PSY101_1st_Assignment_Spring_2012
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:10 pm
SEMESTER SPRING 2012
Introduction to Psychology (PSY101)
Assignment No. 1
Due Date: April 19, 2012 Marks: 20
Assignment:
“Reinforcement”
Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, strengthens behavior. A behavior which is
strengthened through the process of reinforcement is called “Operant Behavior”.
Positive reinforcer is a stimulus whose introduction brings about an increase in the
preceding response while negative reinforcer is a stimulus whose removal reinforces and
leads to a higher likelihood that the response bringing about this removal will be
repeated.
Part 1
Focusing on the above mentioned details, you are supposed to read the following
situations in detail to pick out the followings:
Type of reinforcement (1+1+1+1+1+1+1)
· What kind of reinforcement has been narrated in situation, positive or negative?
Reinforces (.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5)
· Which specific reinforcer is serving to strengthen the behavior?
Strengthened Behaviors (.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5)
· Which specific behavior is being strengthened, pick out the specific behavior from
the situation?
You are supposed to record your answers in the following table given at the end.
Situation 1:
A two years old child has a tantrum (crying and screaming) in the grocery store when he
demands candy and his mother says no. His mother eventually buys him a candy and he
stops his tantrum. As a result, his mother is more likely to give him a candy when he
demands it and has a tantrum.
Situation 2:
Little Ahmed cries at night after being put to bed and his parents come to his room to
comfort him and calm him down. As a result, Ahmed now cries more often at bed time.
Situation 3:
When a chef cooks steaks, it creates smoke. He turns on the exhaust fan, and the smoke is
sucked out of the kitchen. He is now more likely to turn exhaust fan when he cooks
steaks.
Situation 4:
A teacher smiles at Hassan and praises him when he stays at his seat and pays attention
to the class work in the class room. As a result, Hassan started to show good class room
behavior.
Situation 5:
Instead of paying workers by the hour, a bicycle manufacturing company begins paying
piece rate, in which workers on the assembly line earn a certain amount of money for
each bicycle that they assemble. As a result, the workers assemble more bicycles each day
and earn more money.
Situation 6:
A college student is answering study guide questions for her Psychology class. When she
can’t figure out an answer to a question, she asks her friend who already took the class.
Her friend tells her the correct answer. As a result, she is more likely to ask her friend
for an answer to question she does not know.
Situation 7:
A woman waiting for the bus opens up her umbrella when it rains. The umbrella keeps
the rain from hitting her. Now she always opens up her umbrella when it rains.
Situations Type of
Reinforcement
Reinforcers Strengthened
Behaviors
Situation 1
Situation 2
Situation 3
Situation 4
Situation 5
Situation 6
Situation 7
Part 2
Identify any three behaviors from your own life which get strengthened either by positive
reinforcement or by negative reinforcement. Also determine the reinforcers of these
behaviors. (2+2+2)
Note:
Only in the case of Assignment, 24 hours extra / grace period after the due date
is usually available to overcome uploading difficulties which may be faced by
the students on last date. This extra time should only be used to meet the
emergencies and above mentioned due dates should always be treated as final to
avoid any inconvenience.
Important Instructions:
Please read the following instructions carefully before attempting the assignment solution.
Deadline:
· Make sure that you upload the solution file before the due date. No
assignment will be accepted through e-mail once the solution has been
uploaded by the instructor.
Formatting guidelines:
· Use the font style “Times New Roman”/ “Arial” and font size “12”.
· It is advised to compose your document in MS-Word 2003.
· Use black and blue font colors only.
Solution guidelines:
· Every student will work individually and has to write in the form of an
analytical assignment.
· Give the answer according to question.
· For acquiring the relevant knowledge don’t rely only on handouts but
watch the video lectures and use other reference books also.
Rules for Marking
Please note that your assignment will not be graded or graded as Zero (0) if:
· It has been submitted after due date
· The file you uploaded does not open or is corrupt
· It is in any format other than .doc (MS. Word)
It is cheated or copied from other students, internet, books, journals etc…
Introduction to Psychology (PSY101)
Assignment No. 1
Due Date: April 19, 2012 Marks: 20
Assignment:
“Reinforcement”
Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, strengthens behavior. A behavior which is
strengthened through the process of reinforcement is called “Operant Behavior”.
Positive reinforcer is a stimulus whose introduction brings about an increase in the
preceding response while negative reinforcer is a stimulus whose removal reinforces and
leads to a higher likelihood that the response bringing about this removal will be
repeated.
Part 1
Focusing on the above mentioned details, you are supposed to read the following
situations in detail to pick out the followings:
Type of reinforcement (1+1+1+1+1+1+1)
· What kind of reinforcement has been narrated in situation, positive or negative?
Reinforces (.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5)
· Which specific reinforcer is serving to strengthen the behavior?
Strengthened Behaviors (.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5)
· Which specific behavior is being strengthened, pick out the specific behavior from
the situation?
You are supposed to record your answers in the following table given at the end.
Situation 1:
A two years old child has a tantrum (crying and screaming) in the grocery store when he
demands candy and his mother says no. His mother eventually buys him a candy and he
stops his tantrum. As a result, his mother is more likely to give him a candy when he
demands it and has a tantrum.
Situation 2:
Little Ahmed cries at night after being put to bed and his parents come to his room to
comfort him and calm him down. As a result, Ahmed now cries more often at bed time.
Situation 3:
When a chef cooks steaks, it creates smoke. He turns on the exhaust fan, and the smoke is
sucked out of the kitchen. He is now more likely to turn exhaust fan when he cooks
steaks.
Situation 4:
A teacher smiles at Hassan and praises him when he stays at his seat and pays attention
to the class work in the class room. As a result, Hassan started to show good class room
behavior.
Situation 5:
Instead of paying workers by the hour, a bicycle manufacturing company begins paying
piece rate, in which workers on the assembly line earn a certain amount of money for
each bicycle that they assemble. As a result, the workers assemble more bicycles each day
and earn more money.
Situation 6:
A college student is answering study guide questions for her Psychology class. When she
can’t figure out an answer to a question, she asks her friend who already took the class.
Her friend tells her the correct answer. As a result, she is more likely to ask her friend
for an answer to question she does not know.
Situation 7:
A woman waiting for the bus opens up her umbrella when it rains. The umbrella keeps
the rain from hitting her. Now she always opens up her umbrella when it rains.
Situations Type of
Reinforcement
Reinforcers Strengthened
Behaviors
Situation 1
Situation 2
Situation 3
Situation 4
Situation 5
Situation 6
Situation 7
Part 2
Identify any three behaviors from your own life which get strengthened either by positive
reinforcement or by negative reinforcement. Also determine the reinforcers of these
behaviors. (2+2+2)
Note:
Only in the case of Assignment, 24 hours extra / grace period after the due date
is usually available to overcome uploading difficulties which may be faced by
the students on last date. This extra time should only be used to meet the
emergencies and above mentioned due dates should always be treated as final to
avoid any inconvenience.
Important Instructions:
Please read the following instructions carefully before attempting the assignment solution.
Deadline:
· Make sure that you upload the solution file before the due date. No
assignment will be accepted through e-mail once the solution has been
uploaded by the instructor.
Formatting guidelines:
· Use the font style “Times New Roman”/ “Arial” and font size “12”.
· It is advised to compose your document in MS-Word 2003.
· Use black and blue font colors only.
Solution guidelines:
· Every student will work individually and has to write in the form of an
analytical assignment.
· Give the answer according to question.
· For acquiring the relevant knowledge don’t rely only on handouts but
watch the video lectures and use other reference books also.
Rules for Marking
Please note that your assignment will not be graded or graded as Zero (0) if:
· It has been submitted after due date
· The file you uploaded does not open or is corrupt
· It is in any format other than .doc (MS. Word)
It is cheated or copied from other students, internet, books, journals etc…