Study Questions - Chapter 3
Behavior Analysis and Learning, Fourth Edition is an essential textbook covering the basic principles in the field of behavior analysis and learned behaviors, as pioneered by B. F. Skinner.
- Give examples of phylogenetic behavior, including at least one human illustration. (p. 41)
- Distinguish between a fixed action pattern (FAP) and a reaction chain. (p. 42)
- Outline the three primary laws of the reflex. (p. 44)
- Define habituation, give an example of it, and describe its general characteristics. (pp. 44-45)
- Describe respondent conditioning, using the example of the word lemon. (pp. 46-47)
- Use the terms unconditioned stimulus (US); unconditioned response (R); reflex, conditioned stimulus (CS); conditioned response (CR); and respondent conditioning. (p. 46) Describe the phylogenetic origins and ontogenetic advantages of respondent conditioning. (pp. 46-47)
- Summarize the acquisition curve for the respondent conditioning of salivation to a light. What determines the asymptote of the curve? (p. 47)
- Show that the US-UR relationship is not the same as the CS-CR relationship, referring to the laws of intensity magnitude and latency. (p. 48)
- Define respondent extinction as a procedure and as a behavioral process. (p. 48)
- What is spontaneous recovery of respondent behavior? Compare Pavlov's internal inhibition account of spontaneous recovery with the behavioral account based on context. (p. 49)
- Define respondent generalization and discuss generalization in an experiment. (pp. 49-50)
- Summarize what is known about generalization gradients based on respondent conditioning. (p. 50) How is respondent generalization an adaptive feature of the behavior of organisms? (p. 50)
- Give a definition of respondent discrimination and describe a procedure to produce it. (p. 50) How is respondent discrimination an adaptive feature of the behavior of organisms? (p. 51)
- Compare and contrast delayed, simultaneous, trace, and backward conditioning in terms of procedures and behavioral effects. (pp. 51-52)
- Cite evidence that backward conditioning can occur when the CS is biologically relevant. (p. 52) What does this evidence mean for a conditioning view that requires the CS to predict (or provide information about) the US? (pp. 52-53)
- Describe second-order respondent conditioning. Why is second-order conditioning important? (p. 53)
- ON THE APPLIED SIDE: Describe the counteractive effects of the CS in drug administration. Discuss homeostasis and the regulation of prepatory responses by conditioned stimuli during drug administration. Summarize the research on drug tolerance and overdose. Draw out the implications of context for the CS-CR relationship. What is conditioned immunosuppression and how does conditioned enhancement of the immune system relate to the placebo effect? (pp. 53-56)
- ADVANCED SECTION: Define compound stimuli. How does respondent conditioning of compound stimuli extend the principles of respondent behavior to everyday settings, such as McDonald's restaurant. (pp. 56-57)
- Provide a definition and give an example of overshadowing, blocking, and sensory preconditioning. (pp. 57-58)
- What is conditioned suppression and how is it used to demonstrate the process of blocking? (p. 57)
- Outline the basics of the Rescorla-Wagner model. Be able to use the terms associative strength, maximum associative strength, and change in associative strength in your discussion of the model. (pp. 58-59)
- Be able to write the Rescorla-Wagner equation and explain the terms. How does the Rescorla-Wagner equation account for respondent acquisition? Provide an account of blocking using the Rescorla-Wagner equation. Apply the Rescorla-Wagner equation to the process of respondent extinction. Explain, using a graph, how conditioned inhibition is predicted by the Rescorla-Wagner equation (or model). (pp. 59-61)