C. Resurgence
D. Stimulus Control

Which of the following was an apparatus used to establish the Law of Effect by Thorndike? (Similar to the Skinner Box)
A. The Columbia Obstruction Box
B. The Puzzle Box
C. The Water Maze
D. The Shuttle Box

A previously neutral stimulus that has acquired the capacity to strengthen responses because that stimulus has been repeatedly paired with food is called: (Type of reinforce)

In operant conditioning, when an animal displays innate behaviors associated with a given reinforcer, even though these behaviors are not reinforced, this is called: (Type of biological constraint of operant conditioning)

Which of the following reflects the idea that different reinforcers evoke different systems or collections of behaviors? (Way to explain autoshaping behavior)
A. Sign Tracking
B. Instinctive Drift
C. Behavior – System Analysis
D. Superstitious behavior

Resurgence is the reappearance of a previously reinforced response that occurs when a more recently reinforced response is extinguished. (Similar to spontaneous recovery)
True False

Another name for operant conditioning is instrumental conditioning. (The subject's behavior is instrumental in obtaining the reinforce)
True False

The best example of Skinner's concept of generalized reinforcer is money. (Refers to a large class of primary reinforcers)
True False

Skinner referred to ____ behaviors as those that occur frequently early in the interval between reinforcers. (Examples include pecking towards the floor or moving along the front wall of the Skinner box.)

A ____ reinforcer is a stimulus that naturally strengthens any response it follows. (Critical component for shaping)

In ____ chaining, the teacher starts by reinforcing the first response of the chain, then gradually adds the second response, and so on. (Often used to train animals for sequence behaviors)

The procedure in which pigeons start to peck at a lighted response key when it precedes food deliveries is called ______: (Behavior that occurs without reinforcement)

In instrumental conditioning, procedures that make use of lever pressing or similar responses are called:

A sequence of behaviors that must occur in a specific order, with the primary reinforcer being delivered after the final response of the sequence.

The broad topic of how stimuli that precede a behavior can control the occurrence of that behavior.

The method of successive approximation.

If a response is followed by a reinforcer, the frequency of that response will increase.

The subject's behavior is instrumental in obtaining the reinforcer.

A previously neutral stimulus that has acquired the capacity to strengthen responses due to its repeated pairing with a primary reinforcer.

A reinforcer is anything that

Thorndike demonstrated his principle of

Superstitious behavior is the result of

Successive approximation or shaping has many applications specifically with regard to

Skinner used the term operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning to

Three components of operant conditioning are:

Like classical conditioning, the reappearance of a previously reinforced response that occurs when a more recently reinforced response is extinguished is called

A response chain consists of

The phenomenon of autoshaping is used to

puzzle box

Cats could escape by making a response (e.g., pulling on a string)

Measure of performance was escape latency
o 1st time luck, 11th time all did it

Thorndike’s version of the principle of reinforcement, which states that responses that are followed by pleasant or satisfying stimuli will be strengthened and will occur more often in the future.
o Positive Reinforcement

This principle states that there is a parallel between the _____ of the camera and the ________ in the experiments by ________

The specific bodily position and the muscle movements occurring at the moment of reinforcement will have a

Skinner’s (1948) superstition experiment

Whatever behavior happened to be occurring when the reinforcer was delivered was strengthened.

A behavior that occurs because, by accident or coincidence, it has previously been followed by a reinforcer.

common among athletes

Superstitions that are widely held are probably due to

Some superstitions were originally

A procedure for teaching new behavior in which closer and closer approximations to the desired behavior are reinforced.

pressing in a rat

Hypothetical distribution of height of rat’s head

Shaping behaviors in the

Shaping as a ______ in behavior modification (e.g, teach self-care skills to the mentally disabled)

Different from the discrete trial procedure used by Thorndike; The operant response can occur at any time, and the operant response can occur repeatedly for as long as the subject remains in the skinner box.

Response rate

According to Skinner, there are ___________

1) the context in which the response occur
- relation b/w

2) the response itself
- lever pressing

3) the reinforcer
- reinforcer

This is the reappearance of a previously reinforced response that occurs when a more recently reinforced response is extinguished

stimulus that naturally strengthens any response it follow (e.g., food, water, comfort)

This reinforcer acts as a surrogate for the primary reinforcer

A class of conditioned reinforcers that are associated with a number of different primary reinforcer
Example: money

learning to respond to one stimulus but not another

a stimulus that indicates whether or not responding will lead to reinforcement

Extinction discrimination and generalization =

A sequence of behaviors that must occur in a specific order, with the primary reinforcer being delivered only after the final response of the sequence

Total task method, which is most effective?

Operant conditioning 3 ways

With extensive experience, the subject’s performance drifts away from the reinforced behaviors toward instinctive behaviors that occur when the animal is seeking the reinforcer.

Experiment by Brown and Jenkins (1968); Similarity with superstitious behavior