Chapter 14: Problem 3
Give an example from real life or from fiction to illustrate each of the following Skinnerian concepts: (a) response shaping, (b) partial reinforcement, (c) stimulus generalization, (d) discrimination, (e) extinction.
Chapter 14: Problem 3
Give an example from real life or from fiction to illustrate each of the following Skinnerian concepts: (a) response shaping, (b) partial reinforcement, (c) stimulus generalization, (d) discrimination, (e) extinction.
All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.
Get started for freeA terrorist blows up a building in a hated foreign country. How might Skinner explain the terrorist's behavior?
Give some examples of poorly designed contingencies of reinforcement that are common in our society.
Skinner is highly critical of current educational practices, and argues that they do not produce a lasting love of learning. "Suppose we wish to teach a student to read 'good books'- -books which do not reinforce the reader sentence by sentence or even paragraph by paragraph, but only when hundreds of pages have prepared him for a convincing denouement. The student must be exposed to a program of materials that builds up a tendency to read in the absence of reinforcement. [But] schools are likely to arrange just the wrong conditions, [as by forcing] books on students before they have had adequate preparation. It is therefore not surprising that few students even in good universities learn to read books of this sort and do so for the rest of their lives" \((1968, \mathrm{p} .79) .\) What is your evaluation of Skinner's criticism?
Skinner argues that operant conditioning is an unselfish and benign form of behavior control, because others must be assured of reinforcement. Yet some critics contend that his ideas represent a serious threat to individual freedom. Which view do you prefer? Why?
(a) Explain the difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning. (b) Explain the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment. (c) Explain the difference between Freud's concept of repression and Skinner's view of repression.
What do you think about this solution?
We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.