Deck 7: Learning and Conditioning

Question 1

Louis is a 3-year-old who is deathly afraid of sitting in cars ever since he was in a mild car accident. He enjoys ice pops and chocolates, and responds gleefully to his favourite nursery rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock." Describe the classical conditioning procedure that can help reduce his fear.

Answer 1

A good answer will include the following key points.
- The act of sitting in a car is a conditioned stimulus causing a conditioned response of fear.
- His favourite music and snacks can be paired with the conditioned stimulus, sitting in a car.
- His favourite rhyme and snacks produce a pleasant feeling that is incompatible with the conditioned response of fear.
- This process is known as counterconditioning.

Question 2

What is the distinction between primary and secondary reinforcers?

Answer 2

A good answer will include the following key points.
- A primary reinforcer is an object or event that is inherently reinforcing because it satisfies a biological need.
- A secondary reinforcer is an object or event that is reinforcing as a result of learning.

Question 3

Ivan Pavlov studied the reflexive flow of saliva in dogs. He used meat powder or other food to trigger the salivation. In this instance, the meat powder was the ________.

A) conditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) conditioned response
D) unconditioned response

Answer 3

unconditioned stimulus

Question 4

Because of classical conditioning, medical treatment can create unexpected misery or relief from symptoms for reasons that are entirely unrelated to the treatment itself. Give an example that illustrates this statement.

Question 5

Describe two important differences between classical and operant conditioning.

Question 6

Which of the following statements reflects the difference between classical and operant conditioning?

A) In classical conditioning, the response is reflexive, but in operant conditioning it is typically more complex.
B) In classical conditioning, spontaneous recovery can occur, but in operant conditioning it doesn't.
C) In classical conditioning, the consequence of a response is important, but in operant conditioning it isn't.
D) In classical conditioning, both stimulus generalization and discrimination can occur, but in operant conditioning only stimulus discrimination occurs.

Question 7

Phil wants to train his parrot to kick a ball into a soccer net. Which of the following should he do?

A) He should wait until the parrot kicks the ball into the net on its own and then give it a food treat.
B) He should use negative punishment until the parrot kicks the ball into the net.
C) He should begin by reinforcing when the parrot goes near the ball.
D) He should use positive punishment until the parrot kicks the ball into the net.

Question 8

In Watson and Rayner's "Little Albert" study, each time the rat was presented to the boy it was accompanied by a loud noise. In this experiment, Albert's reaction of fear upon hearing the loud noise was the ________.

A) unconditioned response
B) conditioned response
C) latent response
D) counterconditioned response

Question 9

Which of the following is a secondary reinforcer?

A) food
B) pain
C) criticism
D) applause

Question 10

Explain why extrinsic rewards can undermine the pleasure of doing something for its own sake.

Question 11

Tim yells at his daughter Allison for soiling her pants. He also threatens to spank her if she ever does it again. Next week, she soils her pants again. According to studies on punishment, why did Tim's approach fail?

A) The threat was a reinforcer.
B) The punishment did not tell her how to change her behaviour.
C) Allison wasn't punished immediately.
D) Yelling is not a form of punishment.

Question 12

In classical conditioning, ________ occurs when a stimulus that resembles the conditioned stimulus elicits the conditioned response.

A) stimulus discrimination
B) stimulus generalization
C) acquisition
D) extinction

Question 13

Highlight the differences between positive and negative reinforcement.

Question 14

For classical conditioning to be most effective, the stimulus to be conditioned should:

A) precede the unconditioned stimulus.
B) occur simultaneously with the unconditioned stimulus.
C) follow the unconditioned stimulus.
D) be of greater intensity than the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 15

Harry and Sally want their cat to jump through a hoop 3 feet off the ground. Because the cat would never spontaneously jump through the hoop on its own, what operant conditioning procedure will Harry and Sally need to use? Briefly explain how they might proceed.

Question 16

In Skinner's analysis, an operant behaviour can lead to two types of consequences. Describe these two consequences.

Question 17

Which of the following is true about the use of extrinsic versus intrinsic rewards?

A) Extrinsic rewards should never be used.
B) Extrinsic rewards should be used carefully and not overdone.
C) Intrinsic rewards should never be used.
D) Intrinsic rewards should be used carefully and not overdone.

Question 18

Evolutionary psychologists note that humans are primed to be susceptible to certain kinds of acquired fears. Explain why this would be adaptive.

Question 19

A variation of the counterconditioning procedure developed by Watson and Jones has been used to treat adult phobias. This variation is called:

A) positive reinforcement.
B) intermittent reinforcement.
C) systematic desensitization.
D) shaping.

Question 20

Ivan Pavlov studied the reflexive flow of saliva in dogs. He used meat powder or other food to trigger the salivation. It was later observed that the salivation in the dog was triggered when the dog saw its dog dish, even before the food was placed in it. In this instance, the dog dish is the ________.

A) conditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) conditioned response
D) unconditioned response

Question 21

In classical conditioning, ________ occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

A) stimulus distinction
B) extinction
C) spontaneous recovery
D) stimulus generalization

Question 22

In classical conditioning, when the conditioned response is extinguished, but reappears later, the reappearance of the response is called:

A) higher-order conditioning.
B) instinctive drift.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) stimulus generalization.

Question 23

________ is an operant-conditioning procedure in which successive approximations of a desired response are reinforced.

A) Shaping
B) Latent learning
C) Stimulus generalization
D) Stimulus discrimination

Question 24

Ivan Pavlov studied the reflexive flow of saliva in dogs. He used meat powder or other food to trigger the salivation. It was later observed that the salivation in the dog was triggered even before the food was placed in its mouth. In this experiment, ________ was the unconditioned response.

A) food
B) thoughts of anticipation
C) salivation
D) the sight of the food dish

Question 25

When a response occurs to a previously neutral stimulus, it is called ________.

A) an unconditioned response
B) spontaneous recovery
C) a conditioned stimulus
D) a conditioned response

Question 26

When Keller and Marian Breland, two psychologists who became animal trainers, decided that it would be cute to have a pig drop a big wooden coin into a box, they found that:

A) food was not an effective reinforcer for the pig and so learning didn't occur.
B) when given edible roots as reinforcers, the pig learned the task in fewer than 10 trials.
C) the pig was difficult to train because it kept dropping the coin, rooting, and throwing the coin in the air.
D) the pig showed intrinsic interest in the task and so reinforcement was unnecessary.

Question 27

Ivan Pavlov studied the reflexive flow of saliva in dogs. He used meat powder or other food to trigger the salivation. In this instance, the meat powder was the ________.

A) conditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) conditioned response
D) unconditioned response

Question 28

Ivan Pavlov studied the reflexive flow of saliva in dogs. He used meat powder or other food to trigger the salivation. It was later observed that the salivation in the dog was triggered even before the food was placed in its mouth. In this experiment, ________ was the unconditioned stimulus.

A) food
B) thoughts of anticipation
C) salivation
D) the sight of the food dish

Question 29

Which of the following is a primary reinforcer?

A) food
B) money
C) pain
D) gold stars

Question 30

The neutral stimulus, when paired with an unconditioned stimulus, becomes a(n) ________ in classical conditioning.

A) unconditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned response
C) conditioned stimulus
D) conditioned response

Question 31

What must be paired together for classical conditioning to occur?

A) unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response
B) conditioned response and unconditioned response
C) neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus
D) neutral stimulus and conditioned stimulus

Question 32

Margaret gives her son a quarter every time he makes his bed; she is using ________.

A) continuous reinforcement
B) negative punishment
C) intermittent reinforcement
D) scheduled reinforcement

Question 33

Behaviourists focus on a basic kind of learning called ________.

A) instinctive drift
B) conditioning
C) sublimation
D) selective thinking

Question 34

________ is a relatively permanent change in behaviour (or behavioural potential) that occurs due to experience.

A) Instinctive drift
B) Framing
C) Learning
D) Transference

Question 35

Which of the following schools of thought heavily influenced the study of learning in the twentieth century?

A) behaviourism
B) psychoanalysis
C) Gestalt psychology
D) functionalism

Question 36

According to the behaviourists:

A) psychological research needs to emphasize the unconscious underpinnings of behaviour.
B) the predominant area of research should be free will and the mind.
C) researchers should focus on the interaction between nature and nurture.
D) observable events and acts are the focus of psychological research.

Question 37

A basic principle governing operant conditioning is that:

A) conditioned stimuli must precede unconditioned stimuli.
B) behaviours are controlled by their consequences.
C) animals can only be conditioned to perform behaviours that appear spontaneously.
D) behaviours are controlled by thoughts and mental processes.

Question 38

Negative reinforcement is best thought of as:

A) reinforcement for an undesirable activity.
B) punishment.
C) something that was predicted to serve as reinforcement but did not do so.
D) stimuli whose termination or removal increases the behaviour that precedes it.

Question 39

In the initial salivary reflex studied by Pavlov, the dogs salivated when food was placed in their mouths. This salivation was a(n)________.

A) unconditioned response
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) conditioned response
D) conditioned stimulus

Question 40

Which of the following statements is true of the behaviourist perspective?

A) It recognizes that latent learning occurs without any direct reinforcement.
B) It emphasizes the influence of prior experience on thoughts and aspects of the mind.
C) It recognizes that mental processes are an inherent part of animal learning.
D) It explains behaviour in terms of observable acts and events, without reference to mental entities such as the "mind."

Question 41

Which of the following is an example of classical conditioning?

A) A child learns to blink her eyes to a bell because the ringing of the bell has been followed by a puff of air to the eye.
B) A pigeon learns to peck at a disk in a Skinner box to get food.
C) Rich saw that when Donna banged her fist against a particular vending machine, she got a free soft drink, so now he bangs his fist against that machine when he wants a free soft drink.
D) A monkey learns to escape from a cage.

Question 42

When Tang kissed Kaila, her heart rate increased. Tang always wore the same body spray. Whenever Kaila smelled that body spray, her heart raced. Tang's kiss was the:

A) unconditioned stimulus.
B) unconditioned response.
C) conditioned stimulus.
D) conditioned response.

Question 43

The reappearance of a learned response after its apparent extinction is called ________.

A) counterconditioning
B) instinctive drift
C) spontaneous recovery
D) stimulus discrimination

Question 44

Ivan Pavlov studied the reflexive flow of saliva in dogs. He used meat powder or other food to trigger the salivation. It was later observed that the salivation in the dog was triggered when the dog saw its dog dish, even before the food was placed in it. In this instance, the dog dish is the ________.

A) conditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) conditioned response
D) unconditioned response

Question 45

According to Pavlov, learning occurs when:

A) a neutral stimulus is regularly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
B) a response is followed by reinforcement.
C) a negative consequence is removed after a particular response.
D) reinforcers are given for successive approximations of the desired response.

Question 46

Higher-order conditioning may contribute to the formation of:

A) prejudice.
B) social values.
C) conditioned stimuli.
D) generalizations.

Question 47

In classical conditioning, when the conditioned response is extinguished but reappears later, the reappearance of the response is called:

A) higher-order conditioning.
B) instinctive drift.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) stimulus generalization.

Question 48

_______________ is a procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an already established conditioned stimulus.

A) Higher-order conditioning
B) Intermittent reinforcement
C) Stimulus discrimination
D) Spontaneous recovery

Question 49

Ivan Pavlov studied the reflexive flow of saliva in dogs. He used meat powder to trigger the salivation. It was later observed that the salivation occurred even before the food was placed in the dog's mouth-at the sight of the food dish. The salivation at the sight of the food dish is an example of a(n) ________.

A) unconditioned response
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) conditioned response
D) conditioned stimulus

Question 50

Every week Jade spends her allowance on 225 grams of sour lemon gummy candies even though they always make her mouth water. One day, as she is walking down the street, Jade sees a girl carrying a little white bag that looks like a candy shop bag! Jade notices that her mouth is puckering and overflowing with saliva. In this example, the unconditioned stimulus is the:

A) little white bag.
B) allowance money.
C) puckering and saliva.
D) sour lemon gummy candy.

Question 51

In classical conditioning, ________ occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

A) extinction
B) counterconditioning
C) stimulus discrimination
D) instinctive drift

Question 52

An analysis of classical conditioning reveals that:

A) classical conditioning occurs in mammals, but not in lower species.
B) the salivary response is one of the few reflexes that can be conditioned.
C) completely eliminating a conditioned response usually requires more than one session.
D) learning always occurs when an unconditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus.

Question 53

In classical conditioning, the ________ elicits a reflexive response in the absence of learning.

A) unconditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned response
C) conditioned stimulus
D) conditioned response

Question 54

In classical conditioning, ________ occurs when a stimulus that resembles the conditioned stimulus elicits the conditioned response.

A) stimulus discrimination
B) stimulus generalization
C) acquisition
D) extinction

Question 55

When Luke kissed Laura, her heart rate increased. Luke always wore the same body spray. Whenever Laura smelled that body spray, her heart raced. The smell of the body spray was the:

A) unconditioned stimulus.
B) unconditioned response.
C) conditioned stimulus.
D) conditioned response.

Question 56

In classical conditioning, ________ occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

A) stimulus distinction
B) extinction
C) spontaneous recovery
D) stimulus generalization

Question 57

What must be paired together for classical conditioning to occur?

A) unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response
B) conditioned response and unconditioned response
C) neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus
D) neutral stimulus and conditioned stimulus

Question 58

Ivan Pavlov studied the reflexive flow of saliva in dogs. He used meat powder to trigger the salivation. It was later observed that the salivation occurred even before the food was placed in its mouth-at the sight of the food dish. The food dish acted as a(n) ________.

A) unconditioned response
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) conditioned response
D) conditioned stimulus

Question 59

Martha trains her cat Whiskers to salivate to the sound of a bell. She rings the bell every 15 minutes and doesn't follow it with food for Whiskers. It salivates less and less and finally stops salivating at the sound of the ringing bell. A week later, she finds Whiskers salivating to the sound of a ringing bell. Which of the following terms explains this response?

A) counterconditioning
B) instinctive drift
C) spontaneous recovery
D) stimulus discrimination

Question 60

In classical conditioning, the ________ is an initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a response.

A) unconditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned response
C) conditioned stimulus
D) conditioned response

Question 61

Matt classically conditions his dog, Wally, to salivate when he strums the G chord on his guitar by providing food after the chord is played. After some time, Matt notices that Wally salivates even when other chords are strummed although the chords were not followed by food. This phenomenon is known as ________.

A) stimulus generalization
B) stimulus discrimination
C) higher-order conditioning
D) instinctive drift

Question 62

Which of the following fears can be easily conditioned in human beings?

A) fear of flowers
B) fear of butterflies
C) fear of toasters
D) fear of spiders

Question 63

Ayden is afraid of swings. To overcome this fear, his father places him on a swing and gives Ayden an ice pop to eat while gently pushing it. This is an example of ________.

A) latent learning
B) counterconditioning
C) spontaneous recovery
D) operant conditioning

Question 64

A variation of the counterconditioning procedure developed by Watson and Jones has been used to treat adult phobias. This variation is called:

A) positive reinforcement.
B) intermittent reinforcement.
C) systematic desensitization.
D) shaping.

Question 65

Individuals being treated for cancer may develop nausea when they arrive at the place where they have been receiving chemotherapy. In this case, the conditioned stimulus is ________.

A) chemotherapy
B) nausea
C) the place where therapy takes place
D) avoidance by cancelling the appointment

Question 66

Thorndike was known for his work with:

A) puzzle boxes.
B) modelling.
C) monkeys.
D) a Skinner box.

Question 67

Matt classically conditions his dog, Wally, to salivate when he strums the G chord on his guitar by providing food after the chord is played. He notices that Wally does not salivate to a D chord. Wally's lack of a response to the D chord illustrates the phenomenon of ________.

A) counterconditioning
B) stimulus discrimination
C) stimulus generalization
D) instinctive drift

Question 68

In Watson and Rayner's "Little Albert" study, each time the rat was presented to the boy it was accompanied by a loud noise. In this experiment, Albert's reaction of fear upon hearing the loud noise was the ________.

A) unconditioned response
B) conditioned response
C) latent response
D) counterconditioned response

Question 69

After "Little Albert" acquired a conditioned fear of a rat, Watson and Rayner wanted to see how he would react to a rabbit, cotton wool, and a Santa Claus mask. They were studying whether or not _______________ had occurred.

A) extinction
B) stimulus generalization
C) counterconditioning
D) stimulus discrimination

Question 70

Individuals being treated for cancer may develop nausea when they arrive at the place where they have been receiving chemotherapy. In this case, the unconditioned stimulus is ________.

A) chemotherapy
B) nausea
C) the place where therapy takes place
D) the sound of the nurse's voice

Question 71

________ founded American behaviourism and recognized the real-life implications of classical conditioning.

A) John B. Watson
B) Jean Piaget
C) Ivan Pavlov
D) B. F. Skinner

Question 72

In classical conditioning, ________ is the process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with an unwanted conditioned response.

A) extinction
B) stimulus discrimination
C) counterconditioning
D) stimulus generalization

Question 73

For classical conditioning to be most effective, the stimulus to be conditioned should:

A) precede the unconditioned stimulus.
B) occur simultaneously with the unconditioned stimulus.
C) follow the unconditioned stimulus.
D) be of greater intensity than the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 74

Graham is a 5-year-old who has a conditioned fear of furry and hairy things. He is fond of a snack of milk and chocolate cookies and associates pleasant feelings with it. Psychologists pair a cat with the snack that Graham enjoys until his fear of the cat goes away. This is an example of ________.

A) counterconditioning
B) stimulus discrimination
C) instinctive drift
D) spontaneous recovery

Question 75

Based on his observations of cats in puzzle boxes, Thorndike concluded that:

A) behaviour modification does not work.
B) animals can learn from watching others model behaviour.
C) behaviour is controlled by its consequences.
D) there are biological limits to what behaviours an animal can learn.

Question 76

Robert Rescorla said that a stimulus must reliably _______________ an unconditioned stimulus for the stimulus to begin eliciting conditioned responding.

A) block
B) follow
C) predict
D) cause

Question 77

Research discussed in your textbook suggests that a specific drug can speed up the extinction of a phobia (fear of heights) if taken during virtual reality treatments. This drug is believed to enhance a certain type of receptor in the _________.

A) frontal lobe
B) hypothalamus
C) amygdala
D) olfactory gland

Question 78

Initially, when John Watson and his colleague, Rosalie Rayner, showed "Little Albert" a live white rat, Albert:

A) began to whimper and tremble.
B) liked the rat and seemed delighted.
C) tried to crawl away and escape.
D) didn't react to the rat, one way or another.

Question 79

Which of the following statements reflects the difference between classical and operant conditioning?

A) In classical conditioning, the response is reflexive, but in operant conditioning it is typically more complex.
B) In classical conditioning, spontaneous recovery can occur, but in operant conditioning it doesn't.
C) In classical conditioning, the consequence of a response is important, but in operant conditioning it isn't.
D) In classical conditioning, both stimulus generalization and discrimination can occur, but in operant conditioning only stimulus discrimination occurs.

Question 80

In classical conditioning, ________ occurs when a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus fails to evoke the conditional response.

A) counterconditioning
B) acquisition
C) stimulus generalization
D) stimulus discrimination