I85PREP
⌘ K
CATA NCE study materials
CATA NCE study resources

CATA NCE practice questions

One question at a time. Build your CATA NCE understanding.

First 50 of 200 questions. Each one lists the choices, the correct answer, and an explanation. The checker at the top of this page saves progress in this browser when it is available.

Continue in the practice tool above to load more questions, 50 at a time.

Question 1Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In classical conditioning, what term describes the naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus before any training has taken place?

  1. Neutral stimulus
  2. Conditioned response
  3. Conditioned stimulus
  4. Unconditioned response Correct answer.

Explanation

An unconditioned response is the unlearned, automatic reaction elicited by an unconditioned stimulus, such as salivation when food is placed in a dog's mouth. It requires no prior pairing of stimuli and serves as the baseline against which learned responses are compared.

Question 2Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A dog salivates to a tone that has been paired with food. The researcher then presents the tone repeatedly without food until salivation fades. What is this procedure called?

  1. Spontaneous recovery
  2. Higher-order conditioning
  3. Extinction Correct answer.
  4. Generalization

Explanation

Extinction is the procedure of repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus, which weakens and eventually suppresses the conditioned response. The learned association is not erased outright but is actively inhibited, which is why the response can return later.

Question 3Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

According to Thorndike's law of effect, which outcome strengthens a behavior?

  1. Repeated exposure to the stimulus that preceded it
  2. A satisfying consequence that follows it Correct answer.
  3. An unpleasant consequence that follows it
  4. Punishment delivered before it occurs

Explanation

Thorndike proposed that responses followed by satisfying consequences become more strongly connected to the situation, while those followed by discomfort are weakened. This principle is the historical foundation of operant conditioning and emphasizes consequences rather than antecedent stimuli.

Question 4Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A trainer gives a parrot a treat every time it says a new word, and the parrot begins saying new words frequently. Which contingency is operating?

  1. Negative reinforcement
  2. Positive punishment
  3. Positive reinforcement Correct answer.
  4. Response cost

Explanation

Positive reinforcement occurs when a desirable stimulus is added following a behavior, increasing the future likelihood of that behavior. Here the treat is added contingent on the vocalization, and the behavior increases, matching the definition exactly.

Question 5Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which schedule of reinforcement typically produces the highest and most consistent rate of responding with brief post-reinforcement pauses?

  1. Variable ratio Correct answer.
  2. Fixed interval
  3. Fixed ratio
  4. Variable interval

Explanation

Variable ratio schedules deliver reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses, which generates high, steady response rates that are highly resistant to extinction. The unpredictability discourages pausing, unlike fixed schedules that create predictable break points.

Question 6Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In Pavlovian conditioning, presenting the conditioned stimulus several times alone before pairing it with the unconditioned stimulus can slow later conditioning. This phenomenon is known as:

  1. Contingency degradation
  2. Blocking
  3. Latent inhibition Correct answer.
  4. Overshadowing

Explanation

Latent inhibition, also called the conditioned stimulus pre-exposure effect, occurs when repeated presentation of a stimulus without consequence makes it harder to condition to that stimulus later. The pre-exposure reduces attention to or associability of the cue, slowing acquisition.

Question 7Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A rat learns to press a lever for food. Later, the food is delivered independently of lever pressing, and pressing declines. This outcome illustrates the importance of which factor?

  1. Stimulus salience
  2. Response effort
  3. Contiguity between response and outcome
  4. Contingency between response and outcome Correct answer.

Explanation

Contingency refers to the degree to which the outcome depends on the response; when the outcome occurs just as often without the response, the contingency weakens and instrumental behavior declines. Contiguity alone, or mere temporal closeness, cannot sustain responding when the outcome is non-contingent.

Question 8Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which statement best describes the difference between habituation and sensory adaptation?

  1. Habituation involves receptor fatigue, whereas sensory adaptation involves memory
  2. Habituation is a learned response decrement to a repeated stimulus, whereas sensory adaptation is a change in receptor sensitivity Correct answer.
  3. Both are forms of associative learning requiring paired stimuli
  4. Habituation occurs only in invertebrates, whereas sensory adaptation occurs only in vertebrates

Explanation

Habituation is a relatively enduring decrease in responding to a repeated or prolonged stimulus and is considered a simple form of learning that depends on the nervous system's plasticity. Sensory adaptation, by contrast, is a peripheral change in receptor responsiveness, such as reduced firing of photoreceptors under constant light.

Question 9Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A pigeon is trained to peck a key for food. It is then placed in an operant chamber and given a small amount of free food before the session. This procedure is likely to:

  1. Decrease key pecking because the food is already present Correct answer.
  2. Have no effect on key pecking
  3. Eliminate the key-peck response permanently
  4. Increase key pecking because food is available

Explanation

This procedure is a reinforcer devaluation or satiation manipulation: pre-feeding reduces the value of the food, which typically reduces instrumental responding maintained by that food. The effect demonstrates that operant behavior is sensitive to the current value of its outcome rather than being purely habitual.

Question 10Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which of the following is the best example of negative reinforcement?

  1. A student loses recess time for talking in class
  2. A child receives a sticker for completing homework
  3. A dog is scolded for jumping on visitors
  4. A person takes aspirin and their headache goes away, increasing future aspirin use Correct answer.

Explanation

Negative reinforcement increases behavior because a response removes or terminates an aversive stimulus, as when taking aspirin relieves a headache and makes aspirin use more likely in the future. The defining feature is that something aversive is subtracted and the behavior strengthens.

Question 11Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In a matching-to-sample procedure, a pigeon must choose the comparison stimulus that matches the sample. Which process does this task primarily assess?

  1. Discrimination learning and stimulus control Correct answer.
  2. Instinctive drift
  3. Latent learning
  4. Conditioned taste aversion

Explanation

Matching-to-sample requires the animal to discriminate among comparison stimuli and respond under the control of the sample stimulus, so it indexes discrimination learning and stimulus control. Accurate performance shows that the sample has acquired discriminative control over choice behavior.

Question 12Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A rat receives a reward for turning left in a maze with a black curtain, and no reward for turning left with a white curtain. Over time, the rat turns left only when the black curtain is present. The black curtain functions as a:

  1. Conditioned reinforcer
  2. Discriminative stimulus Correct answer.
  3. Punisher
  4. Unconditioned stimulus

Explanation

A discriminative stimulus signals that a particular response will be reinforced, allowing the organism to emit the behavior only in the presence of that cue. The black curtain sets the occasion for reinforcement of left turns, which is the defining role of a discriminative stimulus.

Question 13Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which finding from Rescorla's experiments best supports the view that contingency, rather than simple pairing, is critical for classical conditioning?

  1. Conditioning is weaker when the unconditioned stimulus occurs frequently without the conditioned stimulus Correct answer.
  2. Conditioning is stronger when the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are closer in time
  3. Conditioning is stronger when the conditioned stimulus is more salient
  4. Conditioning is weaker when the animal is pre-exposed to the conditioned stimulus

Explanation

Rescorla showed that a conditioned stimulus paired with an unconditioned stimulus does not condition well if the unconditioned stimulus also occurs frequently in the absence of the conditioned stimulus. This demonstrates that the predictive relationship, or contingency, matters more than mere co-occurrence.

Question 14Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Kamin's blocking effect is best explained by which principle?

  1. A cue only acquires associative strength when the outcome is surprising or unpredicted Correct answer.
  2. Animals learn only when food is used as a reinforcer
  3. Cues compete for attention based on their physical intensity
  4. Responses are strengthened by any contiguous event

Explanation

Blocking occurs when a novel cue is added to an already predictive cue and fails to acquire associative strength because the outcome is fully predicted by the existing cue. This supports the idea that learning depends on prediction error: surprise is necessary for new conditioning to occur.

Question 15Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

An animal receives reinforcement for pecking a key when a light is on, but never when the light is off. The light is best described as:

  1. A punisher
  2. An unconditioned stimulus
  3. A discriminative stimulus Correct answer.
  4. A conditioned inhibitor

Explanation

A discriminative stimulus is a cue that signals the availability of reinforcement for a particular response, so the animal responds more in its presence. Here the light sets the occasion for reinforcement of pecking, which is the textbook definition of a discriminative stimulus.

Question 16Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which phenomenon describes the reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of rest following extinction?

  1. Spontaneous recovery Correct answer.
  2. Renewal
  3. Disinhibition
  4. Reinstatement

Explanation

Spontaneous recovery is the return of a conditioned response after extinction when a rest interval elapses before the next test. It shows that extinction suppresses the original learning rather than erasing it, since the response can return without further training.

Question 17Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A child learns to say 'dog' for a Labrador and then also says 'dog' for a beagle. This is an example of:

  1. Extinction
  2. Stimulus generalization Correct answer.
  3. Blocking
  4. Stimulus discrimination

Explanation

Stimulus generalization occurs when a response conditioned to one stimulus is also emitted to other similar stimuli, as when a label learned for one breed extends to a similar breed. The more similar the new stimulus is to the original, the stronger the generalized response tends to be.

Question 18Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A rat receives food for pressing a lever on a fixed ratio 10 schedule. Which pattern of responding should be expected between reinforcements?

  1. A gradually increasing rate followed by a pause before reinforcement
  2. A low rate with a scalloped pattern tied to the passage of time
  3. A steady, moderate rate with no pauses
  4. A pause after reinforcement followed by a high, steady rate until the next reinforcer Correct answer.

Explanation

Fixed ratio schedules produce a break-and-run pattern: a post-reinforcement pause followed by a relatively constant high rate of responding as the ratio requirement is completed. The pause tends to lengthen as the ratio value increases, reflecting the effort required for the next reinforcer.

Question 19Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which of the following best describes a conditioned reinforcer?

  1. A novel stimulus that elicits an orienting reflex
  2. A shock that reduces a response
  3. Food given to a hungry animal after deprivation
  4. A clicker that has been paired with food and now strengthens behavior Correct answer.

Explanation

A conditioned reinforcer is a previously neutral stimulus that acquires reinforcing properties through association with a primary reinforcer such as food. Because it has been paired with food, the clicker can strengthen behavior even before food is delivered.

Question 20Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In a delayed matching-to-sample task, an animal must choose the comparison stimulus that was presented as the sample earlier in the trial. Increasing the delay between sample and comparison is likely to:

  1. Improve accuracy because the animal has more time to rehearse
  2. Reverse the matching rule so the animal chooses the nonmatching stimulus
  3. Decrease accuracy because the memory trace decays or becomes less accessible Correct answer.
  4. Have no effect on accuracy because the task is perceptual

Explanation

Delayed matching-to-sample requires the animal to retain a representation of the sample across the delay, so longer delays typically reduce accuracy as the memory trace weakens. The delay gradient is a standard measure of working memory in animals.

Question 21Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which of the following is the clearest example of instinctive drift?

  1. A dog learns to sit for a treat
  2. A rat learns to press a lever for food pellets
  3. A raccoon learns to drop coins into a piggy bank but begins rubbing the coins together instead Correct answer.
  4. A pigeon learns to peck a key for grain

Explanation

Instinctive drift occurs when species-typical behavior patterns intrude on and interfere with a trained operant response. The raccoon's coin-rubbing resembles natural food-washing behavior and displaces the trained deposit response, illustrating the phenomenon.

Question 22Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In a conditioned suppression procedure, a tone is paired with shock while a rat presses a lever for food. On test trials, the tone is presented alone. Suppression of lever pressing during the tone indicates:

  1. The shock has become a conditioned reinforcer
  2. The rat has habituated to the tone
  3. The tone has become a discriminative stimulus for food
  4. The tone has acquired aversive conditioned properties Correct answer.

Explanation

Conditioned suppression measures the reduction of an ongoing appetitive response during a cue that has been paired with shock, indicating that the cue evokes fear and has acquired aversive conditioned properties. It is a standard assay of classical fear conditioning.

Question 23Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which statement about the partial reinforcement extinction effect is accurate?

  1. Responses reinforced on a partial schedule are more resistant to extinction than continuously reinforced responses Correct answer.
  2. Partial reinforcement prevents extinction from ever occurring
  3. Partial and continuous reinforcement produce identical resistance to extinction
  4. Responses reinforced on a partial schedule extinguish faster than continuously reinforced responses

Explanation

The partial reinforcement extinction effect is the finding that intermittent reinforcement produces greater resistance to extinction than continuous reinforcement. One explanation is that the organism has learned to persist when reinforcement is sometimes absent, making the extinction condition less discriminable.

Question 24Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In a taste aversion experiment, rats drink a novel sweet solution and later receive an injection of lithium chloride. The rats subsequently avoid the sweet solution. Which feature most strongly distinguishes this learning from standard classical conditioning?

  1. The aversion can form with a long delay between flavor and illness Correct answer.
  2. The aversion is learned only to visual cues
  3. The aversion extinguishes immediately after a single test
  4. The aversion requires many pairings to develop

Explanation

Conditioned taste aversion is notable because it can form even when illness follows the flavor by a long interval, which is difficult to accommodate with traditional contiguity-based accounts of conditioning. It also tends to be selective, forming readily to taste cues rather than to arbitrary visual or auditory cues.

Question 25Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In the context of operant behavior, the term 'establishing operation' refers to:

  1. A condition that alters the reinforcing effectiveness of a consequence and the strength of the behavior that produces it Correct answer.
  2. A stimulus that signals when a response will be reinforced
  3. A schedule that delivers reinforcement after a fixed time
  4. A procedure that reduces a behavior by removing a reinforcer

Explanation

An establishing operation is a motivating operation that changes the value of a reinforcer and simultaneously alters the momentary frequency of behavior maintained by that reinforcer. Food deprivation is a classic example, since it makes food more reinforcing and increases food-seeking behavior.

Question 26Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In classical conditioning, the neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus is called the:

  1. Reinforcing stimulus
  2. Conditioned stimulus Correct answer.
  3. Discriminative stimulus
  4. Unconditioned stimulus

Explanation

The conditioned stimulus begins as neutral and acquires the ability to evoke a response through repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus. The unconditioned stimulus is the one that naturally elicits the response without training.

Question 27Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A dog salivates to a tone that has repeatedly signaled food. When a light is presented together with the tone and food, the dog later shows little salivation to the light alone. This outcome illustrates:

  1. Blocking Correct answer.
  2. Latent inhibition
  3. Spontaneous recovery
  4. Overshadowing

Explanation

Blocking occurs when a previously trained cue already predicts the outcome, so a newly added cue gains little associative strength. The light adds no predictive information beyond the established tone, so it remains weakly conditioned.

Question 28Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

According to Thorndike's law of effect, a behavior followed by a satisfying consequence becomes:

  1. Independent of its outcome
  2. More likely to recur Correct answer.
  3. Less variable in form
  4. Suppressed by punishment

Explanation

The law of effect states that responses followed by satisfying outcomes are strengthened, while those followed by discomforting outcomes are weakened. This principle underlies the operant emphasis on consequences shaping behavior.

Question 29Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

An experimenter wants to weaken a lever-pressing response. Which procedure constitutes punishment rather than extinction?

  1. Presenting a mild footshock contingent on each press Correct answer.
  2. Withholding the food pellet that previously followed each press
  3. Removing the lever from the chamber for several sessions
  4. Delivering free food on a fixed-time schedule regardless of pressing

Explanation

Punishment is the contingent presentation of an aversive event following a response, which reduces its future probability. Extinction instead involves withholding the reinforcer that previously maintained the response.

Question 30Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In a fixed-interval schedule, the characteristic post-reinforcement pattern of behavior is:

  1. A pause followed by accelerating responding near the end of the interval Correct answer.
  2. An even, moderate rate with no relation to the interval
  3. A high rate with brief pauses after each reinforcer
  4. A steady high rate throughout the interval

Explanation

Fixed-interval schedules generate a scalloped pattern in which responding pauses after reinforcement and then accelerates as the interval elapses. The organism learns to time the availability of the next reinforcer.

Question 31Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A rat is reinforced for pressing a lever when a tone is present and never reinforced when the tone is absent. The tone comes to control when lever pressing occurs. In this procedure the tone functions as a:

  1. Punishing stimulus
  2. Conditioned reinforcer
  3. Discriminative stimulus Correct answer.
  4. Establishing operation

Explanation

A discriminative stimulus signals whether a response will be reinforced and thus sets the occasion for the behavior. Here the tone tells the animal that pressing will pay off, so responding comes under its control.

Question 32Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which procedure is the standard way to produce and measure learned helplessness in animals?

  1. Reinforcing a response on a variable ratio schedule and then extinguishing it
  2. Exposing an animal to inescapable shock and then testing escape learning Correct answer.
  3. Exposing an animal to escapable shock and then testing avoidance learning
  4. Pairing a tone with shock and then measuring conditioned suppression

Explanation

Learned helplessness is produced by prior exposure to uncontrollable aversive events, after which animals fail to learn escape responses that are actually available. The critical feature is the uncontrollability of the initial shock, not merely its occurrence.

Question 33Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A rat learns a taste aversion after a single pairing of a sweet solution with illness, even though several hours separate the two events. This finding is important because it:

  1. Shows that conditioning requires contiguous events
  2. Challenges the view that conditioning requires immediate contiguity Correct answer.
  3. Demonstrates that illness is a positive reinforcer
  4. Proves that taste aversions are unlearned reflexes

Explanation

Taste aversions can form over long delays that would not support most classical conditioning, which is why they are cited as evidence against a strict contiguity requirement. They also show preparedness, in which certain cue-outcome combinations are learned especially readily.

Question 34Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In auto-shaping, a pigeon comes to peck a key that signals food delivery even though pecking is not required to obtain food. This is best described as:

  1. Negative auto-maintenance
  2. Observational learning
  3. Sign tracking Correct answer.
  4. Adventitious reinforcement

Explanation

Sign tracking occurs when an organism directs behavior toward a conditioned stimulus that predicts a biologically significant outcome. The key becomes a signal for food, and pecking it develops even without a contingency.

Question 35Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which statement best captures the difference between a primary reinforcer and a secondary reinforcer?

  1. Primary reinforcers act only in classical conditioning, whereas secondary reinforcers act only in operant conditioning
  2. Primary reinforcers are innately effective, whereas secondary reinforcers acquire value through association Correct answer.
  3. Primary reinforcers are always food, whereas secondary reinforcers are always social stimuli
  4. Primary reinforcers require prior learning, whereas secondary reinforcers do not

Explanation

Primary reinforcers such as food or water are effective without training, while secondary reinforcers acquire their value by being paired with primary reinforcers. Tokens and clicker sounds are common examples of secondary reinforcers.

Question 36Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A pigeon trained on a variable-interval schedule is shifted to a fixed-interval schedule. Which change in the pattern of key pecking should be expected?

  1. An immediate shift to a steady low rate
  2. A gradual development of a pause-then-accelerate scallop Correct answer.
  3. A permanent cessation of pecking
  4. An immediate increase to a high constant rate

Explanation

Schedule transitions typically produce a gradual adjustment rather than an instantaneous change in response pattern. Responding comes to show the post-reinforcement pause and terminal acceleration characteristic of fixed-interval performance.

Question 37Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In a discrimination reversal procedure, an animal first learns that a red key yields food and a green key does not, and then the contingencies are swapped. The animal's ability to learn the reversal most directly indexes:

  1. Reinforcer magnitude
  2. Motor coordination
  3. Stimulus salience
  4. Behavioral flexibility Correct answer.

Explanation

Reversal learning requires the animal to inhibit the previously correct response and acquire the new contingency, which is a standard measure of behavioral flexibility. Faster reversal learning indicates greater capacity to adjust to changing reinforcement conditions.

Question 38Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

Which statement best describes the matching law as applied to choice between two concurrently available response alternatives?

  1. Organisms allocate all behavior to the richer alternative
  2. Response rates are equal regardless of reinforcement rates
  3. The proportion of responses matches the proportion of obtained reinforcers Correct answer.
  4. Choice depends only on the delay to the first reinforcer

Explanation

The matching law states that the relative rate of responding on an alternative equals the relative rate of reinforcement obtained from it. Organisms distribute behavior in proportion to the payoff available from each option.

Question 39Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

A trainer wants to teach a dog to touch a target with its nose. The trainer first reinforces looking toward the target, then approaching it, then touching it. This method is called:

  1. Shaping Correct answer.
  2. Flooding
  3. Chaining
  4. Fading

Explanation

Shaping establishes a new behavior by reinforcing successive approximations to the target response. Each closer approximation is reinforced until the final form is achieved.

Question 40Animal Learning Theory and Behavior Science

In a concurrent-chain procedure, pigeons choose between two initial-link alternatives that lead to different terminal-link schedules. This design is used primarily to study:

  1. Sensory preconditioning
  2. The reinforcing value of different outcomes Correct answer.
  3. The topography of species-typical courtship
  4. Simple reflex habituation

Explanation

Concurrent-chain procedures separate the choice response from the consequences it produces, allowing researchers to measure how much an animal values different outcomes. The initial link reveals preference, and the terminal link delivers the consequence being evaluated.

Question 41Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

In operant conditioning, a consequence that increases the future frequency of the behavior it follows is called:

  1. a discriminative stimulus
  2. a punisher
  3. an unconditioned stimulus
  4. a reinforcer Correct answer.

Explanation

A reinforcer is defined functionally by its effect: it strengthens or maintains the behavior it follows. Whether a stimulus is a reinforcer depends on observed behavior change, not on whether it seems pleasant. Punishers weaken behavior, and stimuli such as SDs or USs are not defined by strengthening consequences.

Question 42Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

A dog is given a treat each time it sits, and sitting becomes more frequent. This procedure is best described as:

  1. respondent extinction
  2. negative punishment
  3. negative reinforcement
  4. positive reinforcement Correct answer.

Explanation

Positive reinforcement means a stimulus is added contingent on behavior and the behavior increases. Adding a treat after sitting fits the positive operation and the strengthening effect. Negative procedures involve removing stimuli, and respondent extinction concerns conditioned reflexes.

Question 43Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

A trainer stops delivering treats when the dog jumps up, and jumping decreases. This is an example of:

  1. extinction Correct answer.
  2. negative reinforcement
  3. stimulus control
  4. positive punishment

Explanation

Extinction is the discontinuation of reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior, producing a decline in that behavior. Withholding the treat removes the maintaining consequence rather than adding an aversive event. Negative reinforcement would require behavior to increase.

Question 44Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

Which schedule of reinforcement typically produces the highest steady rate of responding with the greatest resistance to extinction?

  1. variable interval
  2. fixed interval
  3. variable ratio Correct answer.
  4. fixed ratio

Explanation

Variable ratio schedules deliver reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses, which generates high, steady response rates and strong resistance to extinction. Ratio schedules generally produce higher rates than interval schedules, and variable schedules resist extinction more than fixed ones.

Question 45Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

A trainer reinforces every instance of a behavior during initial learning and then begins reinforcing only some instances. This shift is called:

  1. prompt fading
  2. shaping
  3. thinning the schedule Correct answer.
  4. chaining

Explanation

Moving from continuous reinforcement to intermittent reinforcement is called schedule thinning. It is used to maintain behavior with less frequent reinforcement and to build resistance to extinction. Shaping and chaining refer to how new behavior is constructed, not to changes in reinforcement density.

Question 46Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

Reinforcing closer and closer approximations of a target behavior is known as:

  1. chaining
  2. flooding
  3. fading
  4. shaping Correct answer.

Explanation

Shaping, or successive approximation, reinforces variations that progressively resemble the final target response. Each approximation is reinforced until a closer one appears, then only the closer one is reinforced. Chaining instead links already-learned components into a sequence.

Question 47Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

In respondent conditioning, a neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a response after pairing with an unconditioned stimulus is called the:

  1. conditioned stimulus Correct answer.
  2. unconditioned stimulus
  3. operant response
  4. unconditioned response

Explanation

The conditioned stimulus begins neutral and acquires the ability to elicit a response through pairing with an unconditioned stimulus. The elicited response after learning is the conditioned response. Operant responses are controlled by consequences rather than by stimulus pairing.

Question 48Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

Which of the following best describes a fixed interval schedule?

  1. Reinforcement follows the first response after a set time period has elapsed Correct answer.
  2. Reinforcement follows every nth response
  3. Reinforcement follows an unpredictable number of responses
  4. Reinforcement follows the first response after an unpredictable time period

Explanation

A fixed interval schedule reinforces the first target response occurring after a constant time interval has passed. This typically produces a pause after reinforcement followed by accelerating responding. Unpredictable timing describes a variable interval schedule.

Question 49Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

A trainer wants a dog to ring a bell, then sit, then lie down in sequence, and teaches each component separately before linking them. This procedure is:

  1. shaping
  2. forward chaining Correct answer.
  3. backward chaining
  4. discrimination training

Explanation

Forward chaining teaches the first component, then the second, linking each new component to the established chain in order. The sequence is built from the beginning toward the end. Backward chaining would begin with the final component instead.

Question 50Training Techniques and Operant/Respondent Procedures

A dog responds to a hand signal only when the trainer is facing it and has food visible, but not when food is hidden. The food's presence is functioning as:

  1. a discriminative stimulus Correct answer.
  2. a conditioned reinforcer
  3. a motivating operation
  4. a punisher

Explanation

A discriminative stimulus signals the availability of reinforcement for a response, and its presence increases the likelihood of that behavior. The visible food signals that responding will pay off in this context. Motivating operations instead alter the value of a consequence.