Exam 7: Learning

Thorndike's puzzle box was designed so that the pellets would automatically be delivered to the animal when it pressed down on a lever located near the food tray.

When the frequency or probability of a behaviour is increased as a result of the removal of something following the performance of the behaviour, it is called

Violence and aggression can be serious threats to a stable society. Explain how psychologists came to understand how humans learn to model the behaviour of others. In your answer, make sure to reference behavioural evidence.

This type of learning refers to the ways in which an organism might learn by observing the experiences of others, rather than through his or her own experience.

When psychologists speak of prepared learning in humans and other animals, they are referring to

Contrary to the principle of ______, foods are rarely associated with physically painful consequences in the real world, making it more difficult to condition mammals to avoid food paired with shocks.

This learning phenomenon, which involves observation of rewarding or punishing consequences experienced by others, serves much the same function as being rewarded or punished oneself.

Based on Thorndike's law of effect, B. F. Skinner formulated a description of this type of learning, in which the consequences of a behaviour affect the probability that the behaviour will be repeated in the future.

Describe some limitations of classical conditioning experiments, specifically the arguments that make up the functionalist perspective. Also describe at least one problem with the famous "Little Albert" study by Watson and Raynor (1920)

In Pavlov's classic experiment, the sound of a bell or tone prior to the association with food is referred to as a

There are behaviours that individuals of a given species cannot learn, or have great difficulty learning, because of a conflict with innate patterns of behaviour, a concept known as

The next time you see a dog after being attacked by one, your capacity for ______________________tells you, "Hmmm … maybe I'd better cross to the other side of the street" instead of, "No problem, this is a different breed."

Tolman used the term __________to describe learning that takes place without reinforcement and which is not necessarily apparent in actual behaviour

The law of effect states that for any organism, those behaviours that lead to a satisfying state of affairs are "stamped in" while those behaviours that lead to an unsatisfying or annoying state of affairs are "stamped out."