Example CPDT Questions - Learning
theory
A dog learns not to nip when taking treats because his owner removes the treat. This is
an example of:
A dog learns not to nip when taking treats because his owner removes the treat. This is
an example of - answerD! You remove the treat to reduce nipping/hard mouth.
A dog learns to keep his feet on the floor to avoid having his toes pinched. This is an
example of
A. Positive reinforcement
B. Negative reinforcement
C. Positive punishment
D. Negative punishment
(Hint: Focus on your target behavior as a starting point. We are going to do a series of
these today. - answerB! The target behavior is keeping his feet on the floor. He learns
TO DO (reinforcement) this by avoiding (removing/negative) the toe pinches. This,
along with that whole knee the dog in the chest thing, is such a mean and inefficient
way to teach four on the floo
A dog learns not to door dash because his owner body blocks all attempts. This is an
example of
A. Positive reinforcement
B. Negative reinforcement
C. Positive punishment
D. Negative punishment - answerC! You add the body block to reduce the door dashing.
I can understand how you got D, and I admit, I had to think really hard about this one
before I posted it. However, based upon the wording of the question, we are adding a
stimulus (the body block). If the question said that the owner removed the dog's access
to the door or removed the opportunity for freedom, then it would be negative
punishment
Owner has a new washing machine that beeps whenever a load finishes. Her dog barks
each time the machine beeps, but she carefully ignores the dog and the beep. The dog
eventually stops attending to the beep and no longer barks. What has occurred?
,A. Learned irrelevance
B. Habituation
C. Desensitization
D. Adaptation - answerIt is B! Habituation. This is a new stimulus, and the barking tells
us that he attended to the new noise. However, because the owner was so careful not
to provide it meaning, he "got used to it" on his own and began ignoring it.
What is the definition of the Premack Principle?
A. A less likely behavior can reinforce a more likely behavior.
B. A more likely behavior can reinforce a less likely behavior.
C. A less likely behavior can punish a more likely behavior.
D. A more likely behavior can punish a less likely behavior. - answerB! A more likely
behavior (something the dog wants to do) can reinforce a less likely behavior
(something they aren't excited about). This is grandma's law: eat your peas and you can
have some ice cream.
An owner works hard to ignore her dog's demand barks, until finally, he no longer
displays the behavior. She calls because after a visit from a family member who thought
it was cute to give treats when the dog "spoke," the barking has returned in full force.
What has happened?
A. Spontaneous recovery
B. Extinction
C. Learned irrelevance
D. Descrimination - answerA
A client is worried about her dog's behavior on leash, as he barks and lunges at
strangers. The result of his behavior is that none of her neighbors want to approach.
Her friend at work recommends a prong collar and tells her to just "pop it" whenever he
barks. However, after an initial notice to the prong collar correction, the dog quickly
returns to barking and lunging, and eventually does so regardless of the collar
corrections.
This is an example of:
A. Habituation
B. Desensitization
C. Learned Helplessness
D. Learned Irrelevance - answerD
Assuming proper puppy raising practices, during which stage of development is bite
inhibition initially learned?
, A. 1st Socialization
B. 2nd Socialization
C. Juvenile
D. Adolescence - answerit is A. Most bite inhibition is taught by the mother and
littermates during the 1st socialization stage. We often think of it in the 2nd because this
is when clients call us with a nipping puppy. However, if the breeder was a good
breeder, allowing the littermates to stay together for the full 7-8 weeks, they shouldn't be
going home with hard mouths.
All of the following are healthy phases of a dog's agonistic display (ritualized
aggression) EXCEPT:
A. Growling
B. Agonistic pucker
C. Biting
D. Charging - answerC. By definition, ritualized displays involve a lot of show but no
actual overt aggression or inflicted harm (biting, clawing, kicking, hitting, etc. depending
on the species). Dogs may charge, dashing in and out, in a threat of "don't make me
hurt you" as part of ritualized aggression. However, if they cross into biting and physical
damage, the behavior has transitioned into overt aggression with intent to harm.
Which of the following behaviors is most likely to be affected by neutering an adult male
dog?
A. Humping and mounting
B. Leg lifting
C. Aggression
D. Wandering and door dashing - answerHumpy and mounting can have a variety of
causes, frequently involving a learning history, self-soothing (such as anxiety), an
attempt to communicate discomfort in group behavior, etc. Additionally, the question
specifies that this is an adult male, which tells us that many of the behaviors that may
be initiated by hormones are now learned. Oddly, while door dashing and wandering
can have a similar behavioral history, because of the reduced interest in neighborhood
females, it does appear that neutering at any age can reduce this behavior.
Lucy barks at the TV whenever horses are on. Her owner changes the channel every
time she barks at the TV, but barking increases. Lucy's barking has been
A. Positively reinforced
B. Negatively reinforced
C. Positively punished
D. Negatively punished - answerit is B. We removed the horses on TV by turning the
channel (-), but the behavior (barking) has increased in frequency (reinforcement).
theory
A dog learns not to nip when taking treats because his owner removes the treat. This is
an example of:
A dog learns not to nip when taking treats because his owner removes the treat. This is
an example of - answerD! You remove the treat to reduce nipping/hard mouth.
A dog learns to keep his feet on the floor to avoid having his toes pinched. This is an
example of
A. Positive reinforcement
B. Negative reinforcement
C. Positive punishment
D. Negative punishment
(Hint: Focus on your target behavior as a starting point. We are going to do a series of
these today. - answerB! The target behavior is keeping his feet on the floor. He learns
TO DO (reinforcement) this by avoiding (removing/negative) the toe pinches. This,
along with that whole knee the dog in the chest thing, is such a mean and inefficient
way to teach four on the floo
A dog learns not to door dash because his owner body blocks all attempts. This is an
example of
A. Positive reinforcement
B. Negative reinforcement
C. Positive punishment
D. Negative punishment - answerC! You add the body block to reduce the door dashing.
I can understand how you got D, and I admit, I had to think really hard about this one
before I posted it. However, based upon the wording of the question, we are adding a
stimulus (the body block). If the question said that the owner removed the dog's access
to the door or removed the opportunity for freedom, then it would be negative
punishment
Owner has a new washing machine that beeps whenever a load finishes. Her dog barks
each time the machine beeps, but she carefully ignores the dog and the beep. The dog
eventually stops attending to the beep and no longer barks. What has occurred?
,A. Learned irrelevance
B. Habituation
C. Desensitization
D. Adaptation - answerIt is B! Habituation. This is a new stimulus, and the barking tells
us that he attended to the new noise. However, because the owner was so careful not
to provide it meaning, he "got used to it" on his own and began ignoring it.
What is the definition of the Premack Principle?
A. A less likely behavior can reinforce a more likely behavior.
B. A more likely behavior can reinforce a less likely behavior.
C. A less likely behavior can punish a more likely behavior.
D. A more likely behavior can punish a less likely behavior. - answerB! A more likely
behavior (something the dog wants to do) can reinforce a less likely behavior
(something they aren't excited about). This is grandma's law: eat your peas and you can
have some ice cream.
An owner works hard to ignore her dog's demand barks, until finally, he no longer
displays the behavior. She calls because after a visit from a family member who thought
it was cute to give treats when the dog "spoke," the barking has returned in full force.
What has happened?
A. Spontaneous recovery
B. Extinction
C. Learned irrelevance
D. Descrimination - answerA
A client is worried about her dog's behavior on leash, as he barks and lunges at
strangers. The result of his behavior is that none of her neighbors want to approach.
Her friend at work recommends a prong collar and tells her to just "pop it" whenever he
barks. However, after an initial notice to the prong collar correction, the dog quickly
returns to barking and lunging, and eventually does so regardless of the collar
corrections.
This is an example of:
A. Habituation
B. Desensitization
C. Learned Helplessness
D. Learned Irrelevance - answerD
Assuming proper puppy raising practices, during which stage of development is bite
inhibition initially learned?
, A. 1st Socialization
B. 2nd Socialization
C. Juvenile
D. Adolescence - answerit is A. Most bite inhibition is taught by the mother and
littermates during the 1st socialization stage. We often think of it in the 2nd because this
is when clients call us with a nipping puppy. However, if the breeder was a good
breeder, allowing the littermates to stay together for the full 7-8 weeks, they shouldn't be
going home with hard mouths.
All of the following are healthy phases of a dog's agonistic display (ritualized
aggression) EXCEPT:
A. Growling
B. Agonistic pucker
C. Biting
D. Charging - answerC. By definition, ritualized displays involve a lot of show but no
actual overt aggression or inflicted harm (biting, clawing, kicking, hitting, etc. depending
on the species). Dogs may charge, dashing in and out, in a threat of "don't make me
hurt you" as part of ritualized aggression. However, if they cross into biting and physical
damage, the behavior has transitioned into overt aggression with intent to harm.
Which of the following behaviors is most likely to be affected by neutering an adult male
dog?
A. Humping and mounting
B. Leg lifting
C. Aggression
D. Wandering and door dashing - answerHumpy and mounting can have a variety of
causes, frequently involving a learning history, self-soothing (such as anxiety), an
attempt to communicate discomfort in group behavior, etc. Additionally, the question
specifies that this is an adult male, which tells us that many of the behaviors that may
be initiated by hormones are now learned. Oddly, while door dashing and wandering
can have a similar behavioral history, because of the reduced interest in neighborhood
females, it does appear that neutering at any age can reduce this behavior.
Lucy barks at the TV whenever horses are on. Her owner changes the channel every
time she barks at the TV, but barking increases. Lucy's barking has been
A. Positively reinforced
B. Negatively reinforced
C. Positively punished
D. Negatively punished - answerit is B. We removed the horses on TV by turning the
channel (-), but the behavior (barking) has increased in frequency (reinforcement).
