OPERANT CONDITIONING
REVIEW
For each example tell whether the
underlined behavior will recur.
DIRECTIONS
• Focus on the underlined behavior and identify
whether…
– The consequence for doing that behavior was Good  or
Bad  or Nothing O
– Then determine if the behavior is likely to increase ( ) or
decrease ( )
– Finally say which term of operant conditioning is being
shown –
•
•
•
•
•
Neg. Reinforcement
Pos. Reinforcement
Neg. Punishment
Pos. Punishment
Extinction
Scenario 1
A student volunteers to answer a tough
question in class, and the teacher comments
favorably on the quality of the student’s
contribution.
Scenario 1
Answers
• 
•
Increase Behavior
• Positive Reinforcement
Scenario 2
A wife brings home flowers to her
husband because of the special dinner he
had cooked for her.
Scenario 2
Answers
• 
•
Increase Behavior
• Positive Reinforcement
Scenario 3
A child is sent to his room with no
supper after presenting a bad report card.
Scenario 3
Answers
• 
•
Decrease Behavior
• Negative Punishment
Scenario 4
Dad & tot enter the checkout lane of the
supermarket. When the child screams for
candy, dad pops a sucker in her mouth to
quiet her down.
Scenario 4
Answers
• 
•
Increase Behavior
• Positive Reinforcement
Scenario 5
A child spills milk all over the supper table,
and Mom (having had a very bad day) swoops
the child up from the high chair and spanks
him.
Scenario 5
Answers
• 
•
Decrease Behavior
• Positive Punishment
Scenario 6
A student has a terrible headache after
an intense preparation period for a test. He
takes two aspirin to make it go away.
Scenario 6
Answers
• 
•
Increase Behavior
• Negative Reinforcement
Scenario 7
Two children, who usually spend most
of their time fighting, finally play peaceably
over a coloring book. Dad peeks in and
sighs, “At last, they are getting along.” He
returns to work without saying anything to
them.
Scenario 7
Answers
• O
•
Decrease Behavior
• Extinction
Scenario 8
As a spoiled child is being driven by a
fast-food restaurant, she begins screaming
that she must have french fries or she won’t
survive. The parents surrender and drive in
for a large supply.
Scenario 8
Answers
• 
•
Increase Behavior
• Negative Reinforcement
Scenario 9
A teenager whines about having nothing
to do. Dad gives him a lecture about all the
stuff in his room and the good old days
when he, the father, didn’t have all that stuff
but still managed to be happy.
Scenario 9
Answers
If you view lecture as nothing:
• O
•
Decrease Behavior
• Extinction
If you view lecture as bad:
• 
•
Decrease Behavior
• Positive Punishment
Scenario 10
A terrorist applies an electric current to
the feet of a spy to make her confess. She
tells him everything she knows.
Scenario 10
Answers
• 
•
Increase Behavior
• Negative Reinforcement