UW Psychology Contingencies involved in operant conditioning Discussion

Answer the essay questions keeping the numbers.

Use the chapters uploaded for understanding please, no outside source please.

At least 1500 words

Due Sunday November 15 before 5pm

It is not sufficient to merely regurgitate phrases from the text. Answer must display your understanding of the material, as well as being accurate and complete. When you are asked for examples you must come up with your own, not repeat examples from the class or text.

1) Explain each term in the three term contingency involved in operant conditioning. Give your own example of operant conditioning, and identify each component of the three term contingency in your example.

2) Define and give an example of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and time out/omission. Be sure to describe the two major differences between punishment and negative reinforcement.

3) What is the difference between contrived and natural reinforcement contingencies? Give an example of each. When and why might it be useful to use a contrived contingency? When and why might it not be good to use one?

4) Use principles of operant conditioning, especially reinforcement, to explain how superstitions develop. Be sure your discussion includes the environmental conditions under which superstitions are likely to develop. (It might be useful to organize your answer around a concrete example of superstitious behavior.)

5) Define/explain the four basic schedules of reinforcement and give an example of each. For each, describe the response pattern you might expect to see when that schedule is used, and explain why that pattern is usually seen.

6) Discuss (don’t just list) at least two advantages of punishment and at least two disadvantages. Discuss why it is difficult to entirely eliminate undesired behaviors using punishment.

7) Discuss (don’t just list) three important factors that determine how effective punishment will be. For each, describe the role that factor plays in punishment’s effectiveness.

8) What is “learned helplessness”? How is it acquired and how might it be counteracted? Create an example of how learned helplessness might be acquired in a real life situation, and describe some of the behavior patterns we would expect to see in someone suffering from learned helplessness.

9) Give an example of avoidance learning and use it to describe the two factor theory of avoidance. Be sure to include a discussion of both the classical and operant conditioning components.

10) Explain how extinction can be used as an alternative to punishment. Discuss three potential problems with using extinction in this way. Focus on explaining why it is difficult to entirely eliminate undesired behaviors using extinction because of these problems. Explain at least one other alternative to punishment besides extinction, and give an example