STUDY GUIDE FOR TEST 2

TERMS TO KNOW:

Law of Effect                                            Puzzle Box Experiments                                      Superstition

Shaping                                              Contingency                                                              Mechanical Strengthening of R-Sr

Guthrie                                                   shaping                                                              successive approximations

reinforcement                                      punishment                                                              positive reinforcement

negative reinforcement                      positive punishment                                              negative punishment

parameters of reinforcement              parameters of punishment                                      acquisition

extinction in OC vs CC                      transient increase                                                      spontaenous recovery

extinction-induced aggression              rate of reinforcement                                              size of reinforcers

delay of reinforcement                              quality of reinforcement                                              percent reinforcers contingent

deprivation of reinforcers                           context of reinforcers                                              behavioral contrast

generalization                                      discrimination                                                      conditioned reinforcement

primary reinforcers                              tangible reinforcers                                              token systems

point systems                                      contingencies                                                      feedback

competency                                      schedules of reinforcement                                      continuous reinforcement

partial reinforcement                              fixed ratio schedule                                              variable ratio schedule

fixed interval schedule                              variable ratio schedule                                              differential reinforcement sched.'s

DRH                                                      DRL                                                                      DRO

Concurrent schedules                              Multiple Schedules                                              Mixed Schedules

Conjunctive Schedules                      2 theories of ext and PRF                                      discrimination hypothesis

general decrement hypothesis              Cause of FR postSr pause                                      fatigue hypothesis

remaining responses hypothesis              satiation hypothesis                                              VR vs VI responding

molar theories                                       Molecular theories                                                      IRT

Avoidance as a neg Sr                      Discriminated avoidance                                      sidman avoidance

Herrnstein and Hineline proc.              Characteristics of Neg Sr Behav.                              1-way shuttle vs 2-way shuttles

1-factor theory of avoidance                      2-factor theory of avoidance                                      SSDR’s

Punishment                                      Negative law of effect                                              critique of negative law of effect

Thorndikes’ Spanish Vocab Test              Skinner’s bar-slap test                                              Problems with Skinner’s interp.

Noncontingent theory of Punish              Incompatible response hypothesis                              Incomp. emotion resp. hypothesis

contingent theory of punish                      avoidance theories of punish                                      critique of punishment

Movie: Lovaas Film                               Learned helplessness                                              charact's of learned helplessness

innoculation against LH                      treatment of LH                                                      EXT   vs punish. in applied settings

time-out                                              uses of positive punishment                                      side effects of punishment

side effects of negative punish.              Overcorrection                                                      ethical guidelines: use of punish.

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. State the law of effect. How does this differ from classical conditioning?

2. Define, briefly describe and give an example of each of the following: a) positive reinforcement; b) negative reinforcement; c) positive punishment; d) negative punishment.

3. Compare and contrast the parameters of reinforcement and punishment.

4. Compare and contrast continuous reinforcement with partial reinforcement schedules. Describe the four basic Partial reinforcement schedules. Which type of schedule produces and supports the most amount of responding (ie the fastest response rate)?

5. Define and give an example of each of the following: DRH, DRL and DRO. Describe circumstances under which each might be used.

6. Define extinction and describe the three phenomena which usually occur with extinction. Distinguish between the discrimination hypothesis and the generalized decrement hypothesis of extinction. Which, if any, is more accurate?

7. Define negative reinforcement and describe the characteristics of negatively reinforced behavior. Distinguish between 1 and 2 factor theory. Which is better supported by data? Use evidence from the book and class to support your answer.

8. For each of the following examples, identify the type of reinforcer or punishment schedule being used. Describe the pattern of behavior you would expect from such a schedule.

    a) rate at which you continue to put in quarters for a slot machine payoff

    b) studying behavior for tests scheduled 4 weeks apart

    c) rate of room cleaning given surprise inspections by the sergeant that occur on the average of 1 time per week

    d) picking rate when your pay is 69 cents per flat of strawberries picked

9. Define learned helplessness and briefly describe Seligman's learned helplessness experiment. What are the characteristics and symptoms of learned helplessness? Using an example from your own life, describe how learned helplessness develops and is manifested in your behavior.

10. For each of the following examples, identify whether positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment or extinction is being implemented. Identify the response(s), the consequence(s) and discuss briefly how effectively the behavior(s) will be maintained or reduced.

    a. A child whines for a candy bar and Mom gives the child the candy bar.

    b. Junior is learning to sleep through the night. Mom and Dad ignore the crying after checking to make sure nothing is wrong.

    c. Every time my cat gets on the counter I spray her with the water gun.

    d. Mrs. Jones' sixth graders are allowed to play the computer math games if they complete their math assignment with 90%              accuracy within the allotted time.

    e. Jon must put 10 cents into the swearing fund every time he is caught swearing.

11. Describe the three major types of outcomes of the children received in the Lovaas film. What treatment did the children receive, and how did it shape their behavior?

12. Neither Thorndike nor Skinner were firm believers in the use of punishment. Given their own personal bias, they each made mistakes in interpreting their punishment data. Describe Thorndike's Spanish Vocabulary test, and Skinners's barslap experiment. What were the problems with each study, and how were Thorndike and Skinners' analyses incorrect?