Applied Learning Theory Flashcards

A dog learns that a clicker sound predicts a treat. The clicker is functioning as which type of reinforcer?

Answer: Conditioned (secondary) reinforcer

A clicker gains reinforcing value through association with food, making it a conditioned or secondary reinforcer.

Which schedule of reinforcement produces behavior that is most resistant to extinction?

Answer: Variable ratio

Variable ratio schedules reward unpredictably, making the behavior persist strongly even when reinforcement stops.

A dog stops jumping when you turn your back and remove attention. This is an example of:

Answer: Negative punishment

Removing something the dog wants (attention) to decrease a behavior is negative punishment.

When a previously reinforced behavior temporarily increases in intensity after reinforcement stops, this is called:

Answer: An extinction burst

An extinction burst is a brief escalation of the behavior when expected reinforcement is withheld.

Shaping a complex behavior works by reinforcing:

Answer: Successive approximations toward the goal

Shaping reinforces gradually closer approximations until the full target behavior is achieved.

A dog generalizes a 'sit' cue learned in the kitchen to the park. This demonstrates:

Answer: Stimulus generalization

Responding to the cue in new contexts is stimulus generalization.

In counter-conditioning, the goal is to change the dog's:

Answer: Emotional response to a stimulus

Counter-conditioning pairs a feared or disliked stimulus with something positive to alter the emotional response.