Exam 6: Learning

Olivia takes a drug that is supposed to help her be able to memorize material for her class more easily.The drug works by increasing neural communication in the hippocampus,and when taken repeatedly,it may also support _______.

Spencer is an inmate at a state prison and works in the prison library stocking books.For each cart of books that he reshelves,he receives a chip.He is allowed to collect chips and then trade them in for candy,extra recreation time,or visitation time.The prison uses a token economy,which is a method of _______.

Eleanor wants to use classical conditioning to teach her students to run to the closet when the "intruder alert" sounds at their school.To be successful,Eleanor must begin the learning process with a(n)_______.

Kathy goes to a boarding school.When she is in the shower and someone flushes the toilet,the water turns hot and she gets burned.So,Kathy becomes classically conditioned to fear the toilet flushing when she is in the shower.Over the summer,Kathy returns home,and if someone flushes the toilet while she is in the shower,she does not get burned.But in August when she returns to school,she is once again in the shower and hears the toilet flush and immediately feels a surge of fear.This example best illustrates the fact that extinction is _______.

When you first bought your pet hamsters Fudge and Brownie,only Fudge would let you pet him.After a few weeks of Brownie watching you pet Fudge,Brownie started to let you pet her.In this case,Brownie's new behavior is most likely the result of learning by _______.

Twins Malcolm and Molly are learning to ride a bike.Molly watches Malcolm's attempts for several minutes and then tries to ride her own bike.During this process,Molly's mirror neurons are _______.

You carpool with a friend to school every morning and he always drives.One day,your friend is sick and you have to drive yourself.Even though you have never actually driven to school,you know the exact route to take in order to get there from your house,which is most likely the result of _______.

Dante was sitting on a rock to rest during a hike.Suddenly,he felt immense pain and looked down to see a snake had bitten him in the leg.Because of this,Dante has learned to fear snakes.If his fear is out of proportion with the danger posed by snakes,then Dante has developed _______.

A conditioned stimulus is _______.

Riley ate too much chocolate cake during his birthday party and was sick all night.If classical conditioning occurred and he associated the cake with being sick,then when Riley sees cake today,he will most likely _______.

Reinforcement that comes after a predetermined amount of time is called _______.

Pederson's teacher blows a whistle when it is time for his class to come in from recess.Pederson is afraid of being left on the playground alone,so he starts to go inside any time he hears a sound like the teacher's whistle,such as the school bell ringing.Pederson's behavior is an example of _______.

Sunil wants to classically condition his dog to fear skunks so he does not get sprayed again.This task should be much easier than teaching him to fear a house plant because a dog _______.

If you are trying to use classical conditioning to train your pet mouse to be afraid of a flashing light,you will most likely be successful if you _______.

Every day when Johnny goes outside for recess,he has to pass by the "territory" of a bully to get to the playground,which causes him to feel anxious.Over time,Johnny begins to feel anxious at the sound of the bell signaling the start of recess. a) Use classical conditioning to explain Johnny's learned response to the recess bell: What are the US, UR, CS, and CR in this situation? Include a description of each of the four steps of classical conditioning. b) If the bully goes on vacation for two weeks, how might Johnny's conditioned reaction change in response to the recess bell? c) When the bully returns to school after his two-week vacation, how might Johnny's conditioned response to the recess bell change?

Samuel always receives a painful shock when he turns on the lamp in his study.After a while,Samuel refuses to touch the switch on the lamp.The lamp switch was a(n)________ that elicited a(n)_______ after a period of time.

Braxton's friend Shayla is caught cheating on a test and receives an "F." Braxton learns the consequences of cheating by watching Shayla be punished for this action.Braxton has learned through _______.

Percy wants to teach his daughter good manners.To increase the likelihood of her saying "Excuse me" when bumping into someone in a store,he should use a stimulus called a(n)_______.

You want to teach your dog to stop scratching at the door when he wants to go out.You do so by swatting his nose with a newspaper each time he scratches the door.By creating consequences for your dog's behavior,you have used _______ to train him.

Shawn's daughter Violet has just started to crawl.Shawn is worried that Violet will start to play with the electrical outlet plugs. a) Briefly list and explain the four steps of classical conditioning. Be sure to mention the US, UR, NS, CS, and CR. b) Describe how Shawn might use classical conditioning to make Violet afraid of touching the electrical outlets. Be specific and include a description of each of the four steps of conditioning for this particular situation.