LCB Exam 1 2025 – Legal & Commercial Business Study Guide &
Lecture Summary
Operant conditioning - correct answer ✔✔ (aka instrumental learning) involves associating a
response (R) with an outcome (O); learning an operant behavior
Reinforcer: - correct answer ✔✔ the outcome => strengthens behavior => e.g., food pellet
Operant response: - correct answer ✔✔ the behavior that becomes associated with the
outcome (reinforcer) => e.g., pressing a lever => changes the environment
Extinction: - correct answer ✔✔ absence of the reinforcer => operant response takes place, but
there is no reinforcer => in theory, operant response slowly declines (but recall: spontaneous
recovery is possible)
Discriminative stimulus (SD): - correct answer ✔✔ sets the occasion for the operant behavior to
occur; signals that the operant behavior will be reinforced (e.g., light on)
Absence of discriminative stimulus (Sdelta): - correct answer ✔✔ signals that the operant
behavior will not be reinforced (e.g., light off); in effect, inhibitory
Stimulus control: - correct answer ✔✔ manipulating signals so that animals will respond when a
certain stimulus is present and not respond when other certain stimuli are present
Generalization - correct answer ✔✔ Generalization involves responding to stimuli similar to the
original stimulus. For example, we can take advantage of pigeons' ability to discriminate colors
and study how much they generalize. In the initial learning phase, the pigeon associates the
yellow light with a reward (yellow light = SD). In the test phase, the pigeon is exposed to five
different lights with similar wavelengths. The bird repsonds the most to the lights with the
wavelengths closest to yellow (e.g., yellow-green and yellow-orange).
, Another example of categorization in pigeons: pigeons see a viewing screen where the
experimeter displays different slides. Pigeons are reinforced when they peck at the desired
stimulus (e.g., tree) and not reinforced when they peck at the undesired stimulus (e.g., no tree).
Over months of training, the pigeons can learn how to recognize the general category of the
desired stimulus. They can generalize "tree" and learn to recognize certain features (incredibly)
that make a given image a "tree" or a "not tree."
Pigeons can also learn which key, out of multiple keys, to press based on the slide presented.
The trial and error learning allows them to gradually learn to generalize the images on the slide.
They can learn four categories at once!
Positive reinforcement: - correct answer ✔✔ adding something to the environment that
strengthens behavior; ex: praise; food pellet; clean room => get allowance
Negative reinforcement: - correct answer ✔✔ taking something away from the environment
that strengthens behavior; ex: relieving a headache by taking an Aspirin => removing headache
strengthens behavior of taking an Aspirin when you have a headache
Punishment (positive punishment): - correct answer ✔✔ adding something to the environment
that reduces behavior; ex: scolding; spanking
Omission (negative punishment): - correct answer ✔✔ taking something away from the
environment that reduces behavior; ex: making your kid take a time-out takes away freedom
and playtime
Operant conditioning v. Pavlovian conditioning - correct answer ✔✔ In operant conditioning,
the response depends on the outcome. The consequence of the response dictates whether that
response will happen again. R => O
Lecture Summary
Operant conditioning - correct answer ✔✔ (aka instrumental learning) involves associating a
response (R) with an outcome (O); learning an operant behavior
Reinforcer: - correct answer ✔✔ the outcome => strengthens behavior => e.g., food pellet
Operant response: - correct answer ✔✔ the behavior that becomes associated with the
outcome (reinforcer) => e.g., pressing a lever => changes the environment
Extinction: - correct answer ✔✔ absence of the reinforcer => operant response takes place, but
there is no reinforcer => in theory, operant response slowly declines (but recall: spontaneous
recovery is possible)
Discriminative stimulus (SD): - correct answer ✔✔ sets the occasion for the operant behavior to
occur; signals that the operant behavior will be reinforced (e.g., light on)
Absence of discriminative stimulus (Sdelta): - correct answer ✔✔ signals that the operant
behavior will not be reinforced (e.g., light off); in effect, inhibitory
Stimulus control: - correct answer ✔✔ manipulating signals so that animals will respond when a
certain stimulus is present and not respond when other certain stimuli are present
Generalization - correct answer ✔✔ Generalization involves responding to stimuli similar to the
original stimulus. For example, we can take advantage of pigeons' ability to discriminate colors
and study how much they generalize. In the initial learning phase, the pigeon associates the
yellow light with a reward (yellow light = SD). In the test phase, the pigeon is exposed to five
different lights with similar wavelengths. The bird repsonds the most to the lights with the
wavelengths closest to yellow (e.g., yellow-green and yellow-orange).
, Another example of categorization in pigeons: pigeons see a viewing screen where the
experimeter displays different slides. Pigeons are reinforced when they peck at the desired
stimulus (e.g., tree) and not reinforced when they peck at the undesired stimulus (e.g., no tree).
Over months of training, the pigeons can learn how to recognize the general category of the
desired stimulus. They can generalize "tree" and learn to recognize certain features (incredibly)
that make a given image a "tree" or a "not tree."
Pigeons can also learn which key, out of multiple keys, to press based on the slide presented.
The trial and error learning allows them to gradually learn to generalize the images on the slide.
They can learn four categories at once!
Positive reinforcement: - correct answer ✔✔ adding something to the environment that
strengthens behavior; ex: praise; food pellet; clean room => get allowance
Negative reinforcement: - correct answer ✔✔ taking something away from the environment
that strengthens behavior; ex: relieving a headache by taking an Aspirin => removing headache
strengthens behavior of taking an Aspirin when you have a headache
Punishment (positive punishment): - correct answer ✔✔ adding something to the environment
that reduces behavior; ex: scolding; spanking
Omission (negative punishment): - correct answer ✔✔ taking something away from the
environment that reduces behavior; ex: making your kid take a time-out takes away freedom
and playtime
Operant conditioning v. Pavlovian conditioning - correct answer ✔✔ In operant conditioning,
the response depends on the outcome. The consequence of the response dictates whether that
response will happen again. R => O
