Observational Learning:
Learning by Watching Others
The following are the objectives of this chapter:
In addition to help meet the above objectives, this workbook chapter includes material designed to integrate chapters 10 through 12.
This section will present several anecdotal descriptions in which the principles discussed in the Chapters 10 and 11 will play an active part. Examining these anecdotes and their accompanying analysis will help you integrate and generalize these principles.
Jeff and Nancy liked to take their three-year-old daughter, Helen, for short walks around the neighborhood. However, since Helen had the bad habit of walking very slowly across busy streets, they often found the walks less enjoyable than they could have been. They wanted Helen to benefit from the natural enjoyment of taking the walks. Jeff and Nancy could have solved the problem by simply picking Helen up and carrying her whenever they came to a busy street, but they preferred not to do this. They felt that carrying Helen would be a lot of trouble. In addition, carrying Helen wouldn't teach her to cross the street by herself; and it was important to teacher Helen to walk alone if they ever wanted to take her for a walk when they had their arms full.Jeff and Nancy decided on a plan. Every evening for three weeks they would take Helen for a walk. They gave Helen this rule: "Whenever we come to a street, you have to hold Mommy and Daddy's hands until we reach the other side and then you can let go." Helen easily understood this rule. When they approached a street, Jeff would hold one hand and Nancy the other. They would then start to cross the street at a normal pace. If Helen would slow down excessively, Jeff and Nancy merely continued at their regular pace. The result was that Helen's feet were dragged very slightly. If Helen would start to move her feet to walk in a normal fashion, the dragging would stop. Since the dragging annoyed Helen, she quickly learned to move her feet more quickly and to walk across the street without delays.
On Tuesday of the third week, when they came to the first street, Helen said, "I can cross by myself." Jeff and Nancy agreed that if Helen would walk correctly at their side she could cross by herself; but if she lagged behind, they would have to resume holding her hand. By the end of the third week, Helen was almost always crossing by herself; and whenever she failed, Jeff and Nancy would simply revert to the old rule of holding her hands.
Analysis of Helen:
- What label would be given to the slight dragging of Helen's feet when she slowed down excessively while crossing a street?
- Was Helen's punishment described in question 1 natural or artificial? How effective was it likely to be?
- What are the major factors that should be taken into consideration before using this technique?
- What happened when Helen started to move her feet more quickly?
- In addition to having her feet dragged, what other form of Type I punishment did Helen (probably accidentally) receive for crossing the street too slowly?
- In what way did Helen receive Type II punishment during the walks with her parents?
- For what behavior did Helen receive Type III reinforcement during the walks with her parents?
- In what way did Helen probably also receive Type I reinforcement?
- How did her parents use reinforcement of incompatible behaviors to reduce her dawdling in the street?
Note that Helen's original misbehavior would be considered by many to be a serious problem, requiring firm measures. Many parents rightly argue that if their child dawdles in the street, the best way to respond is by spanking the child "to teach her never to do it again." Since getting hit by a car a single time may be one time too many, the parents would be willing to risk a few undesirable side effects to get their point across most efficiently. Helen's parents, however, selected a much milder but more natural form of punishment. They were able to do so because they had control over the situation. Had they responded with a harsher punishment (such as spanking), negative side effects would have been much more likely to occur - most notably, Helen might have developed a distaste for walks or a dislike for her parents. In addition, spanking would have minimized the opportunity for their effective use of Type II reinforcement, since it would have been difficult to terminate the spanking immediately upon the performance of the desired behavior. Finally, spanking would not have been as logically related to the misbehavior. Helen might have walked properly when she felt a spanking was probable but improperly when the chances of a spanking were more remote.
Three-year-old Jimmy is playing happily with his five-year-old sister and the boys who live next door. He wants a toy with which his sister is playing, and she refuses to give it to him. Jimmy picks up another toy, throws it across the room, and starts to cry. His father, who has been watching the whole incident, picks Jimmy up, carries him to his room, sits him down, and says, "You're acting very tired. You'll have to rest here until you can stop crying and feel like you can play with the other kids." Jimmy stays for fifteen minutes and then rejoins the other children without further incident.Analysis of Jimmy:
- When his father takes Jimmy to his room after he has thrown a toy and has started to cry, this is an example of what type of punishment? (Type I, II, or III) _____________.
- If this punishment is consistently administered, what behavior is likely to decrease? _______________________________________
- If this punishment is consistently administered, what behavior is likely to increase? _______________________________________
- Jimmy is allowed to come out of his room as soon as he stops crying and feels that he can get along with other children. He is able to eliminate the aversive situation by ceasing his crying and starting to cooperate. This termination of the aversive situation will cause his non-crying and cooperating behaviors to (increase/decrease) because they will be receiving (Type I, Type II, or Type III) reinforcement.
- Instead of waiting until Jimmy stopped crying and was ready to play, his father could have sent him to his room for fifteen minutes. In this case, for what would Jimmy be receiving Type II reinforcement?
Carlos is a twelve-year-old mentally retarded boy. He has always been considered a "good kid," but lately he has been running around with a bad crowd at school and has been getting into frequent trouble. The problem seems to be that the "normal" children he previously played with have matured intellectually more quickly than Carlos and have stated to make fun of him for his shortcomings. The kids in the new crowd he runs around with do a lot of stupid things, but at least they don't make fun of Carlos.Analysis of Carlos:
- For what behavior has Carlos felt he was being punished?
- Carols felt he was receiving (Type I, II, or III) punishment.
- For what behavior is Carlos receiving Type II or III reinforcement?
Janet Explores a New Vocabulary
Janet is a fourteen-year-old girl who has always discussed with her mother the problems in her life. One day she asked her mother what a four-letter word meant. She received an hour-long lecture on how to be a good girl. The counselor at school responded in a similar way. Janet now discusses four-letter words with her girlfriends (who don't give lectures) instead of with her mother or counselor.Analysis of Janet:
- For what behavior is Janet being punished?
- For what behavior is Janet receiving Type II or III reinforcement?
Nate Spends His Time at the Bar
Whenever Nate's wife finds him around the house drinking beer, she yells at him. Nate now spends a great deal of time at the local bar.Analysis of Nate:
- For what behavior does Nate feel he is being punished?
- For what behavior does Nate receive Type II or III reinforcement?
Frank: An Example from Infancy
Three-month-old Frank was usually breast fed. However, on those occasions when his mother was not home, Frank was fed by his father from a bottle. This feeding method worked fairly well, except about one out of five times Frank would cry uncontrollably and refuse to drink. On these occasions, he was obviously hungry. However, either because he was too hungry to focus his attention or because he was upset about something else, Frank could not control himself enough to get ahold of the bottle nipple. One day while he was trying to feed Frank, his father in desperation squeezed the baby's mouth and gently shoved it around the nipple. Frank immediately became quiet and consumed the whole bottle. This gentle squeezing worked nearly every time thereafter, when similar problems arose.
Analysis of Frank:
- Squeezing and shoving Frank's mouth was an example of (Type I, II or III) punishment.
- What behavior was likely to decrease as a result of this punishment?
- The aversiveness stopped as soon as Frank started sucking on the nipple properly. Frank was receiving (Type I, Type II, Or Type III) reinforcement for sucking properly.
- As soon as he started sucking, Frank also started to receive milk, which he enjoyed. Therefore, Frank was also receiving (Type I, Type II, or Type III) reinforcement.
- The reason this technique worked so effectively for the father was probably because the Type I and Type II reinforcement occurred simultaneously and (immediately/delayed) after Frank started to drink properly.
Jennifer Learns to Complete Her Math
Jennifer was a fourth grader who rarely completed even half of her math problems by the time all the other children in the class had finished theirs. Mrs. Smith noticed that Jennifer especially liked the art hour which immediately followed the math period. From careful observation, Mrs. Smith concluded that Jennifer's delay in finishing her work was the result of unwillingness to put forth the effort rather than disabilities in the necessary skills. Therefore, Mrs. Smith told Jennifer that she would not be allowed to start on her art work each day until she first finished her math assignment.The first day, Jennifer followed her usual pattern of not finishing on time, and so Mrs. Smith refused to let her start on her art until she would complete the math assignment. Jennifer was obviously upset, but Mrs. Smith was quite happy when Jennifer turned in the completed assignment within ten minutes. Jennifer was permitted to start on her art work, but Mrs. Smith's happiness diminished considerably when she discovered that Jennifer had gotten over half of the answers wrong. The results were similar the next day. On the third day, Mrs. Smith changed the rule: Jennifer would have to finish the assignment with no more than three errors before starting her art work. That day Jennifer completed the assignment within the math period, but she missed twenty problems. She was given a second assignment, but she didn't finish that one, even by the end of art period. The next day she worked much more slowly, and completed the assignment on time with only two errors. After a week of this, Mrs. Smith said that she would no longer check the paper immediately. If Jennifer turned in a completed assignment on time, she would be permitted to start her art work; but if Mrs. Smith subsequently discovered more than three mistakes, the rules would be reinstated starting the next day for another week. There were no further problems, and after two more weeks the rules were dropped altogether.
Analysis of Jennifer:
- When Jennifer failed to complete her math assignment, she was not permitted to start on her art work. This was an example of (Type I, Type II, or Type III) punishment.
- Mrs. Smith was using a type of punishment designed to (increase/decrease) Jennifer's excessive slowness in completing assignments.
- What behavior does this type of punishment cause to increase?
- As soon as Jennifer correctly completed her math assignment, she was permitted to start on her art work. Thus promptness and correctness in completing her math assignment was an effective way for Jennifer to get rid of an aversive situation. Jennifer received (Type I, Type II,or Type III) reinforcement for doing her math work promptly and correctly.
- On subsequent days, Jennifer strives to finish ahead of time so that she will not miss any of her art period. Her urge to finish before the start of art period is motivated by a desire for (Type I, Type II, or Type III) reinforcement.
- One day Jennifer's teacher said to her, "You've been doing so well at your math work that we don't need to do it today. Let's spend an extra hour at art." This extra hour of art would be an example of using ________________________ to eliminate an undesirable behavior and replace it with a desirable behavior.
- At the beginning of Mrs. Smith's program, Jennifer did her work quickly but carelessly. She found that she could get out of the aversive situation simply by doing her work quickly, without caring whether it was correct or not. By letting her begin her art work as soon as she turned in the assignment, Jennifer's teacher was inadvertently providing Type II reinforcement for an (appropriate/inappropriate) behavior.
- By changing the contingency - by requiring correct as well as prompt work - Mrs. Smith made it possible for Jennifer to receive Type II reinforcement for an (appropriate/inappropriate) behavior.
A War Results from Accidental Punishment
The accidental misapplication of punishment can occur in broad social situations as well as within school classrooms. Here's an example with which you should already be familiar:Prior to 1763, the attitude of Great Britain towards her American colonies was one of "benign neglect." Taxes had been imposed on certain imports and exports, but although some of these taxes had been on the books for 50 to 100 years, the British seldom made any real effort to collect them.
Around 1763, Britain desperately needed to raise money, and so she turned to the colonies for help. In an attempt to gain revenue, Britain passed the Sugar Act of 1764. This law actually reduced the tax on molasses from sixpence to threepence, but now the law was going to be enforced. The colonists were extremely upset. They did not feel they were getting a break; they felt an aversive burden had been added. The colonists decided to eliminate the aversive stimulus through violence and a boycott. The British therefore repealed the act. An interesting pattern emerged: The British would pass an act, the colonists would respond with protest and/or violence, and the British would repeal the act and later impose a harsher law. Eventually both sides reached a point where they could not back down without losing face, and the American Revolution followed.
Analysis of the Revolutionary War Example
- The Sugar Act was viewed by the colonists as (Type I, Type II, or Type III) punishment.
- For what specific action were the colonists being punished?
- What did the colonist learn not to do as a result of this punishment?
- What did the colonists learn to do as a result of this punishment?
1. Often the behavior of a model serves to produce similar but NOT identical behavior in observers. This is called the _______________ effect.
a. disinhibitoryb. inhibitory
c. eliciting
d. modeling
e. imitation
2. Which of the following is an example of punishment?
a. Persuading a learner to stop performing a designated behavior by withholding the reinforcers which previously maintained that behavior.b. Persuading a learner to stop performing a designated behavior by withholding all the reinforcers which a learner could possibly attain.
c. Eliminating a behavior by allowing a learner to receive reinforcers until the learner reaches a point where that behavior stops being reinforcing.
d. Both a and b
e. All of the above
3. Mary dislikes apple pie. Her mother tells her that if she doesn't eat her spinach she won't get her apple pie. Mary still doesn't eat her spinach. Threatening to withhold the apple pie is an example of
a. Type I reinforcementb. Type II or III reinforcement
c. Type I punishment
d. Type II or III punishment
e. None of the above
4. In which of the following situations is punishment LEAST appropriate?
a. A teacher wants to teach students to stop fighting. She wants to do this without setting a bad example for the children.b. A teacher wants to make a group of 8th graders like poetry. When asked what are their favorite poems, the children have failed to mention even a single poem that they like.
c. A teacher wants to persuade children to stop talking rudely to her.
d. A tutor wants to teach a child some simple math procedures. The child laughs and tells jokes rather than attending to the math problems.
e. A child turns in the homework late. The teacher wants her to turn it in more promptly.
5. Mr. Ford is a new high school English teacher. Ms. Schneider is his supervisor. She decides to help Mr. Ford build effective teaching skills observing him every two weeks and praising him for a good strategy which he applies on each of those occasions. She intends to do this for Mr. Ford's entire first year of teaching. When she starts her program, Ms. Schneider discovers that Mr. Ford still has a lot of room for improvement. Although he seems to like the praise, Mr. Ford finishes the year as a mediocre teacher. What should Ms. Schneider have done to improve her strategy?
a. Praise Mr. Ford more often at the beginning of the year.b. Praise Mr. Ford more often at the end of the year.
c. Praise Mr. Ford less often at the beginning of the year.
d. Praise Mr. Ford less often at the end of the year.
e. Focus more on his mistakes and criticize these rather than praising his accomplishments.
6. Gayle gets anxious whenever she is around attractive men. When she gets anxious, she cracks her knuckles obnoxiously. Gayle's parents want to help her break this habit. Which of the following strategies would probably be most useful in helping Gayle to stop cracking her knuckles in the presence of attractive men.
a. Type I reinforcementb. Type II reinforcement
c. Punishment
d. Systematic desensitization
e. Extinction
Use the following information for questions 7 to 10.
David comes to Ann's house every night after school. He helps her with her homework. He comes to her house because he likes the way she laughs when he tells his funny stories. Ann's mother thinks that David is a bad influence and wants him to stop coming. She makes rude remarks to David, but David simply makes a wisecracking reply and Ann laughs - which he likes. David continues to come to play with Ann. Eventually Ann gets tired of David's funny stories. Ann stops laughing at him. David thereupon stops coming to play with Ann. Ann's mother becomes happy again.
7. What technique was Ann using to keep David coming to her house while he continued to come there?
a. Type I reinforcementb. Type II reinforcement
c. Systematic desensitization
d. Stimulus change
e. Satiation
8. Ann's mother's rude remarks provided an occasion for
a. Type I reinforcement of Davidb. Type II reinforcement of David
c. Type I punishment of David
d. Type II punishment of David
e. Systematic desensitization of David
9. What caused Ann to stop laughing at David?
a. Stimulus changeb. Extinction
c. Punishment
d. Systematic desensitization
e. Satiation
10. What eventually caused David to stop coming to Ann's house?
a. Stimulus changeb. Extinction
c. Punishment
d. Systematic desensitization
e. Satiation
11. When should punishment be used alone?
a. When your main goal is to teach what not to do.b. When your goal is to teach what to do as quickly as possible.
c. When a program of reinforcement has failed in its attempt to instill a new behavior.
d. Both a and b are correct.
e. All of the above.
12. Jane hates being in her fourth grade class. When she talks inappropriately, she gets sent to the time out room. She doesn't exactly like the time out room, but at least no one bothers her there. If she behaves properly in the time out room, she gets sent back to her seat. Being sent back to Jane's seat is an example of
a. Type I reinforcementb. Type II reinforcement
c. Punishment
d. Extinction
e. None of the above
13. John gets ridiculed by his peers, and he dislikes this ridicule. Behavior modification theory suggests that John will be motivated to both (1) stop doing whatever he did to incur the ridicule and (2) start doing whatever is necessary to get out of or avoid the ridicule.
a. Trueb. No, only (1) is likely to occur
c. No, only (2) is likely to occur
d. No, neither is likely to occur
14. When does satiation occur?
a. When a behavior becomes extremely enjoyable.b. When a behavior ceases being enjoyable
c. When a behavior which once was enjoyable becomes obnoxious.
d. When a behavior goes away completely.
e. When a behavior becomes its opposite.
15. In a behavior modification program, it is best to use continuous reinforcement as often as possible.
a. Trueb. False. It is impractical to employ continuous reinforcement in most real-life situations, and therefore intermittent reinforcement should be used instead.
c. False. Continuous reinforcement should be used to teach a new behavior, but then intermittent reinforcement should be used to cause the behavior to persist.
d. False. Continuous reinforcement should be used only after the behavior has been initially learned through a program of random or intermittent reinforcement.
16. A father who has previously used criticism, spanking, and sarcasm to control his child's behavior wishes to change to a pattern of reasoning with the child and reinforcing positive behavior. He finds it hard to change his own behavior, and therefore decides to keep a record of his interactions with his child. He keeps a daily diary and gives himself a check mark every time he uses one of the desired techniques. He decides that if he is able to make the appropriate response 85% of the time during any week, he will go to a Bears or Bulls game. (Imagine, for the sake of this question, that going to such a game is a pleasant experience.) What strategy is the father using to change his own behavior?
a. extinctionb. token reinforcement
c. discrimination training
d. differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)
e. counterconditioning
17. Which of the following represents the basic principle behind behavior modification?
a. The need to perform a behavior must be thoroughly integrated into a child's personality in order for a relatively permanent change in behavior to occur.b. A behavior will increase if a reinforcer is provided before the performance of the behavior.
c. A behavior will increase if a reinforcer is provided contingent upon the performance of that behavior.
d. All of the above are accurate.
e. None of the above is accurate.
18. Diana bites her fingernails and voluntarily wants to stop this habit, since she is engaged to a prince. However, the habit is so deeply ingrained that she has a great deal of trouble even realizing that she is engaging in this demeaning behavior. Which of the following would be the best strategy for the Queen Mother to employ in helping Diana overcome this behavior?
a. Type I reinforcementb. Extinction
c. Stimulus change
d. Systematic desensitization
e. Negative practice
19. Which of the following is (are) an example of extinction?
a. Ron once saw his friend Hambone find 25 cents in the coin return of a vending machine. For a long time Ron looked in every coin return he came to; but since he never found any money, he eventually gave up.b. Ann shouts out answers in class. Miss Jones ignores Ann and calls on someone else. When Ann realizes she will not get called on by shouting out answers, she stops shouting and raises her hand.
c. Edmund whispers to his friends while the teacher is presenting a lesson to the class. The teacher sends Edmund to a corner where he is not near any of his friends. Therefore, Edmund reforms and stops whispering even when he is allowed to return to his regular place.
d. Both a and b are examples of extinction.
e. All of the above are examples of extinction.
20. Jeff talks constantly during class when he is near Bill or Carl. Mr. Smith moves Jeff to a different seat. Jeff doesn't object to the different seat. However, since there's no one around who's fun to talk to, Jeff settles down and does his work. What technique did Mr. Smith use?
a. vicarious reinforcementb. systematic desensitization
c. overcorrection
d. stimulus change
e. Type II punishment
Observational Learning
Match each term with the appropriate definition.
a. Disinhibitory effectb. Eliciting effect
c. Inhibitory effect
d. Modeling effect
This fill-in-the-blanks exercise can be a useful way to verify that you can recall and understand the main concepts covered in this chapter. When the answers you give differ from those in the answer key, think about it. If your answer is as good as mine, that's great! However, there's a good chance that in many cases my answer may be better than yours. Try to find the logic behind my answer. The more actively you think - by looking for reasons and explanations - the more valuable this exercise will be for you.
(Also note that after you have filled in the blanks, this set of Key Ideas provides a good summary of the chapter.)
Answers to Quizzes and Exercises
l. Increase2. b
3. Decrease
4. Taking books home (and also performance of homework if such performance is truly dependent solely upon the fact that Henry forgets his books).
5. Failure to do homework.
6. Climbing trees.
7. Politeness.
8. Rudeness, profanity.
9. a and c
- The slight dragging of Helen's feet was Type I punishment.
- In a very obvious sense, this punishment was artificial, since the parents had artificially decided to drag the feet. The dragging would not have occurred unless the parents had made a specific plan to cause it. However, from Helen's perspective, the punishment probably appeared perfectly logical and natural. If she wanted to go for a walk, safety required that she hold the hands of her parents. And if she stopped, it was only natural that their continued motion would cause her the discomfort of dragging her feet. As a matter of fact, Jeff and Nancy could make the strategy more effective by focusing on the naturalness of the punishment. It would NOT be a good idea to say to Helen,"If you slow down, we'll drag you." It would be much better merely to give her the rule and then drag her a bit the first time she slowed down and say, "Oops! We can't stop in the middle of the street, can we?" The effectiveness of this punishment was probably increased because it occurred automatically (and therefore immediately) whenever the undesirable behavior occurred. The perception of naturalness would reduce negative side effects such as avoidance of the parents. Such side effects would have become increasingly probable if the dragging would have been harshly administered or perceived by Helen as contrived.
- The whole program assumes that it is reasonable for Helen to walk at the required pace. It would NOT be appropriate to use the same strategy for a much younger child or to require Helen to walk at a rapid pace for a greater distance than her developmental level would permit.
- As soon as Helen started to move her feet more quickly, she received Type II reinforcement for walking correctly. This Type II reinforcement was automatic, immediate, and appeared as a logical outcome for the desired behavior.
- Adults often fail to realize that requiring a child to walk with her hand extended above her head can be a difficult task, and may therefore be aversive. Therefore, Helen probably also considered having her hand held by her parents to be Type I punishment. Though accidental, this punishment was probably effective because it was almost automatic and appeared to Helen to be logically related to the task of getting across the street.
- Helen was normally allowed to walk freely at her own pace. This privilege was withdrawn when she dawdled in the street. This contingent confinement of free movement was Type II punishment.
- Being allowed to walk across the street without having her hand held was Type III reinforcement for Helen. She realized that it would be unpleasant if she had to have her hand held, and she felt good because she freed herself of this unpleasantness by walking correctly before anyone held her hand. This Type III reinforcement was effective because it occurred automatically and was logically related to the task.
- Helen probably received Type I reinforcement from the intrinsic satisfaction of being a "big girl," as well as from any words of praise from her parents. If Helen really enjoyed the walks, they should say things to her like, "Now that you can cross streets so well, we can go on a lot of walks, can't we?"
- Since walking properly is incompatible with dawdling in streets, these Type I reinforcers would actually serve to reduce the undesirable behavior.
- Type II punishment.
- Jimmy's habit of throwing of toys and crying.
- None. Punishment will merely cause the throwing of toys and crying to decrease. Unless some other specific behavior is reinforced, Jimmy is perfectly likely to perform some other inappropriate behavior.
- Increase; Type II. Note that one of the behaviors for which Jimmy is being reinforced is "non-crying." The reader might legitimately argue that if Type II reinforcement causes a behavior to increase, Jimmy should be taught to do something. Here, all he is being taught to do is to "not cry." This could be construed as semantic double-talk. However, the "positive" behavior for which Jimmy is reinforced is "conducting oneself without crying."
- We don't know. But one possibility is that Jimmy might stop crying after five minutes. He might then spend the next ten minutes pouting and plotting how to get even with the other children. If the punishment ended after such activity, Jimmy would actually be reinforced for this pouting and plotting. By stating the conditions as he did, Jimmy's father at least took steps to make sure that he would not accidentally be reinforcing an inappropriate behavior. This situation is probably one in which punishment and Type II reinforcement should be combined with Type I reinforcement when Jimmy played nicely. For example, "You sure do play like a big boy," or "You and your friends have been playing so well lately that I'm going to take you and two of your friends to the zoo Saturday."
- Playing with normal kids.
- Type I
- Playing with the "bad crowd."
Return to this example (Carlos)
- Discussing these matters with her mother or with the counselor.
- Discussing things with her girlfriends.
- Being around the house.
- Going to the bar.
Return to this example (Nate)
- Type I punishment.
- Probably none. The aversive situation probably bothered Frank; but a baby's response to such aversiveness is to cry- which was one of the behaviors the father wanted to eliminate. Nevertheless, Frank would notice the aversiveness; and so he was also likely to notice its removal. Therefore an opportunity for Type II reinforcement existed, even though it was preceded by no effective use of punishment.
- Type II reinforcement.
- Type I reinforcement.
- Immediately. This technique for getting Frank to eat is a good example of the simultaneous and coordinated use of Type I and Type II reinforcement. A similar phenomenon can occur during childbirth. The mother suffers through labor pains which constantly grow more and more aversive. At the height of the aversiveness, the baby is born. The birth of the baby signals both the end of the aversiveness (Type II reinforcement) and the presence of a new son or daughter (Type I reinforcement). This is one reason why "natural" childbirth is often such a satisfying experience for those who experience it. It manages to focus on the natural occurrence of both Type I and Type II reinforcement.
Return to this example (Frank)
- Type II
- Decrease.
- None. All it does is decrease the undesirable behavior. However, in this case, if "excessive slowness" stops, "speed" will have to increase - but accuracy will not necessarily be high.
- Type II reinforcement.
- Type III reinforcement.
- Type I reinforcement.
- Inappropriate.
- Appropriate.
Return to this example (Jennifer)
Analysis of the Revolutionary War Example
- Type I punishment. The colonists viewed themselves as de facto free from taxation. The thought that they were theoretically being given a break when the British "lowered" the uncollected tax probably didn't occur to many colonists. Taxes are viewed by many persons as aversive events. So the British were adding an aversive stimulus to the lives of the colonists.
- Nobody knew. One of the worst things about the punishment from the colonists' point of view was that they could see no cause for it. As far as they could see, they were being punished for being loyal colonists.
- They learned to stop doing things that may have caused the increased taxes. Stop associating too freely with the British. Don't trust the British. The also developed several side effects of punishment. Get even with the British. Dump their tea into the ocean. Such avoidance and retaliatory behaviors often occur when punishment is administered for a vague reason. The British were gaining none of the benefits of punishment, but the colonists were displaying severe negative side effects.
- Nothing. As a result of the punishment itself, they learned nothing. The learning that did take place was the result of the intermittent success of the colonists in getting Parliament to retract its taxes.
Return to this example (Revolutionary War)
- (c) This is an exact parallel of the definition of the eliciting effect, which is also called "the triggering effect."
- (b) This statement describes Type II punishment. In fact, it sounds like solitary confinement. Statement (a) describes extinction, and (c) describes satiation.
- (b) The mother is threatening to withhold something that Mary dislikes. By refraining from eating her spinach, Mary is receiving the pleasant situation of avoiding her apple pie. This is Type III reinforcement. The mother probably intends to inflict Type III punishment (by offering her something nice and then withholding it), but the question doesn't ask, "What did the misguided mother think she was doing?"
- (b) Punishment teaches what not to do. Statement (b) is the only one where the teacher is trying exclusively to persuade the students to do something. Hence, punishment could not ever accomplish (b). {However, if the reason the students cannot mention any poems is that one of the bigger kids is threatening to beat up the others if they say they like poetry, then the teacher could punish this person to persuade him to stop that behavior.} A teacher could accomplish (a) through punishment &endash; but it would be best not to punish them by spanking them! It is certainly possible to accomplish (c) through punishment &endash; although someone might argue that extinction might be more effective. Statement (d) seems to call for the punishment of laughing and joke telling, which are incompatible with learning math. Statement (a) suggests that it might be effective to punish turning in homework late &endash; even though it would be even more effective to also reinforce the child for turning it in promptly. This leaves (b) as the only correct answer.
- (a) The principle here is that continuous reinforcement is effective for teaching new behaviors. Since Mr. Ford has never learned the behavior, switching to a more intermittent schedule would be counterproductive. What he needs is a more continuous schedule of reinforcement at the beginning of the year, so that he can learn the new behaviors. To accomplish this, Mr. Schneider should probably also use other strategies &endash; such as modeling effective procedures, giving him simpler tasks, prompting him to use specific strategies. All of these would lead him to be successful more often, and Mr. Schneider should reinforce him whenever he is successful.
- (d) This is a problem of irrational fear (anxiety). Systematic desensitization is the only strategy listed here that would deal with Gayle's problem.
- (a) David obviously enjoys having Ann laugh at his funny stories. Her laughter is Type I reinforcement.
- (a) David obviously enjoys having Ann laugh at his wisecracks, which occur because of her mother's remarks. Thus, although the mother is trying to punish David, she is really supplying an occasion for more Type I reinforcement for David.
- (e) This is satiation &endash; The stories continued until they lost their inherently reinforcing value.
- (b) David was finding Ann's laughter to be enjoyable. He kept coming to the house because he was reinforced by the laughter to do so. Once the laughter stopped, David was no longer reinforced for coming to the house, and so he stopped.
- (a) is the only correct answer. Statement (b) describes a good reason to use punishment of a conflicting behavior while reinforcing a good behavior, but the question asks about using punishment alone. Likewise, statement (c) is incorrect. You can't teach a new behavior by using punishment alone.
- (c) Being sent back to her seat would require her to move from a neutral situation to an unpleasant one. I would view this as Type I punishment &endash; the addition of something unpleasant (being in the fourth grade classroom). Another way to look at it would be that the removal from fourth grade classroom to the time-out room was pleasant. Sending her back was the removal of this pleasant situation. From that perspective, it would be Type II punishment. The question does not ask you to specify Type I or Type II punishment. Either way, it's punishment.
- (a) He is being punished for doing whatever he did to incur the ridicule, which is what statement (1) says. In addition, if he does something to get out of or avoid the ridicule, he will receive Type II or III reinforcement, which is what statement (2) says. Therefore, statement (a) is accurate. {In general, this principle will almost always be true: a person will be motivated both to avoid punishment by not doing the targeted behavior and will also do something else that will cause the punishment to go away.}
- (b) This is an exact parallel of the definition of satiation. Statement (c) describes negative practice.
- (c) This is an exact statement of when continuous and intermittent schedules of reinforcement should be used.
- (b) This is an example of token reinforcement. He is simply not doing any of the other things listed here.
- (c) This is an exact parallel of the basic principle behind behavior modification.
- (e) Negative practice is a form of punishment that is useful for dealing with automatic behaviors &endash; behaviors that a person does without even realizing it. In this case, Diana could bite her fingernails to the point that it hurt. I can't think of any way that any of the principles would be effective.
- (d) Both (a) and (b) describes situations in which the reinforcers that had been maintaining a behavior have been removed. Statement (c) describes punishment.
- (d) This is an example of stimulus change. If there were evidence that Jeff disliked being moved, then it would be a form of punishment.
Matching Exercise
1. d2. c
3. b
4. a
Key Ideas
1. observing2. Modeling
3. Eliciting
4. Disinhibitory
5. Inhibitory
6. similar
7. prestigious
8. obsereved
9. positive
10. larger