Principles of Operant Conditioning and Reinforcement Quiz

B.F. Skinner is renowned for his work on operant conditioning principles.

Operant conditioning primarily deals with voluntary behaviors.

Negative reinforcement boosts behavior by removing an aversive stimulus.

Shaping is training a behavior by rewarding successive approximations.

Punishment reduces behavior by adding aversive stimuli.

Fixed ratio reinforcement occurs after a set number of responses.

Extinction refers to the cessation of reinforcing a previously reinforced behavior.

Extinction is the gradual disappearance of a learned behavior due to lack of reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement adds desirable stimuli, negative reinforcement removes aversive stimuli.

Generalization describes the tendency for a behavior to occur in similar situations to those where it was reinforced.

Giving a treat to a dog for every trick it performs is an example of continuous reinforcement.

Shaping refers to reinforcing behaviors closer to the desired behavior.

Extinction describes the cessation of a behavior due to lack of reinforcement.

Token economy refers to exchanging tokens for primary reinforcers.

Variable ratio reinforcement leads to the highest response rate.

Being scolded for misbehavior exemplifies positive punishment.

Money is an example of a secondary reinforcer.

Giving a timeout to a child for misbehavior is an example of negative punishment.

Variable ratio reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses.

Chaining is breaking a behavior into steps and reinforcing each step.

Getting a sticker for completing homework is an example of positive reinforcement.

Shaping is selectively reinforcing behaviors closer to the desired behavior.

Wearing earplugs to remove a loud noise is an example of negative reinforcement.

Fixed interval reinforcement occurs after a fixed time interval.

Discrimination is learning to respond differently to similar stimuli.