Eight-year-old Amy always seems to be in overdriveshe has trouble sitting still for any length of time. Her teacher occasionally gives her short breaks in which she can get up and move around a bit as a way of releasing pent-up energy. Such breaks occur unpredictably, without regard for whether Amy is behaving appropriately or inappropriately at the time. Research indicates that such noncontingent reinforcement:
a. May improve Amy's behavior somewhat, but she will likely not replace the inappropriate behaviors with appropriate behaviors.
b. Is likely to make Amy's behavior worse
c. Will probably lead to behavioral contrast
d. Will confuse Amy and significantly increase her anxiety about classroom tasks
Ques. 2An essential element of a contingency contract in the classroom is that:
a. Behaviors are reinforced at least once a day.
b. Every student receives the same reinforcer.
c. Both teacher and student agree upon the desired behavior and its consequence.
d. Every student has a contract concerning the same behavior.
Ques. 3Mrs. Berk gives extra credit to each of his students who pick up 5 pieces of trash in the classroom before the bell rings at the end of the day. Despite the fact that most of the students pick up 5 pieces of trash before the end of the day, some students never participate in the cleanup. Which of the following statements explains why some students do not participate in the cleanup at the end of the day.
a. The classroom context is a context in which only some children are reinforced.
b. One reinforcer does not reinforce behavior for every learner.
c. Some students will never produce socially desirable behaviors.
d. When a group of students are reinforced together, the reinforced behavior is acquired more slowly than if the students are reinforced individually.
Ques. 4Three of the following common criticisms of using behaviorist approaches in the classroom are valid ones. Which one usually is not true about behaviorist approaches?
a. When a student who enjoys an activity is given extrinsic reinforcement for doing it, the student's intrinsic interest in the activity may decrease.
b. If some misbehaviors are reduced through reinforcement or punishment, other misbehaviors will always spring up to replace them.
c. Reinforcing a student simply for doing a task, without regard for the quality of performance, can encourage the student to do it quickly rather than well.
d. When a student has cognitive deficits that interfere with performance, simply reinforcing desired behaviors will be insufficient to bring about important changes.
Ques. 5Matthew knows his teacher will give him credit for each assignment he completes on time, without regard for the accuracy of what he does. As a result, Matthew often completes his work quickly, sloppily, and sometimes incorrectly. This situation illustrates which one of the following concerns regarding the use of behaviorist techniques in the classroom?
a. Reinforcement is a form of bribery.
b. Reinforcement of some behaviors may impede optimal learning.
c. Even very mild punishment adversely affects his self-esteem.
d. Applied behavior analysis ignores the cognitive factors that affect learning.
Ques. 6Tracy enjoys reading mystery novels and reads at least two a week. Her mother wants to encourage Tracy's reading and so begins to pay her daughter one dollar for each completed mystery novel. Considering research regarding the extrinsic reinforcement of intrinsically reinforcing activities, we would expect Tracy eventually to:
a. Double her rate of reading mystery novels
b. Triple her rate of reading mystery novels
c. Lower her rate of reading mystery novels
d. Stop reading mystery novels altogether
Ques. 7B. F. Skinner has criticized traditional educational practices for:
a. Failing to teach students to work for delayed reinforcement
b. Using concrete reinforcers more often than social reinforcers
c. Using intrinsic reinforcers more often than concrete reinforcers
d. Relying heavily on artificial reinforcement for mastery of classroom topics
Ques. 8A mother has been paying her daughter Melissa one dollar an hour to shovel snow off the driveway. At the end of January, the mother raises the rate to two dollars an hour. Based on research related to contrast effects, we can predict that Melissa will probably:
a. Shovel half as much snow as she would have otherwise, and then she'll quit.
b. Shovel the same amount of snow as she would have at a dollar-an-hour rate.
c. Shovel less snow than if the pay for shoveling snow had always been two dollars an hour.
d. Shovel more snow than if the pay for shoveling snow had always been two dollars an hour.
Ques. 9Three of the following statements reflect contemporary perspectives of instrumental conditioning and reinforcement. Which one does not?
a. Punishment has a more pronounced effect on behavior than reinforcement does.
b. Behavior can sometimes be better understood if we look at complex environmental conditions rather than at simple, specific stimuli.
c. Instrumental conditioning can more adequately be explained when we talk about mental processes as well as observable events.
d. Any single consequence may be more or less reinforcing depending on a learner's particular motives at the time.
Ques. 10Jimmy misbehaved in class and his teacher punished him by forcing him to skip recess. Withholding recess is generally an ineffective form of punishment because:
a. teachers do not consider recess a pleasant stimulus.
b. many arguments arise during recess making it a negative situation for most children.
c. recess provides a break from academic activities, which improves children's concentration.
d. recess is too short of a time interval.
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