Exam 8: The Adaptive Mind: Learning

How can extinction be avoided with operant conditioning?

A reaction to a given stimulus that requires no previous experience is referred to as a(n)____.

Kate's 6-year-old son has autism. To help him learn daily tasks, she breaks down activities into their component parts. Tooth brushing, for example, involves several steps that occur in basically the same order each time. Which of the following learning principles would provide the strongest foundation for learning how to brush one's teeth in this context?

What type of learning is most influential in developing and maintaining culture?

If people are continuously exposed to an unchanging stimulus that they know will not cause them harm, they will be most likely to ____.

Inevitable, involuntary responses to stimuli that are primarily controlled by circuits located in the spinal cord and brainstem are referred to as ____.

Sonia first trains her new dog by saying "good dog!" before giving him a food treat. She then trains her dog to sit and stay, saying "good dog!" when he provides the correct behavior; while continuing to periodically provide a food treat. Sonia is using which method(s)?

Martha wants to teach her dog Max the command, "Get beer, Max." This involves going to the refrigerator and opening it by pulling on a dishtowel tied to the handle, taking out a can of beer with his mouth, and bringing it to her dinner guest. Which of the following training methods is likely to work best?

Based on the findings of Garcia and Koelling, which type of stimuli would be most effective for training birds? ​

Marcus, who runs a software development company, repeatedly thanks his administrative assistant, Shana, for her hard work. Lately however, Marcus neglects to acknowledge the accomplishments of Shana; Shana's performance has begun to decline. What likely contributed to Shana's performance problems?

Which process gives organisms the flexibility to survive in a changing world?

What mechanism is responsible for the process of extinction?

When a conditioned stimulus can predict the nonoccurrence of an unconditioned stimulus, this is referred to as ____.

Which of the following is an example of nonassociative learning?

Carlos has an intense fear of public speaking, which hinders his advancement in his job. He is an assistant professor of economics and must speak regularly to large classes of students. He must also present his research to his peers within the university and at large academic conferences. Using principles of classical conditioning, develop a plan to help Carlos reduce his fear of public speaking. Be specific as to which principle(s)you are applying and how they work.

The tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to an original conditioned stimulus is called ____.

Elissa, a college freshman, finds that she is starting to smoke, a habit she never had before. She would like to stop smoking now, before the habit becomes too ingrained, but she really enjoys her few cigarettes each day, particularly with coffee after dinner when she relaxes with her friends. She also enjoys a few cigarettes later in the evening if she gets stressed writing a paper or completing an assignment. Using principles of operant conditioning, describe steps that Elissa could take to stop smoking now. Be sure to consider possible reinforcers or punishers that are influencing her current smoking patterns, changes she might make, and appropriate consequences to reinforce new behaviors.

Based on his experiments with rats in mazes, Edward Tolman believed that ____.

Experienced whale trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by one of her favorite killer whales during a 2010 show at Sea World in Orlando, Florida. Animal experts believed that the whale had simply reverted to normal whale behavior; illustrating ____.

An environmental cue or event whose significance is learned is referred to as a(n)____.