Conditioning trivia
Conditioning Mini Quiz
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
Used to teach a pet a new behavior, what process involves rewarding small steps toward a final goal?
Shaping relies on successive approximations, a technique B. F. Skinner famously used to teach pigeons to play ping-pong by rewarding each small step toward the goal.
Studied by Ivan Pavlov, what type of learning occurs when a neutral stimulus like a bell triggers a reflex?
Classical conditioning was discovered accidentally while Pavlov was studying the digestive system of dogs. He won the 1904 Nobel Prize for his work on digestion.
Associated with the Skinner box, what type of learning uses rewards to change a voluntary behavior?
Slot machines use a variable ratio reinforcement schedule, an operant conditioning principle that rewards an unpredictable number of responses to encourage repetitive play.
To encourage a behavior, what term describes the removal of something unpleasant after an action is performed?
The term negative in this context refers to the removal of a stimulus. Unlike punishment, negative reinforcement always increases a behavior by taking away something unpleasant.
Also the name for the death of a species, what term describes the loss of a response when it is no longer reinforced?
While biological extinction marks the end of a species, extinction in psychology is not always permanent, as a response can reappear through spontaneous recovery.
In the "Little Albert" study, researchers showed that what powerful emotion could be conditioned toward white rats?
The controversial "Little Albert" experiment demonstrated that emotional responses like fear could be conditioned in humans, not just animals.
When a learned habit is no longer rewarded and starts to fade away, what term describes this process?
In psychology, extinction doesn't mean a behavior is gone forever; it can confusingly reappear later through a phenomenon called "spontaneous recovery."
Used in gambling, what schedule gives rewards after a random number of hits?
Variable-ratio schedules are the most resistant to extinction, explaining why slot machines are so addictive—the next win could always be the one.
Developed by B.F. Skinner, what type of learning uses rewards and punishments to change the way animals act?
While classical conditioning pairs two stimuli, Skinner’s operant conditioning focuses on the relationship between a voluntary behavior and its consequences.