PSYC 331 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2026/2027
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Two basic causes of a behavior deficit? - ✔✔1. individual has not yet learned the
appropriate behavior
2. individual is capable of behaving appropriately, but chooses not to do so
✔✔Why does a person choose a behavior in an appropriate manner? - ✔✔1. the
appropriate behavior does not produce much reinforcement
2. the appropriate behavior requires a lot of time and effort
3. the appropriate behavior has unpleasant effects
4. the inappropriate behavior provides more reinforcement
✔✔Positive reinforcer - ✔✔the behavior adds something to the situation
✔✔Negative reinforcer - ✔✔the behavior eliminates something from the situation or the
behavior prevents something from occurring
✔✔Reinforcement: escape behavior - ✔✔the behavior eliminates something from the
situation
✔✔Reinforcement: avoidance behavior - ✔✔the behavior prevents something from
occurring
✔✔Unconditioned reinforcer - ✔✔"natural" reinforcers (food)
✔✔Conditioned reinforcer - ✔✔stimuli that become reinforcers because of learning
(money, attention)
✔✔Examples of unconditioned reinforcement: - ✔✔Food
✔✔Examples of conditioned reinforcement: - ✔✔money, attention
✔✔How are reinforcers best used to change behavior? - ✔✔1. a relatively effective
reinforcer is elected
2. reinforcement solely depends on the behavior
3. reinforcement immediately follows behavior
4. at first, every instance of the behavior is reinforced
✔✔Establishing operation - ✔✔a procedure or event that changes the effectiveness of a
reinforcer
✔✔Deprivation - ✔✔strengthens reinforcers
, ✔✔Satiation - ✔✔weakens reinforcers
✔✔Premack Principle - ✔✔more probable behaviors will act as reinforcers for less
probable behaviors
✔✔High probability behaviors with premack principle for a child? - ✔✔Playing video
games, eating ice cream, playing outside with friends
✔✔Middling-probability behaviors with premack principle for a child? - ✔✔playing
football, reading comics, drawing pictures
✔✔Low-probability behaviors with premack principle for a child? - ✔✔cleaning up
messes, doing math problems, helping at dinnertime
✔✔An effective reinforcer vs ineffective reinforcer: math problems and video games? -
✔✔effective = doing math problems leads to being able to play video games
ineffective = playing video games leads to having to do math problems
✔✔A parent wants her son to pick up after himself. She doesn't want to nag, she hopes
to change behavior through reinforcement, how should she use reinforcement to
change his behavior (4 steps)? - ✔✔1. a relatively effective reinforcer is selected
2. reinforcement solely depends on the behavior
3. reinforcement immediately follows the behavior
4. at first, at least, every instance of the behavior is reinforced
✔✔Schedule of reinforcement - ✔✔a description of how reinforcers follow behavior;
each schedule produces a different pattern of behavior
✔✔B.F. Skinner - ✔✔studied how the schedule of reinforcement changes the way
behavior is patterned over time
✔✔Cumulative record - ✔✔how B.F. Skinner examined behavioral patterns
✔✔Cumulative record components? - ✔✔1. response vs time
2. "pen" resetting
3. reinforcement
4. responses
5. no responses
✔✔Fixed ratio schedule - ✔✔reinforcement is delivered after every Nth response
✔✔Variable-ratio schedule - ✔✔reinforcement is delivered ON AVERAGE, after every
Nth response
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Two basic causes of a behavior deficit? - ✔✔1. individual has not yet learned the
appropriate behavior
2. individual is capable of behaving appropriately, but chooses not to do so
✔✔Why does a person choose a behavior in an appropriate manner? - ✔✔1. the
appropriate behavior does not produce much reinforcement
2. the appropriate behavior requires a lot of time and effort
3. the appropriate behavior has unpleasant effects
4. the inappropriate behavior provides more reinforcement
✔✔Positive reinforcer - ✔✔the behavior adds something to the situation
✔✔Negative reinforcer - ✔✔the behavior eliminates something from the situation or the
behavior prevents something from occurring
✔✔Reinforcement: escape behavior - ✔✔the behavior eliminates something from the
situation
✔✔Reinforcement: avoidance behavior - ✔✔the behavior prevents something from
occurring
✔✔Unconditioned reinforcer - ✔✔"natural" reinforcers (food)
✔✔Conditioned reinforcer - ✔✔stimuli that become reinforcers because of learning
(money, attention)
✔✔Examples of unconditioned reinforcement: - ✔✔Food
✔✔Examples of conditioned reinforcement: - ✔✔money, attention
✔✔How are reinforcers best used to change behavior? - ✔✔1. a relatively effective
reinforcer is elected
2. reinforcement solely depends on the behavior
3. reinforcement immediately follows behavior
4. at first, every instance of the behavior is reinforced
✔✔Establishing operation - ✔✔a procedure or event that changes the effectiveness of a
reinforcer
✔✔Deprivation - ✔✔strengthens reinforcers
, ✔✔Satiation - ✔✔weakens reinforcers
✔✔Premack Principle - ✔✔more probable behaviors will act as reinforcers for less
probable behaviors
✔✔High probability behaviors with premack principle for a child? - ✔✔Playing video
games, eating ice cream, playing outside with friends
✔✔Middling-probability behaviors with premack principle for a child? - ✔✔playing
football, reading comics, drawing pictures
✔✔Low-probability behaviors with premack principle for a child? - ✔✔cleaning up
messes, doing math problems, helping at dinnertime
✔✔An effective reinforcer vs ineffective reinforcer: math problems and video games? -
✔✔effective = doing math problems leads to being able to play video games
ineffective = playing video games leads to having to do math problems
✔✔A parent wants her son to pick up after himself. She doesn't want to nag, she hopes
to change behavior through reinforcement, how should she use reinforcement to
change his behavior (4 steps)? - ✔✔1. a relatively effective reinforcer is selected
2. reinforcement solely depends on the behavior
3. reinforcement immediately follows the behavior
4. at first, at least, every instance of the behavior is reinforced
✔✔Schedule of reinforcement - ✔✔a description of how reinforcers follow behavior;
each schedule produces a different pattern of behavior
✔✔B.F. Skinner - ✔✔studied how the schedule of reinforcement changes the way
behavior is patterned over time
✔✔Cumulative record - ✔✔how B.F. Skinner examined behavioral patterns
✔✔Cumulative record components? - ✔✔1. response vs time
2. "pen" resetting
3. reinforcement
4. responses
5. no responses
✔✔Fixed ratio schedule - ✔✔reinforcement is delivered after every Nth response
✔✔Variable-ratio schedule - ✔✔reinforcement is delivered ON AVERAGE, after every
Nth response
