Match the following terms to the examples of operant conditioning.

Question

1.When the dog sits on command, the dog gets a treat. Next time you give the dog the command to sit, they are more likely to sit.

2.When you have a headache, you take an aspirin and your headache goes away. Next time you have a headache, you are more likely to take an aspirin.

3.When you arrive late to football practice, you have to run extra laps. Next time, you are less likely to arrive late to practice.

4.When you arrive home after curfew, your parents take away your cell phone. Next time you go out, you are less likely to stay out after curfew.

A.Positive punishment

B.Negative punishment

C.positive reinforcement

D.negative reinforcement

Answer 1

The tricky part in answering operant conditioning questions is recognizing that negative doesn’t mean “bad” but removal. I usually remember this by thinking of the positive and negative in mathematical terms adding and subtracting. With reinforcement, you want the behavior to continue, and with punishment, you don’t.

1. The dog is getting a treat (positive) for a behavior that you want to increase (reinforcement), therefore the answer is C.
2. You want to remove the headache (negative), and taking aspirin allows you to do this. Since using the medication works, you will most likely take aspirin to stop a future headache (reinforcement). Answer is D.
3. Arriving late is a behavior your coach wants to stop (punishment) and makes you run laps (positive), meaning the answer is A.
4. Arriving home late is a behavior your parents want you to stop (punishment) and is taking your phone away (negative), hence the answer is B.