Skinner once placed some pigeons in Skinner boxes and reinforced them with food randomly no matter what they were doing. Despite the fact that there was no real connection between their behavior and its consequences, each pigeon acted as if there were with one bird flapping its left wing, another hopping on one foot, and a third turning in complete circles. Skinner used which of the following terms to describe such behaviors that are repeated because they appear to produce reinforcement when really the behaviors are unnecessary?

a.

superstitious behavior

b.

latent learning

c.

modeling

d.

positive transfer

Question

Kathryn Ashley

Social Studies

4 November, 20:29

Skinner once placed some pigeons in Skinner boxes and reinforced them with food randomly no matter what they were doing. Despite the fact that there was no real connection between their behavior and its consequences, each pigeon acted as if there were with one bird flapping its left wing, another hopping on one foot, and a third turning in complete circles. Skinner used which of the following terms to describe such behaviors that are repeated because they appear to produce reinforcement when really the behaviors are unnecessary?

a.

superstitious behavior

b.

latent learning

c.

modeling

d.

positive transfer

+5

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Cody Bird · Answer 1

The concept that describes this phenomenom according th Skinner theory and work is:

a. superstitious behavior

Explanation:

The reasons behind this answer are that in the first place the definition of superstitious behavior is the relationship between one behavior and one reward is established randomly to it. The subject associates the reward with the behavior, creating the false superstition that the behaviors triggers the reward and keeps doing it to receive rewards.