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Question

Which of the following is an application of operant conditioning ?

The correct answer is
Behaviour modification

Operant Conditioning Application Identified

Operant conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences. It involves associating voluntary actions with their results (reinforcement or punishment).

Behaviour Modification Explained

Behaviour modification is a direct application of operant conditioning principles. It involves systematically changing behavior through the use of reinforcement, punishment, and other consequences.

  • Therapists and educators use techniques based on operant conditioning to increase desirable behaviors (e.g., rewarding studying) and decrease undesirable ones (e.g., ignoring tantrums).

Evaluating Other Options

The other options are not the primary applications of operant conditioning:

  • Aversive conditioning: While it can involve punishment (a component of operant conditioning), it's often discussed within broader contexts and sometimes linked more closely to classical conditioning methods for treating phobias or habits by pairing them with unpleasant stimuli.
  • Systematic desensitization: This technique is primarily based on classical conditioning, pairing relaxation responses with increasingly feared stimuli.
  • Transfer of learning: This refers to how learning in one situation affects learning or performance in another situation. It's a general learning concept, not a specific application technique of operant conditioning.

Therefore, behaviour modification is the most direct and widely recognized application of operant conditioning.

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Important Questions from Principles and theories of learning - Teaching

  1. Match List - I with List - II and select the correct answer by choosing from code given below :

    List - I
    (Concept)
    List - II
    (Description)
    (a) Counter-conditioning(i) After conditioning, a new CS(B) when paired with already conditioned stimulus CS(A) and presented as a compound stimulus, little or no conditioning occurs to CS(B).
    (b) Blocking(ii) Elimination of undesirable behaviour by pairing CS with US other than the one that originally reinforced that behaviour.
    (c) Overshadowing(iii) Inhibition of conditioned response caused by conditioned emotional response.
    (d) Conditioned Suppression(iv) While using compound CS where one of its components is more salient than the other, only the salient component is conditioned.


    Code :

  2. Which of the following terms explains the Reinforcement which is given only if a specific response is made ?
  3. Read each of the following statements - Assertion (A) and Reason (R); and indicate your answer using code given below :
    Assertion (A): Premack principle, based on Probability-Differential Hypothesis, states that the opportunity to engage in a frequently occurring activity can be used to reinforce less frequently activity.
    Reason (R) : According to Probability-Differential Hypothesis, restricted access to a response makes that response reinforcing and excessive access to that response makes that response punishing.
    Code :
  4. Salient features of classical conditioning are
    1. Responses are voluntary.
    2. Based on principle of association by contiguity.
    3. Antecedent stimuli are important in forming association.
    4. Goal is to increase the rate of an already occurring response.
    5. Goal is to create a new response to stimulus.
    Codes:
  5. Read each of the following two statements – Assertion (A) and Reason (R) and indicate your answer using the codes given below :
    Assertion (A): Conditioning fails to occur when unconditioned stimulus and conditioned stimulus are paired in a random order.
    Reason (R) : Cognitive processes involving expectation play an important role in classical conditioning.
    Codes:
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