12 Questions
How is the operant response different from the response elicited by stimuli in the text?
The operant response is not necessarily elicited by stimuli.
What term is used for behavior that is naturally reinforced when it resembles behavior observed in others?
Imitation
Why is attention evoked by moving an object around not the same as the attention the student eventually learns to pay?
The student learns to pay attention through different stimuli.
How does a teacher usually evoke behavior to be reinforced in a different way according to the text?
By reinforcing a student's behavior resembling that of a model
What is one purpose of parents teaching babies to wave or clap hands, as mentioned in the text?
To set up an imitative repertoire
What type of behavior do dancing instructors often teach to evoke complex steps?
An imitative repertoire
What is the primary purpose of reinforcement in shaping behavior?
To strengthen the desired behavior once it occurs
Why is simply waiting for the desired behavior to occur considered inefficient?
Both A and B
Which of the following is an example of physically forcing behavior?
Squeezing a child's hand to form letters
What is the purpose of making running off a groove or pattern aversive?
To reinforce the desired behavior of staying within the pattern
What is the purpose of using stimuli that evoke a response?
To elicit the response to be reinforced
In the experiment by Konorski and Miller, what was the purpose of shocking the dog's foot?
To evoke the leg flexion behavior
Study Notes
Strengthening Terminal Behavior
- When terminal behavior is specified, arrangements must be made to strengthen it through reinforcement.
- Simply waiting for the behavior to occur is inefficient and sometimes useless.
Shaping Behavior by Progressive Approximation
- Shaping behavior by progressive approximation can be tedious.
Physical Force Method
- Behavior can be physically forced, such as a child's hand being squeezed to form letters.
- This method is aversive and not an effective way to form letters.
Using Stimuli to Elicit Response
- Using stimuli that elicit or evoke the response to be reinforced is an alternative method.
- In an experiment, a dog's foot was shocked, and the resulting flexion of the leg was reinforced with food, leading to an operant response.
- Similar practice includes smearing food on a lever for a rat to press or fastening a grain of corn to a key for a pigeon to peck.
Priming and Imitation
- Teachers often use a kind of stimulus called a prime to evoke behavior to be reinforced.
- Imitation is a familiar example of primed behavior, where a person moves as they have just seen someone else move.
- Imitative repertoire is acquired through reinforcement contingencies in a social environment.
- The teacher can use the imitative repertoire, reinforcing a student when their behavior resembles that of a model, often the teacher themselves.
Test your knowledge on reinforcing terminal behavior, shaping behavior through progressive approximation, and alternative methods to solve the 'problem of the first instance' in behavioral psychology.
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