Principles of Operant Conditioning Have Been Used to Help Explain

question 93

Essay

Principles of operant conditioning have been used to help explain why people get attached to "lucky" hats, charms, and rituals. Using these principles, explain how an athlete might show this type of behavior. How did Skinner demonstrate the phenomenon of superstitious behavior with eight pigeons in his laboratory?

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Definitions:

Symbol-word Correspondence

The understanding and ability to link written symbols with their corresponding sounds or meanings.

Hearing Phonemes

The perception and understanding of the smallest distinguishable sound units that differentiate meaning in language.

Seeing Syllables

A cognitive process related to the visual recognition of written syllables, which involves interpreting patterns of letters as coherent units of sound.

Bottom-up Processing

A cognitive process that starts with information from the sensory input, building up to a final perception or understanding.