Practice How Do We Teach Our Children? AP PSYCHOLOGY
Part 1 (24 points)
1. In a paragraph each, describe the following theories: Ivan Pavlov and classical conditioning,
B. F. Skinner and operant conditioning, and Albert Bandura and social learning theory.
Ivan Pavlov came up with the theory of classical conditioning after observing the behavior of his
dogs. He noticed that because those who fed his dogs wore lab coats, his dogs began to
salivate whenever they saw lab coats whether or not there was food in sight. He wondered why
the dogs began to drool at the lab coats, and not the actual food itself. Pavlov then ran a study
in which he rang a bell every time he fed the dogs. Pretty soon, just ringing a bell made the
dogs salivate. From this, he concluded the dogs were demonstrating classical conditioning,
which meant that a neutral stimulus (the bell) associated with an unconditioned stimulus (the
food) produced the same response. This is also called a conditioned response.
B.F Skinner introduced “reinforcement” which developed into operant conditioning. He tested
the effect of both positive and negative reinforcements, and devised different ways of delivering
reinforcement and found that this had effects on both the response rate (how hard the subject
works) and the extinction rate (when the subject gives up). The first kind is continuous
reinforcement, which has the quickest rate of extinction. Here, the subject is positively
reinforced every time a specific behavior occurs (ex. every time a lever is pressed, a food pellet
drops). The next kind is fixed ratio reinforcement, where behavior is only positively reinforced
after completed a specified number of times (e.x., one reinforcement is given after every so
many correct responses, e.x., after every 5th response). For example, a child receives a star for
every five words spelled correctly. The response rate for this is very fast. The third type is fixed
interval reinforcement, where one reinforcement is given after a fixed time interval providing at
least one correct response has been made. An example is being paid by the hour. The time
increments can vary, but for example if a lever has been pressed at least once in a span of 15
min, a food pellet could drop every 15 min. The fourth style is variable ratio reinforcement. Here,
behavior is reinforced after an unpredictable number of times. This usually occurs with
unpredictable activities such as gambling or fishing. The response rate for this is fast. The last
type of reinforcement is variable interval reinforcement. The response rate for this is fast and the
extinction rate is slow. Providing one correct response has been made, reinforcement is given
Part 1 (24 points)
1. In a paragraph each, describe the following theories: Ivan Pavlov and classical conditioning,
B. F. Skinner and operant conditioning, and Albert Bandura and social learning theory.
Ivan Pavlov came up with the theory of classical conditioning after observing the behavior of his
dogs. He noticed that because those who fed his dogs wore lab coats, his dogs began to
salivate whenever they saw lab coats whether or not there was food in sight. He wondered why
the dogs began to drool at the lab coats, and not the actual food itself. Pavlov then ran a study
in which he rang a bell every time he fed the dogs. Pretty soon, just ringing a bell made the
dogs salivate. From this, he concluded the dogs were demonstrating classical conditioning,
which meant that a neutral stimulus (the bell) associated with an unconditioned stimulus (the
food) produced the same response. This is also called a conditioned response.
B.F Skinner introduced “reinforcement” which developed into operant conditioning. He tested
the effect of both positive and negative reinforcements, and devised different ways of delivering
reinforcement and found that this had effects on both the response rate (how hard the subject
works) and the extinction rate (when the subject gives up). The first kind is continuous
reinforcement, which has the quickest rate of extinction. Here, the subject is positively
reinforced every time a specific behavior occurs (ex. every time a lever is pressed, a food pellet
drops). The next kind is fixed ratio reinforcement, where behavior is only positively reinforced
after completed a specified number of times (e.x., one reinforcement is given after every so
many correct responses, e.x., after every 5th response). For example, a child receives a star for
every five words spelled correctly. The response rate for this is very fast. The third type is fixed
interval reinforcement, where one reinforcement is given after a fixed time interval providing at
least one correct response has been made. An example is being paid by the hour. The time
increments can vary, but for example if a lever has been pressed at least once in a span of 15
min, a food pellet could drop every 15 min. The fourth style is variable ratio reinforcement. Here,
behavior is reinforced after an unpredictable number of times. This usually occurs with
unpredictable activities such as gambling or fishing. The response rate for this is fast. The last
type of reinforcement is variable interval reinforcement. The response rate for this is fast and the
extinction rate is slow. Providing one correct response has been made, reinforcement is given
