Exam 5: Learning

"Okay, that was good! Now this time, don't close your eyes. Keep your eye on the ball, so you know when to close your hands," Mark said in the process of teaching his five-year-old to play catch. In operant conditioning terms, Mark is using _____ to teach his daughter how to catch a ball.

To use the strategy of self-reinforcement, you should give yourself some type of reward before performing the task that you need to accomplish.

Essentially, classical conditioning is a process of:

The expectation that the CS reliably predicts the UCS is a cognitive aspect of _____, whereas the expectation of consequences following the behavior is a cognitive aspect of _____ .

John has a part-time job at a local department store that pays him $10 for each bicycle he assembles. In operant conditioning terms, this is an example of a fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement.

An organism enhances its odds of survival by being responsive to the consequences of its actions, as in operant conditioning.

An organism enhances its odds of survival when it is able to learn that a neutral stimulus can signal an important upcoming event, as in:

According to psychologist Robert Rescorla, classical conditioning involves cognitive processes in which the organism learns that the conditioned stimulus reliably predicts the unconditioned stimulus.

Research on taste aversions clearly shows that in order for classical conditioning to occur, the interval between the CS and the UCS can be no more than a few seconds.

The In Focus box discussing biological preparedness notes that researchers Arne Öhman and Susan Mineka have accumulated experimental evidence supporting the evolutionary explanation for the most common phobias, especially fear of snakes.

Whose behavior is most likely to show the greatest resistance to extinction?

Because the relative value of a reinforcer can shift over time, people sometimes choose short-term reinforcers even when that choice might sabotage their ability to attain a reinforcer that would be more rewarding in the long run.

Edward Tolman's research on rats running mazes led him to conclude that reinforcement was not necessary for learning to occur.

In 1971, B. F. Skinner published a book called Beyond Freedom and Dignity, which became a best-seller. How did the American public respond to the message of his book?

Whenever there is a knock on the front door, Rex the dog runs down the hallway and barks at the door. For Rex, a knock on the door is a _____ for running down the hallway and barking.

According to the box titled "Focus on Neuroscience: Mirror Neurons: Imitation in the Brain?" brain-imaging studies have provided evidence of mirror neurons in:

Punishment is one of the most effective operant conditioning techniques used to teach or promote new behaviors.

Rats can most easily be classically conditioned to learn an association between:

Instinctive drift occurs when an animal's natural behaviors interfere with the performance of previously conditioned behaviors.

Once a behavior has been suppressed by punishment, the behavior is unlikely to reappear.