A Ski Instructor Is Teaching a Class of Beginning Skiers

question 14

Multiple Choice

A ski instructor is teaching a class of beginning skiers how to do a snowplow turn. She first teaches her students to stand with the fronts of their skis together and the backs of their skis far apart. She then has her students bend their knees slightly and lean forward in this "snowplow" position. After the students can do these two things successfully, the instructor has them add more behaviors to the sequence: gliding across the side of a gentle slope in a snowplow, putting their body weight on the downhill ski, gradually turning downhill, and so on. The instructor praises her students each time they successfully add a new movement to the sequence. In behaviorist terminology, the procedure that the ski instructor is using can best be described as:

• A) the Premack principle
• B) chaining
• C) a differential schedule of reinforcement
• D) higher-level conditioning

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Definitions:

Preoperational

A stage in Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development where children from ages 2 to 7 engage in symbolic play and struggle with logic and taking the perspective of others.

Nonstage Theories

Cognitive development theories that argue against the idea of distinct, universal stages of cognitive growth, suggesting instead that development is a more continuous and fluid process.

Gradual Acquisition

The slow and steady process of learning or obtaining knowledge or skills over time.

Memory Capacity

The amount of information that can be held in memory, encompassing short-term, long-term, and working memory capacities.