Exam 7: Learning and Conditioning

Positive reinforcement ________ the probability of a behaviour over time; negative reinforcement ________ the probability of a behaviour over time.

Immediate punishment of self-destructive behaviour,such as tearing out one's hair,is effective.

Ivan Pavlov won a Nobel Prize for his work in physiology and medicine.

In Chapter 7,Learning and Conditioning,we read about the problems Keller and Marian Breland encountered when they ignored biological constraints by trying to condition pigs to drop large wooden coins in a box.The Brelands realized that the pig's rooting instinct,using its snout to uncover and dig up edible roots,was keeping it from learning the task.People are also influenced by the evolutionary history of our human species.Integrate the information learned in Chapter 3,Genes,Evolution,and Environment,with information about operant and classical conditioning.In your essay,include a discussion of language.

Research supports the biological basis of fear conditioning and fear extinction.

Using shaping and other techniques,Skinner was able to train pigeons to "bowl" in a miniature bowling alley.

A car manufacturer places an ad for its newest model in Playboy magazine,hoping that it will increase sales.In this case,the car is a/an ________ and the female models throughout the magazine would presumably serve as ________.

When Jonas was 16,Jonas's girlfriend drove a small,yellow convertible,and just the sight of it in the high school parking lot sent his heart racing with excitement.After they broke up,he thought of her with fond memories but his heart stopped racing at the sight of her car.Jonas is quite surprised,then,when he sees a similar car at college and his heart races and his pulse pounds! What principles of learning explain Jonas's reactions?

In Pavlov's studies of classical conditioning in dogs,the food dish was the:

Many people confuse negative reinforcement with positive punishment.What is the best way to keep these terms straight?

The use of ________ reinforcers sometimes causes a behaviour to decrease in frequency.

Suppose that your cat has been classically conditioned to the sound of an electric can opener when you open a can of cat food.How would the cat respond when there is a great sale on dry cat food and for one month you don't use the can opener?

In what ways might higher-order conditioning explain why some words trigger emotional responses in us? Give an example of a positive response that could be formed through higher-order conditioning.Give an example of a negative response that could be formed through higher-order conditioning.In what ways might higher-order conditioning contribute to prejudice?

The process by which a stimulus strengthens or increases the probability of the response that it follows is called:

A negative reinforcer makes a response more likely to reoccur.

Every week,Jade spends her allowance on 500 grams of sour lemon gummy candies even though they always make her mouth water.One day,as she is walking down the street,Jade sees a girl carrying a little white bag that looks like a candy shop bag! Jade notices that her mouth is puckering and overflowing with saliva.In this example,the unconditioned stimulus is the: