Marcus investigated the application of operant conditioning in training two different species of birds. He trained young pigeons and budgerigars to successfully navigate a miniature obstacle course that he had constructed.
Marcus utilized positive reinforcement with both the pigeons and the budgerigars by providing each bird with three sunflower seeds every time they completed the obstacle course. He recorded the time taken, in seconds, for each bird to successfully navigate the obstacle course.
Explain how Marcus used positive reinforcement in this investigation.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Content with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 1,059 questions covering Bowlby's work on attachment, Ainsworth and the Strange Situation, Research into deprivation, Research into privation, Research into day care, Cross-cultural research into attachment, Autism, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
