As Many Students Move Through the Grade Levels, Performance Goals

question 31

Multiple Choice

As many students move through the grade levels, performance goals increasingly predominate over mastery goals.Three of the following are partial explanations for this developmental trend.Which alternative is not a reasonable explanation for the increasing focus on performance goals with age?

• A)Older students are regularly reminded of the importance of good grades for getting into college.
• B)With the acquisition of abstract thought, older students are better able to imagine accomplishing great things.
• C)As academic tasks become increasingly complex, older students must often rely on other people to evaluate their progress.
• D)As students reach adolescence, they become increasingly concerned about how other people will judge their behavior.

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Definitions:

Variable Interval Schedule

A reward system where a response is given a reward after a random duration of time.

Fixed Interval Schedule

A schedule of reinforcement where rewards are given after a set period of time passes, regardless of the number of responses.

Reinforcement Schedules

In operant conditioning, the rule that is used to determine when and how frequently an action should be reinforced.

Positive Reinforcement

A technique used in behavior modification that increases the likelihood of a behavior by associating it with a positive outcome or reward.