Theories of Personality CHAP.12 (B.F Skinner )

Skinner described human beings as

empty organisms

Which of the following is true of the application of Skinner's behavioral approach?

It is widely used in schools, correctional institutions, and hospitals.

Skinner believed that behavior can be controlled by

its consequences.

Skinner's term for voluntary, spontaneous behavior is:

operant behavior.

Skinner believed that personality is a(n)

pattern or collection of operant behaviors.

An employee paid on a weekly basis operates under a _____ schedule of reinforcement

fixed-interval

Fixed - Interval

Reinforce following a fixed amount of time after responses

Fixed - ratio

A fixed Number of responses

Variable -interval

Unpredictable amount of time

Variable- Ratio

Unpredictable amount of responses

Slot machines operate on a _____ reinforcement schedule.

variable-ratio

The shaping of behavior is accomplished by:

reinforcing only successive approximations of the final behavior desired

Which of the following statements is true of superstitious behavior?

It is learned quickly when the interval between reinforcements is long.

Skinner suggests all of the following techniques in order to control the external variable that determines our behavior through self-control except:

physical punishment.

Behaviors modified in a token economy:

usually revert to their original state when tokens are no longer provided.

According to Skinner, most operant conditioning applications involve:

positive reinforcement.

An example of negative reinforcement is:

nagging a spouse to stop smoking.

Each of the following is a factor in Skinner's functional analysis except:

the motivation behind the behavior.

Assessment of behavior is accomplished using all of the following except:

projective techniques.