Exam 5: Learning

Austin is a very aggressive child who watches a lot of violent programs on television. Research has found a statistically significant, positive correlation between watching television and behaving aggressively. Based on this correlational evidence, which statement is true about Austin's aggression? ​

Theresa discovers that reading her textbook the night before a sociology test is an effective study strategy. She decides to try the same thing in studying for psychology quizzes. We can say that her study behavior has​

You buy a new car that always starts instantly on cold mornings (continuous reinforcement). It suddenly fails one time, and you immediately call a service station. Suppose, however, that your car often gives you trouble on cold mornings (variable reinforcement). It is likely that you will try to start the car several times before calling a service station due to the ____ effect.​

Rob watches his sister, Kathryn, being punished for "smarting off" to their mom. Rob learns that he should never "smart off" to his mom, due to ____. ​

Dr. Evil presents the sound of a buzzer to his pet rabbit, and he follows it with the delivery of a small electric shock. After repeated pairings of the buzzer and shock, the rabbit learns to fear the sound of buzzers. Dr. Evil then proceeds to extinguish the rabbit's fear of buzzers. Now suppose that, after extinction, Dr. Evil decides to present the buzzer and shock to the rabbit once again. After only a few pairings, the rabbit will demonstrate ____ and fear the buzzer again.​

Alex has learned that if his mom is upset and he praises her, she will cook him a great meal. However, if he praises his mom when she is in a good mood, she responds by saying, "Are you trying to butter me up?" and doesn't cook at all. In this example, Alex's mom's mood is a ____.​

It's a very hot summer day and Ai is sweating in her apartment. She turns on the air conditioning and right away, her apartment gets cooler. The fact that Ai is now more likely to turn on the AC when she is hot to reduce her discomfort illustrates ____.​

Recently, Callie's calculus TA has started having Callie's class form small groups and work on solving problems, rather than just lecturing to them for the whole class session. Callie thinks that this method of teaching makes her think more deeply about the material than when she just sits and takes notes. Callie's TA is using ____ as an instructional method. ​

The most critical component of skill learning is ____. ​

Fred has decided to learn to play the harmonica. To learn this skill most efficiently, Fred should adopt an approach that emphasizes ____. ​

Baby Abbey is playing with her favorite toy rattle when her mom drops an armful of pots and pans behind her. The loud noise makes her startle and cry. Subsequently, on seeing her rattle, she cries. However, Mom continues to give Baby Abbey her favorite rattle and doesn't drop any more pots and pans. We can expect that Baby Abbey's crying when seeing the rattle willsoon be ____.​

When Ken kisses Barbie, his heart races. For a month, Barbie snapped her fingers just before she kissed him. She stopped snapping her fingers, but now, whenever Ken hears someone snapping their fingers, his heart begins to race. This is an example of ____ conditioning, and finger snapping is the ____.​

Which scenario is an example of habituation?​

Set up positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment programs that a parent could use to teach a ten-year-old child to clean his room. What are the drawbacks of using punishment? What is the most effective way to use punishment?

Chris does not like it when his infant son, Jacob, cries. Chris finds that if he makes goofy faces while Jacob is crying, Jacob will stop. Which learning principle best explains why Chris is more likely to make goofy faces in the future to make Jacob stop crying?​

Children are often aware of which conditions are most favorable when asking a parent for an advance on their allowance. Psychologists call such conditions ____.​

Lenny cannot reach the bathroom shelf where his father keeps the electric toothbrush, but he continues trying, day after day. After seeing his brother use a stool to open the kitchen cupboards, Lenny pushes the stool into the bathroom and uses it to finally get the toothbrush. How would Lenny's behavior be classified by learning theorists? ​

When she was young, Nadia's father would always travel in a straight line through a forest if they became lost. Since she was always with her father when hiking, she never had to think much about this tactic. Many years later, while hiking alone, she becomes lost but is able to escape the forest using her father's technique. This best demonstrates ____. ​

Brandon is trying to get out of his crib. He tries sticking his legs through the bars, hitting the bars with his arms, and butting them with his head. He realizes that he is getting nowhere. Then suddenly Brandon tries climbing over the top of the bars, and he breaks free. This illustrates ____. ​

Herbert, the rat, is put in a cage that is chilly. He operates in the environment by moving around the cage and bar-pressing. He discovers that moving around and bar-pressing have no impact on the temperature of the cage or anything else. Soon, Herbert stops moving around the cage at all, and when the temperature could be controlled through bar-pressing, he doesn't figure it out. Herbert is experiencing ____. ​