Behaviorism Assignment Review

Question 1 When my aunt went for long rides in the car as a child, she often experienced motion sickness. My grandmother handed her a perfumed handkerchief in hopes it might distract her from the sickness or come in handy in case of an “incident”. And to this day, my aut feels nauseated by the odor of perfume. Diagram the aunt’s response. Car Ride (US) Perfume (NS) } Nausea (UR) Perfume (CS)Nausea (CR)

Question 2 Upon seeing me, my father often tells a joke. At an early age I learned to laugh – or at least smile – at his poor jokes. He still tells lousy jokes, not just with me but even with people he doesn’t know at all. Diagram the father’s behavior. Sees child (S D ) Tells joke (R O )Child laughs (S R )

Question 3 The person doing the laundry did not notice a four-year-old child lightly fingering the electric cord as it swung playfully in the air. In the minutes that followed, the child bit the cord, fell unconscious, and was scooped up by the frantic caretaker. She was revived by a doctor fortunately nearby. I was that child, and I can clearly remember fearing electric cords years later. Diagram the child’s fear. Shock (US) Electric cord (NS) } Pain/fear (UR) Electric cord (CS) Fear (CR)

Question 4, pt. 1 As a kid, if my father found I’d used his tools, he’d swat me with an old broom, leaving me sore and anxious for days. Even the sight of that broom made me anxious. But rather than trying to run away when he came after me with the broom, eventually I discovered I could talk him out of hitting me if I told him a tale – about sharpening his tools, fixing something, or cleaning the workshop, which I actually did once in a while. Diagram the boy’s initial feelings and his eventual response. Swatting (US) Broom (NS) } Pain/anxiety (UR) Broom (CS)Anxiety (CR)

Question 4, pt. 2 As a kid, if my father found I’d used his tools, he’d swat me with an old broom, leaving me sore and anxious for days. Even the sight of that broom made me anxious. But rather than trying to run away when he came after me with the broom, eventually I discovered I could talk him out of hitting me if I told him a tale – about sharpening his tools, fixing something, or cleaning the workshop, which I actually did once in a while. Diagram the boy’s initial feelings and his eventual response. Sees father coming with broom (S D ) Tells story (R O )Escapes punishment (S R )

General Comments and Tips Operant conditioning and classical conditioning are two related but different things! Diagrams should include US, CS, UR/CR, OR S D, R O, S R Diagrams can be made easy by first identifying the subject on whom conditioning occurs That person is who you’re referring to as the subject throughout the diagram Think of operant conditioning as occurring when the subject is performing an action (he or she is operating). By comparison, the subject in classical conditioning is affected by people, objects, and stimuli in the environment.