A very useful principle of learning is that a new response is strengthened by

Latest Reinforcement MCQ Objective Questions

Reinforcement Question 1:

A child receives a star for every correct answer she gets. What reinforcement schedule is being used?

1. Variable ratio reinforcement schedule
2. Intermittent reinforcement schedule
3. Partial reinforcement schedule
4. Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 4 : Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

Reinforcement theory seeks to explain what types of consequences motivate different people to work. Traditionally, it can be traced to the work of the pioneering behaviorist B.F. Skinner (1953). It posits that behavior depends on its consequences.

• Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule: This depends upon a particular number of responses that must be made before the reinforcement is given. For example, A child receives a star for every correct answer she gets.
• Partial reinforcement schedule: Partial reinforcement or intermittent reinforcement takes place when reinforcement is not given on every desired behavior. The main types of partial reinforcement schedules (schedules of reinforcement) depend upon the time at which the reinforcement is given or the rate/number of times the reinforcement is given to the response.
• Variable ratio reinforcement schedule: In this schedule the reinforcement is given after a varied number of responses. That is it may be given after the first response, then after three responses, then after five responses and so on. So, there is no fixed number of responses preceding the reinforcement. This kind of reinforcement schedule leads to a high and steady rate of responding. 

Hence, we can conclude that A child receives a star for every correct answer she gets is the example of fixed ratio reinforcement schedule.

Reinforcement Question 2:

Negative reinforcement-

1. increases desirable beh aviour
2. decreases undesirable behaviour
3. decreases desirable behaviour
4. increases undesirable behaviour

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2 : decreases undesirable behaviour

Reinforcement is the process of giving force on doing an activity or on not doing the activity. Skinner is a great psychologist and he gave the theory of Reinforcement in the process of learning.

• Positive Reinforcement- In the process of learning, if the teacher gives positive reinforcement to the students, students get confidence and support in running activity. By this Students are promoted to do the right activity in the process of learning.
• Negative Reinforcement- In the process of learning, if the teacher gives negative reinforcement to the students, students get demotivation to do the running activity. Of this students feel afraid and have low confidence in doing the wrong activity. Thus it decreases undesirable behavior.

In this way, we can say that Negative Reinforcement decreases undesirable behavior.

Reinforcement Question 3:

Responses that lead organisms to get rid of painful stimuli or avoid and escape from them, provide which type of reinforcement?

1. Positive reinforcement
2. Negative reinforcement
3. Delayed reinforcement
4. Partial reinforcement

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2 : Negative reinforcement

Reinforcement is a core idea in operant conditioning, with the primary goal of strengthening or increasing the rate of behaviour. Reinforcement uses a stimulus, known as a reinforcer, to help increase particular behaviors.

Hence, we can conclude that responses that lead organisms to get rid of painful stimuli or avoid and escape from them, provide the negative type of reinforcement. 

Reinforcement Question 4:

Whenever a teacher threatens the punishment of failure, he is using ________.

I. Positive reinforcement.

II. Negative reinforcement.

1. Only I
2. Only II
3. Both I and II
4. Neither I nor II

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2 : Only II

 Reinforcement refers to the action which is used to increase the occurrence of acceptable behavior. It is defined as an effect that increases the probability of a response.

• It involves the removal of aversive stimuli to reinforce the target behavior. 
•  A response or behavior is strengthened by stopping, removing, or avoiding a negative outcome or aversive stimulus.
• Learning can take place if undesirable consequences are avoided because of an action taken.
• It can be used for children with special needs.
• Negative reinforcement is not a punishment, it is an increase in the probability of behavior on the other hand punishment is a decrease.

 Thus, it is concluded that whenever a teacher threatens the punishment of failure, he is using Negative reinforcement.

Reinforcement Question 5:

Question:. If a reinforcement is reversed and reinforced after some time, what type of response occurs?

1. Positive reinforcement 
2. Negative reinforcement 
3. Spontaneous recovery
4. All of the above

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 1 : Positive reinforcement 

Reinforcement, extinction or absence of a taught response, generalization of learning to new stimuli under certain conditions, and discrimination are all examples of reinforcement.

• Positive reinforcement in operant conditioning refers to the addition of a rewarding stimulus after an action that increases the likelihood of the behavior again. When a positive result, event, or reward occurs as a result of an activity, that reaction or behavior is reinforced. Positive reinforcement of response happens when reinforcement is reversed and reinforced after a period of time.
• Positive reinforcement, which involves encouraging a certain action through a system of praise and prizes, is an efficient technique to inspire students and employees.
• Stimuli that have a pleasant outcome are used in positive reinforcement. Because the brain connects the action to the reward, positive reinforcement works, and the subject will repeat the goal action in the hopes of being rewarded again.
• Positive reinforcement is very successful in establishing new behaviors, but it may not be as effective in the long run if the subject develops bored with the reward.

As a consequence, it is determined that positive reinforcement of response occurs when reinforcement is reversed and reinforced after a period of time.

• When a subject performs the desired action, positive reinforcement is used to help them link the activity with the reward and execute it more frequently. The incentive acts as a motivator. 
• Negative reinforcement is a technique for teaching certain actions. In response to stimuli, negative reinforcement involves taking away something unpleasant or uncomfortable. With the hope that the unpleasant item will be removed, the desired behavior should gradually improve.
• The conditioned response reappears after a rest interval or a time of reduced responsiveness is known as spontaneous recovery. Extinction will happen extremely quickly following a spontaneous recovery if the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer connected.

Top Reinforcement MCQ Objective Questions

Partial reinforcement

1. is more effective than continuous reinforcement
2. is less effective than continuous reinforcement
3. cannot be applied in actual classrooms
4. works best in training animals

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 1 : is more effective than continuous reinforcement

 A reinforcer is any consequence that strengthens the behaviour it follows.

Partial reinforcement: here, we sometimes give reinforcement to the organism and sometimes not even after a correct response. 

REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES 

• when individuals are learning a new behaviour, they will learn it faster if they are reinforced for every correct response. This is a continuous reinforcement schedule.

• On the other hand, when they mastered the new behaviour, they will maintain it best if they are reinforced intermittently rather than every time.
• Intermittent or Partial reinforcement schedules are more effective than continuous reinforcement.
• Thus, it helps students to maintain skills without expecting continuous reinforcement.
• During partial reinforcement, the organism does not know, how many responses, he will get reinforcement and hence they give their best every time.
• Announcement of bonus for employees by the companies on different occasions is an example of partial reinforcement which reflect better performance all the time.

Hence, we conclude that partial reinforcement is more effective than continuous reinforcement.

Extinction of a response is more difficult following

1. partial reinforcement
2. continuous reinforcement
3. punishment
4. verbal reproach

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 1 : partial reinforcement

Extinction of response:

 In psychology, extinction refers to the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior decreasing or disappearing. In other words, the conditioned behavior eventually stops. 

Cause of extinction:

In classical conditioning, when a conditioned stimulus is presented alone without an unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response will eventually cease.

In operant conditioning, extinction occurs when a response is no longer reinforced following a discriminative stimulus.

• Continuous reinforcement: Continuous reinforcement is a method of reinforcing behavior in an effort to increase or decrease a particular behavior's frequency. It is part of a method of learning known as operant conditioning. In continuous schedules, reinforcement is provided every single time after the desired behavior. We have come to expect our behavior to be reinforced every time it is performed and quickly grow discouraged if it is not.
• Partial reinforcement: Unlike continuous schedules, partial schedules only reinforce the desired behavior occasionally rather than all the time. This leads to slower learning since it is initially more difficult to make the association between behavior and reinforcement. However, partial schedules also produce behavior that is more resistant to extinction. 

Conclusion: Reinforcement and punishment are principles of operant conditioning that increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior. Reinforcement and punishment are principles that are used in operant conditioning. Punishment is any consequence or outcome that decreases the likelihood of a behavioral response. Extinction, in operant conditioning, refers to when a reinforced behavior is extinguished entirely. This occurs at some point after reinforcement stops; the speed at which this happens depends on the reinforcement schedule. Partial reinforcement produces behavior more resistant to extinction. Hence, option (1) is correct.

Negative reinforcement-

1. increases desirable beh aviour
2. decreases undesirable behaviour
3. decreases desirable behaviour
4. increases undesirable behaviour

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2 : decreases undesirable behaviour

Reinforcement is the process of giving force on doing an activity or on not doing the activity. Skinner is a great psychologist and he gave the theory of Reinforcement in the process of learning.

• Positive Reinforcement- In the process of learning, if the teacher gives positive reinforcement to the students, students get confidence and support in running activity. By this Students are promoted to do the right activity in the process of learning.
• Negative Reinforcement- In the process of learning, if the teacher gives negative reinforcement to the students, students get demotivation to do the running activity. Of this students feel afraid and have low confidence in doing the wrong activity. Thus it decreases undesirable behavior.

In this way, we can say that Negative Reinforcement decreases undesirable behavior.

Responses that lead organisms to get rid of painful stimuli or avoid and escape from them, provide which type of reinforcement?

1. Positive reinforcement
2. Negative reinforcement
3. Delayed reinforcement
4. Partial reinforcement

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2 : Negative reinforcement

Reinforcement is a core idea in operant conditioning, with the primary goal of strengthening or increasing the rate of behaviour. Reinforcement uses a stimulus, known as a reinforcer, to help increase particular behaviors.

Hence, we can conclude that responses that lead organisms to get rid of painful stimuli or avoid and escape from them, provide the negative type of reinforcement. 

Negative reinforcement __________ responding ∶ punishment _______ responding 

1. increases ∶ increases 
2. decreases ∶ decreases 
3. increases ∶ decreases 
4. decreases ∶ increases 

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2 : decreases ∶ decreases 

Reinforcement:  Reinforcement is a term that refers to the psychological process of motivating a person. Though used synonymously, there is a slight difference between motivation and reinforcement. Reinforcement is something that enhances the strength of the response and prompts repetitions of the behavior that preceded reinforcement.

Types of reinforcement: 

• Negative reinforcement 
• Positive reinforcement
• Punishment reinforcement
• Extinction reinforcement

• Positive Reinforcement: To add an action to repeat the outcome. For example: Offering rewards (action added) when children give correct answers. It should be noted that token money can also be used for this purpose in which tokens (fake currency, buttons, stickers) can be given and later exchanged with rewards.
• Negative Reinforcement: To take away an action to repeat an outcome. For example, Restrictions are removed (action is taken away) from prisoners when they behave well.
• Positive Punishment: To add an action to reduce an outcome. For example, Kids are sent outside the class (action added) so that they don’t make noise. (action reduced). 
• Negative Punishment: To take away an action to prevent something from happening. For example, The government asks citizens to stay at home (the government is taking away the freedom to go out) to prevent a pandemic.

Hence the above point describes Punishment also decreases by a decrease in negative reinforcement.

• Extinction reinforcement: When a response is not followed by reinforcement, a person is less likely to engage in the behavior again.

'Negative Reinforcement' means -

1. Not presenting any stimulus.
2. Presenting an unpleasant stimulus.
3. Punishment.
4. Terminating an unpleasant stimulus.

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2 : Presenting an unpleasant stimulus.

Learning can be defined as the process by which any relatively permanent change in behavior occurs as a result of practice and /or experience. Reinforcement as a term refers to the psychological process of motivating a person.

• Reinforcement is something that enhances the strength of the response and prompts repetitions of the behavior that preceded reinforcement.
• Reinforcement, punishment, and extinction play a key role in the learning process. Reinforcement is used to enhance desirable behavior while punishment and extinction are employed to minimize undesirable behavior.

Reinforcement is the attempt to develop or strengthen desirable behavior. There are two types of reinforcement - positive and negative reinforcement.

• Negative reinforcement: An unpleasant event that precedes a behavior is removed when the desired behavior occurs. Negative reinforcement strengthens and increases behavior by the threat of and use of undesirable consequences.
• Negative reinforcers are the stimuli that strengthen responses that permit an organism to avoid or escape from its presence. We see negative reinforcement in organizations and in personal life.
• Supervisors apply negative reinforcement when they stop criticizing employees whose poor performance has improved. Also, negative reinforcement occurs when parents learning gives in to their children's tantrums - especially in public places, such as restaurants and shopping malls.

Thus, it is concluded that 'Negative Reinforcement' means presenting an unpleasant stimulus.

• Positive reinforcement: Positive reinforcement strengthens and enhances behavior by the presence of positive reinforcers. 

Reinforcement Question 12:

Partial reinforcement

1. is more effective than continuous reinforcement
2. is less effective than continuous reinforcement
3. cannot be applied in actual classrooms
4. works best in training animals

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 1 : is more effective than continuous reinforcement

 A reinforcer is any consequence that strengthens the behaviour it follows.

Partial reinforcement: here, we sometimes give reinforcement to the organism and sometimes not even after a correct response. 

REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES 

• when individuals are learning a new behaviour, they will learn it faster if they are reinforced for every correct response. This is a continuous reinforcement schedule.

• On the other hand, when they mastered the new behaviour, they will maintain it best if they are reinforced intermittently rather than every time.
• Intermittent or Partial reinforcement schedules are more effective than continuous reinforcement.
• Thus, it helps students to maintain skills without expecting continuous reinforcement.
• During partial reinforcement, the organism does not know, how many responses, he will get reinforcement and hence they give their best every time.
• Announcement of bonus for employees by the companies on different occasions is an example of partial reinforcement which reflect better performance all the time.

Hence, we conclude that partial reinforcement is more effective than continuous reinforcement.

Reinforcement Question 13:

A child receives a star for every correct answer she gets. What reinforcement schedule is being used?

1. Variable ratio reinforcement schedule
2. Intermittent reinforcement schedule
3. Partial reinforcement schedule
4. Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 4 : Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

Reinforcement theory seeks to explain what types of consequences motivate different people to work. Traditionally, it can be traced to the work of the pioneering behaviorist B.F. Skinner (1953). It posits that behavior depends on its consequences.

• Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule: This depends upon a particular number of responses that must be made before the reinforcement is given. For example, A child receives a star for every correct answer she gets.
• Partial reinforcement schedule: Partial reinforcement or intermittent reinforcement takes place when reinforcement is not given on every desired behavior. The main types of partial reinforcement schedules (schedules of reinforcement) depend upon the time at which the reinforcement is given or the rate/number of times the reinforcement is given to the response.
• Variable ratio reinforcement schedule: In this schedule the reinforcement is given after a varied number of responses. That is it may be given after the first response, then after three responses, then after five responses and so on. So, there is no fixed number of responses preceding the reinforcement. This kind of reinforcement schedule leads to a high and steady rate of responding. 

Hence, we can conclude that A child receives a star for every correct answer she gets is the example of fixed ratio reinforcement schedule.

Reinforcement Question 14:

Extinction of a response is more difficult following

1. partial reinforcement
2. continuous reinforcement
3. punishment
4. verbal reproach

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 1 : partial reinforcement

Extinction of response:

 In psychology, extinction refers to the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior decreasing or disappearing. In other words, the conditioned behavior eventually stops. 

Cause of extinction:

In classical conditioning, when a conditioned stimulus is presented alone without an unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response will eventually cease.

In operant conditioning, extinction occurs when a response is no longer reinforced following a discriminative stimulus.

• Continuous reinforcement: Continuous reinforcement is a method of reinforcing behavior in an effort to increase or decrease a particular behavior's frequency. It is part of a method of learning known as operant conditioning. In continuous schedules, reinforcement is provided every single time after the desired behavior. We have come to expect our behavior to be reinforced every time it is performed and quickly grow discouraged if it is not.
• Partial reinforcement: Unlike continuous schedules, partial schedules only reinforce the desired behavior occasionally rather than all the time. This leads to slower learning since it is initially more difficult to make the association between behavior and reinforcement. However, partial schedules also produce behavior that is more resistant to extinction. 

Conclusion: Reinforcement and punishment are principles of operant conditioning that increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior. Reinforcement and punishment are principles that are used in operant conditioning. Punishment is any consequence or outcome that decreases the likelihood of a behavioral response. Extinction, in operant conditioning, refers to when a reinforced behavior is extinguished entirely. This occurs at some point after reinforcement stops; the speed at which this happens depends on the reinforcement schedule. Partial reinforcement produces behavior more resistant to extinction. Hence, option (1) is correct.

Reinforcement Question 15:

How many type of reinforcement is there?

1. Two
2. Four
3. Eight
4. Twelve

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 1 : Two

Reinforcement is simply defined as an effect that increases the probability of a response. It is, therefore, discussed in terms of observable or measurable events. We reward people, we reinforce the behaviour.

Types of Reinforcement: In operant conditioning, two kinds of reinforcements have been described - positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.

• Positive reinforcement is the presentation of a stimulus that, when added to a situation, increases the probability of a response to occur. For example, praise, rewards, tokens, etc. 
• Negative reinforcement, which is the termination of an unpleasant stimulus (aversive stimulus - such as inconvenient environment, isolation, etc.) that, when taken away from a situation, also increases the probability of a response to occur. 
  • For example, a teacher can eliminate that night's homework if kids study hard and accomplish a lot in class. If this happens multiple times, the kids will consistently work harder and be more productive while in the classroom.

Thus from the above-mentioned points, it is clear that there are two types of reinforcement. 

• Positive and Negative reinforcements seek to increase the probability of a response, whereas punishment aims to suppress a response. 

How a new response is strengthened?

What is positive reinforcement in operant conditioning?

In which schedule of reinforcement the experimenter reinforces the first correct response after a given length of time?

Which of the following is an example of a primary reinforce?