Pierce 1

Robert Christian Pierce

Student ID: 7640866
Dr. Gary L. Martin
January 25, 2014

Assignment 1: Units 1-4 Questions

Chapter 1
4. What are cognitive behaviours? Give two examples.
Cognitive behaviours are private activities that cannot be observed by others.
Things such as talking to yourself or imagining ideas in your head fall into this category.
An example of talking to yourself is when you tell yourself that because of all of your
training you will win the weightlifting competition. An example of visualization is when
a curler sees the rock go into the house before taking the shot.
5. Describe two dimensions of behaviour. Give an example of each.
One dimension of behaviour is duration which is the length of time a behaviour
lasts. An example of this would be going to the curling rink for an hour. A second
dimension of behaviour is frequency which is the amount of instances that occur in a
given time period. An example of this would be making ten free throws in one minute.
7. What are three disadvantages of using summary labels to refer to individuals or their
actions? Give an example of each.
The first disadvantage of summary labels is that it may lead to pseudoexplanations of behaviour. For example a pseudo-explanation is when a child is labelled
dyslexic because they commonly invert words while reading such as saw and was. If we
ask why the child inverts the words we are told because he is dyslexic. The summary
label has then been used as a pseudo-explanation for the behaviour. A second
disadvantage of labelling is that labels can negatively affect the way an individual might
be treated. Teachers, for example, may feel less likely to encourage children to persist in
problem solving if they have been given the label mentally retarded. A third disadvantage
to summary labels is that it may direct our focus to an individuals problem behaviours
rather to his or her own strengths. An example of this would be parents calling their son
lazy for not being more physically active and in the process fail to see that their son is a
great student.
11. What are stimuli? Describe two examples that are not in this chapter.
The physical variables that make up a persons environment are called
stimuli. Stimuli are all the people, objects, and events that are currently present in ones
immediate surroundings that impinge on ones sense receptors and that can affect

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behaviour. An example of this would be a curler who has to take into consideration the
ice temperature, the position of the other rocks, and the score in the game. Another
example that can used to illustrate this point is a roofer. The roofer has to take into
consideration the height of the roof, the temperature, the wind, and the amount of
supplies needed for that particular job as stimuli that are in their environment.
12. List seven defining characteristics of behaviour modification.
First, strong emphasis on defining problems in terms of behaviour that can be
measured in some way and using changes in the behavioural measure of the problem as
the best indicator of the extent to which the problem is being helped.
Second, the treatment procedures and techniques are ways of altering an
individuals current environment to help an individual function more fully.
Third, the methods and rationales can be described precisely.
Fourth, the techniques of behaviour modification are often applied by individuals
in everyday life.
Fifth, the techniques stem from basic and applied research in the science of
learning in general and the principles of operant conditioning in particular.
Sixth, behaviour modification emphasizes scientific demonstration that a
particular intervention was responsible for a particular change.
Seventh, behaviour modification places a high value on accountability for
everyone involved in behaviour modification programs.
14. What is meant by the term target behaviour? Give an example of a target behaviour of
yours that you would like to improve. Is your target behaviour a behavioural deficit to
increase or a behavioural excess to decrease.
Target behaviour is a specific behaviour you want to modify or change using a
behaviour modification program. An example of this would be for me to stop eating so
much fast food. This is an example of a behavioural excess to decrease.
Application Exercise - Self-Modification Exercise
Two behavioural deficits to overcome:
1) Increasing the amount of sleep I get.
a) Specific behaviour
b) Observable behaviour
c) A behaviour
2) Increasing the amount of time I study.
a) Specific behaviour
b) Observable behaviour
c) A behaviour
Two behavioural excesses to decrease:

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1) The amount of fast food I consume.
a) Specific behaviour
b) Observable behaviour
c) A behaviour
2) The amount of time I spend surfing the internet before bedtime.
a) Specific behaviour
b) Observable behaviour
c) A behaviour

Chapter 2
2. List four behaviours of children that have been improved by the application of
behaviour modification by parents.
First, teaching children to walk.
Second, developing children's initial language skills.
Third, toilet training children.
Fourth, influencing children to do household chores.
3. List four behaviours in education that have been modified with behaviour
modification.
First, out-of-seat behaviour
Second, tantrums
Third, aggressive behaviour
Fourth, excessive socializing
6. What is currently the preferred term for the disability historically referred to as mental
retardation?
The preferred term currently being used for mental retardation is developmental
disability.
7. Name and briefly describe forces that have revolutionized the education of persons
with intellectual disabilities since the 1960s.
First, there is a normalization advocate that is based on the idea that persons with
intellectual disabilities should be helped to lead the most normative lives possible and
that traditional large institutions are simply not normative.
Second, there are civil rights advocates and parents of persons with intellectual
disabilities. They have secured the legal right of individuals with severe disabilities to
receive as normal an education as possible. Therefore, educational programs for persons
with disabilities had to be established in public schools.
Third, efforts of behaviour modifiers has created the technology that made it
possible to dramatically improve the behaviour of persons with severe and profound

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intellectual disabilities.
12. List four behaviours in the area of self-management of personal problems that have
been modified by behaviour modification.
First, self-management
Second, self-control
Third, self-adjustment
Fourth, self-direction
18. List four behaviours in the area of behavioural community psychology that have been
modified by behaviour modification.
First, controlling littering in public campgrounds.
Second, increasing recycling of returnable soft drink containers.
Third, promoting energy conservation by increasing bus ridership.
Fourth, encouraging welfare recipients to attend self-help meetings.

Chapter 3
8. Describe an example of positive reinforcement of a desirable behaviour that you have
encountered. Identify the situation, behaviour, immediate consequence, and probable
long-term effects.
An example of positive reinforcement of a desirable behaviour that I have
experienced would be hearing the crowd cheer after making a key draw with the final
rock in a curling match.
Situation: Playing in a curling match
Behaviour: Making a key draw
Immediate Consequences: Cheering from the crowd
Long-term Consequences: More motivation to play well and hard work to achieve
this positive reinforcement again.
13. Using the definition of positive reinforcer, describe the steps to test whether a
particular item is a reinforcer for someone, illustrate with an example.
Positive reinforcers are events that strengthen a response when they are
introduced or added following the response. To test whether a particular item is a
reinforcer, one should choose a behaviour that the individual emits occasionally and that
does not appear to be followed by any reinforcer, record how often the behaviour occurs
without reinforcement over several trials, and then present the item immediately
following the behaviour for a few additional trials and see what happens. If the individual
begins to emit that behaviour more often, then your item is indeed a reinforcer. If the
behaviour does not increase, then you do not have an effective reinforcer. An example
of this would be a teacher who gives their students a small prize after achieving a certain

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mark on a test, who then achieves more good marks after the initial reward.
18. What is a motivating operation? Describe two examples, one of which was not in this
chapter.
A motivating operation is an event or condition such as deprivation and satiation
that temporarily alter the effectiveness of a reinforcer and alter the frequency of
behaviour reinforced by that reinforcer. Two examples of this would be food deprivation
(increasing the effectiveness of food as a reinforcer) and telling your child that he can
only play video games after he completes his chores (increasing the effectiveness of
video game time as a reinforcer for doing chores).
19. Should you tell an individual with whom you are using reinforcement about the
reinforcement program before putting it into effect? Why or why not?
For a reinforcer to increase an individuals behaviour, it is not necessary that the
individual be able to talk about or indicate an understanding of why he or she was
reinforced. After all, the principle has been shown to work quite effectively with animals
that cannot speak a human-type language. Nevertheless, instructions should generally be
used. Specific instructions will speed up the learning process for individuals who
understand them. As indicated earlier, instructions may influence an individual to work
for delayed reinforcement. Adding instructions to reinforcement programs may help to
teach individuals to follow instructions.
23. Describe an example of contingent reinforcement that is not in this chapter.
An example of a contingent reinforcer is an athlete who is required to work hard
and perform during their competition before being given recognition and receiving praise
from coaches and teammates.
24. Describe an example of noncontingent reinforcement that is not in this chapter.
An example of a noncontingent reinforcer is a young child who gets ice cream
after going to the dentist regardless of whether they behaved or not.
32. Consider this statement: A college student was reinforced for studying for three
hours on the weekend by getting a good grade on the test the following week. How does
this statement exemplify Pitfall Type 3?
Pitfall Type 3 states, "A principle can be inaccurately used as an oversimplified
explanation of a change of behaviour". The above statement exemplifies this pitfall
because to say that the student's behaviour was reinforced by the good grade is an
incomplete analysis because it may also have been reinforced by several other factors:
feeling of confidence going into the exam, or the good feeling when thinking about the
likelihood of getting a good mark, etc. The text also states that when explaining

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behaviour, immediate consequences of the behaviour are more telling than consequences
with a large gap between the behaviour and the consequence.
33. State Pitfall Type 4, and describe an example.
Pitfall Type 4 states, "Individuals without behavioural knowledge sometimes
attempt to explain behaviour or the lack of it by inappropriately giving people a label".
An example of this pitfall would be if a poor performance by a player in the NHL hockey
player caused fans to label him a failure or overrated, when in reality, he was playing
through an injury, facing the best team in the league, or dealing with personal issues.
Application Exercise
2. List 10 different phrases that you might use to express your enthusiastic approval to an
individual:
Good job!
Great effort!
Awesome technique!
Keep it up!
Teammates look up to you!
You are dependable!
You are a good leader!
You have good positive energy!
Great technique!
Keep working hard!
3. Assume that someone close to you is going to reinforce one of your behaviours. Select
two reinforcements from your completed questionnaire that best satisfy the guidelines
given previously for selecting a reinforcer. Indicate how the guidelines have been
satisfied:
In order to positively reinforce me for doing renovations on our house, my father
will often: 1) make great dinners and 2) give me beer. These satisfy the guidelines
because food and beer are readily available, they can be presented immediately after
doing renovations or even during them, they can be used over and over again, and they do
not require a lot of time to consume.

Chapter 4
3. Explain what a backup reinforcer is. Give and explain two examples.
When a stimulus becomes a conditioned reinforcer through deliberate association
with other reinforcers, the other reinforcers are called backup reinforcers. For example, if
a football coach was to glance in the direction of a player before sending him out for a

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big play, the glance would be a backup reinforcer. The players would eventually be able
to predict which player would be getting the ball on the next play if they looked at where
the coach was looking prior to his decision.
4. What were the backup reinforcers in Erins program.
The backup reinforcers in Erin's program were gaining access to go on Facebook
or YouTube, depending on the points she achieved.
5. Describe a target behaviour of yours that you would like to improve that might be
amenable to a points program like Erins. What would you use as backup reinforcers for
the points?
A target behaviour of mine that could be amendable by a point program could be
my habit of checking twitter. I could use watching NHL games as backup reinforcers.
Every time I check twitter, I could subtract one half of the game from my time spent
watching a future game, and every time I resisted the urge to check twitter, I could add a
half.
12. Is praise a generalized conditioned reinforcer? Defend your answer.
Praise is a generalized conditioned reinforcer because it could be paired with
many backup reinforcers such as money, physical affection (hugs, high-fives, etc), more
playing-time (for an athlete), public acknowledgement, etc.
14. List three factors that influence the effectiveness of conditioned reinforcers.
First, the strength of the backup reinforcers.
Second, the variety of backup reinforcers.
Third, the number of pairings with a backup reinforcer.
15. Explain what causes a conditioned reinforcer to lose its value.
A conditioned reinforcer loses its value when it is no longer (at least on occasion)
paired with a suitable backup reinforcer. An example of this would be if a parent told
their child they could have a toy if they finish their homework. If the parents stop
providing a toy after doing their homework the child becomes far less likely to want to sit
down and do their homework.
Application Exercise
A) The reinforcer is the sight of beautiful coloured leaves. It strengthens the
behaviour of that person going on a walk. This is a conditioned reinforcer because
it is not natural human behaviour.
B) The reinforcer is probably the runners high caused by the release of endorphins.
It strengthens the behaviour so that the jogger is more likely to want to run long

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distances. This is an unconditioned reinforcer because the endorphins released are
naturally occurring in the brain.
C) The reinforcer is probably being allowed to use the family car. This would
strengthen the behaviour of the teenager mowing the lawn. It is a conditioned
behaviour because it is not natural human behaviour.
D) The reinforcer is probably getting to drink a satisfying glass of milk. It would
strengthen the behaviour of the child to drink more milk. This would be
unconditioned because for most people it is one of the first things they were fed.