Deck 3: Habituation, Sensitization, and Familiarization: Learning About Repeated Events

Question 1

Learned non-use occurs when a stroke patient stops using a body part because:

A) that body part being physically restrained.
B) of damage to the hippocampus.
C) of damage to the motor areas controlling that body part.
D) of lack of sensory input from that body part.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which statement is an example of habituation?

A) As one goes to bed, one hears the bathroom faucet dripping. The sound becomes more annoying as the night goes on.
B) A person's car spins out on the ice in the winter. Afterwards, the person is much more nervous while driving.
C) An experienced shepherd can quickly distinguish his sheep from one another.
D) On entering a room, one notices the soft hum of a fan, but after being there for a while, one no longer notices the sound.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A decrease in the strength or occurrence of a behavior after repeated exposure to the stimulus that produces the behavior is called:

A) sensitization.
B) habituation.
C) perceptual learning.
D) priming.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which statement is TRUE regarding the use of constraint-induced movement therapy to treat learned non-use?

A) It exploits mechanisms of cortical plasticity.
B) It is less effective than encouraging people to use their affected limb.
C) It helps muscles to recover but has little effect on brain activity.
D) It is used when motor control is lost but sensation is retained.

Question 5

Under which condition would there be a skin-conductance response to reveal sensitization?

A) playing a quiet noise right before a neutral musical tone
B) playing a loud noise right before a neutral musical tone
C) playing a neutral musical tone repeatedly
D) playing a loud noise repeatedly

Question 6

People are generally better at distinguishing individuals belonging to racial groups that they frequently encounter than individuals belonging to racial groups with whom they don't interact. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) priming.
C) mere exposure learning.
D) discrimination training.

Question 7

Sarah woke up from a frightening dream. Lying awake in bed, she is overly frightened by the normal noises in her house. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) priming.
D) dishabituation.

Question 8

Suppose a person never buys eggs because he doesn't like them. One weekend, he has guests who love eggs, and so he decides to buy some at the store. Even though he has never bought eggs at this store, he knows exactly where they are in the store from all the times he has shopped there before. The fact that he has learned where the eggs are during those past trips is an example of:

A) sensitization.
B) habituation.
C) latent learning.
D) perceptual learning.

Question 9

An example of a sensory prosthesis is a:

A) cochlear implant.
B) place cell.
C) place field.
D) receptive field.

Question 10

In Aplysia, sensitization results from a(n):

A) decrease in glutamate released from the sensory neurons.
B) increase in glutamate released from the sensory neurons.
C) decrease in the number of sensory neurons.
D) increase in the number of motor neurons.

Question 11

In Aplysia touching the siphon causes the gill to withdraw. If the siphon is touched repeatedly, eventually the gill will not withdraw anymore. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) mere exposure learning.
D) learned non-use.

Question 12

Regarding spatial learning, it has been found that:

A) conscious effort is required for people to learn spatial layout.
B) rats can learn spatial layout even if they are not rewarded during learning.
C) wasps rely on an internal sense of direction, rather than environmental cues, to navigate to and from their nests.
D) rats learn to navigate mazes primarily by learning a sequence of movements.

Question 13

Which statement is TRUE regarding place cells?

A) They are hardwired at birth.
B) There are sufficient numbers of neurons to assign a place cell to every place one will ever encounter.
C) They respond to an internal sense of location in space but not to external location cues.
D) They each have a preferred location called a place field.

Question 14

Jeffrey Dahmer learned to pick out suitable victims by repeated experiences. This is an example of:

A) sensitization.
B) habituation.
C) perceptual learning.
D) priming.

Question 15

Over the first several weeks of teaching a class, the teacher becomes better at telling her students apart. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) perceptual learning.
D) priming.

Question 16

Suppose a person never buys eggs because he doesn't like them. One weekend, he has guests who love eggs, and so he decides to buy some at the store. Even though he has never bought eggs at this store, he knows exactly where they are in the store from all the times he has shopped there before. The fact that he has learned where the eggs are during those past trips is an example of:

A) sensitization.
B) habituation.
C) perceptual learning.
D) latent learning.

Question 17

According to the dual process theory of learning:

A) there are two mechanisms, only one of which is activated at any given time.
B) there are two mechanisms, both of which are activated to some degree.
C) the habituation mechanism is only activated by intense stimuli.
D) there is just one mechanism that accounts for learning.

Question 18

When Brenda and Don first got married, she was bothered by his snoring, but after 15 years of marriage she barely notices it anymore. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) priming.
D) dishabituation.

Question 19

The Milwaukee police noticed a putrid smell in Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment. But because they had experienced many smelly apartments in the past, they did not investigate the source of the smell. This is an example of:

A) sensitization.
B) habituation.
C) perceptual learning.
D) priming.

Question 20

When visual input is absent from birth, it is often seen that other cortical areas take over the areas of the brain normally devoted to vision. This demonstrates:

A) habituation.
B) perceptual learning.
C) learned non-use.
D) cortical plasticity.

Question 21

Suppose a person repeatedly plays a low-pitched tone to a rat. Which statement would demonstrate dishabituation in the rat?

A) After many trials, the rat no longer responds to the low-pitched tone.
B) The rat does not respond to a high-pitched tone.
C) The rat's response to the low-pitched tone increases over many trials.
D) The rat then responds to the low-pitched tone after a loud tone in the trial.

Question 22

Susan's daughter was constantly calling "Mommy" throughout the day, until Susan eventually barely noticed her daughter's calls. The next day, when Susan's daughter called "Mommy" for the first time, Susan did hear her. This is an example of:

A) sensitization.
B) associative learning.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) dishabituation.

Question 23

Which would be the MOST difficult to habituate to?

A) the pressure of a chair against the back
B) the accent of a foreign friend whom one has known for many years
C) the smell of just-baked cookies
D) the loud, banging sound that occurs every 5 minutes

Question 24

Which statement has been found to be TRUE regarding sexual arousal in humans?

A) Only males habituate to sexual arousal.
B) Only females habituate to sexual arousal.
C) Females habituate more strongly than males to sexual arousal.
D) Males habituate more strongly than females to sexual arousal.

Question 25

An infant turns to look at a novel pattern, this is an example of:

A) an orienting response.
B) latent learning.
C) habituation.
D) sensitization.

Question 26

_____ exposure produces the fastest habituation, and _____ exposure produces the longest-lasting habituation.

A) Massed; spaced
B) Spaced; massed
C) Massed; massed
D) Spaced; spaced

Question 27

In which situation would one habituate the MOST?

A) when the event is not very arousing
B) when one is first becoming familiar with the stimulus
C) when the interval between repetitions of the event is long
D) when the event is unusual

Question 28

Habituation to a stimulus:

A) can carry risks.
B) occurs only in animals that have brains.
C) usually involves an increase in the response to a stimulus.
D) lasts forever.

Question 29

Sensitization:

A) occurs in humans but not in other animals.
B) requires fewer exposures than are necessary for habituation.
C) is stimulus-specific.
D) dissipates rapidly in all learning situations.

Question 30

Which statement is an example of habituation?

A) If one has seen a particular person before, it is easier to remember that person's physical features.
B) On a long car trip, one's brother keeps kicking the back of one's seat. It becomes progressively more bothersome.
C) When one first enters a bakery, one notices all of the wonderful smells, but after a few minutes it is unnoticed.
D) At a scary movie, a person screams as a monster jumps out suddenly. From then on, every little movement someone or something makes in the film seems frightening.

Question 31

A child repeatedly complains about having her teeth brushed by her mother. After a while, the mother doesn't even notice the child's complaints. This is an example of:

A) sensitization.
B) habituation.
C) dishabituation.
D) priming.

Question 32

If one is feeling bored with one's romantic partner, which approach would be expected to improve one's feelings by bringing about dishabituation?

A) doing something new and exciting together
B) spending time together just relaxing
C) doing more of the favorite activities together
D) downplaying the importance of the problem

Question 33

Jessie is lying down when suddenly a firefly moves across her room. It disappears after 10 seconds. When it reappears, she stares at it again. The duration of time in which she looks at it is known as:

A) an orienting response.
B) latent learning.
C) fixation time
D) sensory identification.

Question 34

When Michelle and Patrick met, she was bothered by his height, but after 15 years of marriage she barely notices it anymore. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) priming.
D) dishabituation.

Question 35

Since her grandmother's recent illness, Sarah has a heightened awareness of her family's health, and gets overly worried anytime a family member appears the least bit unwell. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) dishabituation.
D) priming.

Question 36

A young girl observes how much her sister worries about her car being scratched. She waits for the moment she sits down to yell out "a branch fell on your car!" Her sister runs to check on her car and realizes it was a joke and walks away upset. The young girl continues this numerous times. One day, she looks out the window and notices that a branch is about to fall on the car. She calls out to her sister and is ignored. This is an example of the dangers of:

A) latent learning.
B) habituation.
C) orienting response.
D) perceptual learning.

Question 37

When experiences with an arousing stimulus lead to a stronger-than-normal response to a later stimulus, this is known as:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) dishabituation.
D) priming.

Question 38

Suppose a baby is presented repeatedly with the color yellow. Which statement would demonstrate that habituation is stimulus specific in this case?

A) The baby's orienting response to yellow increases, and then the baby responds vigorously to the color red.
B) The baby's orienting response to yellow increases, and then the baby has no response to the color red.
C) The baby's orienting response to yellow decreases, and then the baby responds vigorously to the color red.
D) The baby's orienting response to yellow decreases, and then the baby has no response to the color red.

Question 39

If a person is nervous about climbing trees because of a tree fall in the past that resulted in a broken leg, the person may have become:

A) habituated.
B) sensitized.
C) dishabituated.
D) primed.

Question 40

If a loud noise is presented repeatedly to a rat, the rat's acoustic startle reflex will:

A) increase.
B) decrease.
C) decrease and then increase.
D) stay the same.

Question 41

Which model suggests that both sensitization and habituation occur in response to every stimulus presentation, and that it is the summed combination of these two independent processes that determines the strength of responding?

A) dual process theory
B) comparator models
C) differentiation theory
D) priming theory

Question 42

A child who is exposed to a foreign language may have an easier time learning that language later on in life. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) learning specificity.
C) dishabituation.
D) mere exposure learning.

Question 43

According to dual process theory, when stimuli are highly arousing:

A) habituation processes determine the response.
B) sensitization processes determine the response.
C) habituation processes dominate on the early trials.
D) habituation processes dominate on the later trials.

Question 44

Neophobia refers to:

A) the act of actively avoiding a novel object.
B) novel object recognition.
C) the fear of experimentation.
D) the fear of repetition.

Question 45

Learning in which repeated experience with a set of stimuli makes those stimuli easier to distinguish is known as:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) dishabituation.
D) perceptual learning.

Question 46

Which statement demonstrates perceptual learning?

A) People who live in a city have no trouble sleeping through all of the street noise.
B) Professional wine tasters can easily distinguish between subtly different wines.
C) A crying baby becomes increasingly more bothersome to her parents.
D) A phobic patient gets used to being around spiders during one therapy session, but is fearful again at the start of the next session.

Question 47

In a novel object recognition task, which statement demonstrates that a stimulus is perceived as familiar?

A) An individual shows sensitization to the stimulus.
B) An individual actively avoids any contact with the stimulus.
C) An individual spends less time examining the stimulus relative to a novel stimulus.
D) An individual shows dishabituation to the stimulus.

Question 48

When prior exposure to a stimulus improves an organism's ability to respond to that stimulus later on, it is known as:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) perceptual learning.
D) priming.

Question 49

Rats that are exposed to circles and triangles for a month can learn to discriminate between these two shapes more quickly than rats not exposed to the shapes. This finding demonstrates:

A) learning specificity.
B) sensitization.
C) mere exposure learning.
D) priming.

Question 50

Which theory provides the BEST account of short-term habituation and sensitization effects?

A) dual process
B) opponent process
C) differentiation
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 51

According to dual process theory, repeated exposure to a soft tone will lead to a:

A) habituation response only.
B) sensitization response only.
C) stronger habituation response than sensitization response.
D) stronger sensitization response than habituation response.

Question 52

William James referred to _____ as a "sense of sameness."

A) context
B) perception
C) consciousness
D) familiarity

Question 53

A rollercoaster ride elicits an initial feeling of fear followed by a feeling of exhilaration. After repeated experiences, the initial fear responses may become weaker, whereas the rebound responses grow stronger. This process is called _____ theory.

A) habituation
B) opponent process
C) dual process
D) emotional stability

Question 54

James doesn't mind the smell of gas since he has worked at the gas station for 15 years. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) desensitization.
C) dishabituation.
D) priming.

Question 55

Familiarity can be defined as:

A) the contextual framework of a situation.
B) perception of similarity that occurs from an event repetition.
C) conscious representation of an event.
D) exposure to novel object.

Question 56

Over the first several weeks at the stable, Jenn becomes better at telling the various horses apart. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) perceptual learning.
D) priming.

Question 57

Novel object recognition refers to:

A) the act of actively avoiding a novel object.
B) the detection and response to an unfamiliar object.
C) fear of experimentation.
D) fear of repetition.

Question 58

In a word-stem completion task, people are:

A) more likely to fill in the blanks to form words they have previously seen.
B) less likely to fill in the blanks to form words they have previously seen.
C) more likely to fill in the blanks to form words they have previously seen, only if they consciously remember the words.
D) less likely to fill in the blanks to form words they have previously seen, only if they consciously remember the words.

Question 59

Under which condition would there be a skin-conductance response to reveal sensitization?

A) playing a loud noise right before a neutral musical tone
B) playing a quiet noise right before a neutral musical tone
C) playing a neutral musical tone repeatedly
D) playing a loud noise repeatedly

Question 60

The textbook describes a study in which blue jays were quicker and more accurate at detecting a particular species of moth if they had recently detected other members of that species. This result demonstrates:

A) habituation.
B) sensitization.
C) priming.
D) perceptual learning.

Question 61

Touching a patch of skin on the hand causes a particular neuron in the brain to fire. That particular patch of skin would be part of the neuron's:

A) homunculus.
B) receptive field.
C) priming field.
D) sensitization zone.

Question 62

What accounts for the sensitization of the gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia?

A) Motor neurons release serotonin, which increases the number of vesicles available to release glutamate from the sensory neuron.
B) Motor neurons release glutamate, which increases the number of vesicles available to release serotonin from the interneurons.
C) Interneurons release serotonin, which increases the number of vesicles available to release glutamate from the sensory neuron.
D) Interneurons release glutamate, which increases the number of vesicles available to release serotonin from the sensory neuron.

Question 63

When rats learn to run through mazes, they:

A) make substantial use of the visual cues in the environment.
B) rely mainly on learning a sequence of motor movements.
C) rely entirely on their sense of smell to find their way to the food reward.
D) become confused if placed in a new starting position.

Question 64

It is believed that the mechanisms of habituation documented in Aplysia occur in other species because:

A) scientists have been able to trace the entire neuronal circuit of habituation in the mammalian brain.
B) most mammals have the same number of neurons as do Aplysia.
C) repeated stimulation of sensory neurons in other species causes a reduction in neurotransmitter release.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 65

In studies of rats learning to find their way through a maze, Tolman and Honzik found that rats that were:

A) rewarded every day learned the maze better than rats who started receiving rewards on day 11.
B) rewarded every day learned the maze as well as rats that were never rewarded.
C) rewarded every day learned the maze as well as rats who started receiving rewards on day 11.
D) never rewarded learned the maze better than rats who started receiving rewards on day 11.

Question 66

Which statement is TRUE?

A) Habituation is homosynaptic, and sensitization is heterosynaptic.
B) Sensitization is homosynaptic, and habituation is heterosynaptic.
C) Both sensitization and habituation are heterosynaptic.
D) Both sensitization and habituation are homosynaptic.

Question 67

In Aplysia, touching the siphon over and over again results in:

A) perceptual learning.
B) priming.
C) a stronger gill-withdrawal reflex.
D) a weaker gill-withdrawal reflex.

Question 68

When visual input is absent from birth, it is often seen that other cortical areas take over the areas of the brain normally devoted to vision. This demonstrates:

A) habituation.
B) perceptual learning.
C) learned non-use.
D) cortical plasticity.

Question 69

Suppose the gill-withdrawal reflex is habituated in Aplysia by repeatedly touching the siphon. If the habituation is homosynaptic, which would occur?

A) Touching the tail will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.
B) Touching the mantle will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.
C) Touching the tail will cause a gill-withdrawal response.
D) Touching the siphon will cause a gill-withdrawal response.

Question 70

If sensitization of the gill-withdrawal reflex is heterosynaptic, which would occur?

A) Touching the tail will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.
B) Touching the mantle will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.
C) Touching the mantle will cause a gill-withdrawal response.
D) Touching the siphon will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.

Question 71

People are generally better at distinguishing individuals belonging to racial groups that they frequently encounter than individuals belonging to racial groups with whom they don't interact. This is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) priming.
C) mere exposure learning.
D) discrimination training.

Question 72

When Aplysia are habituated over several days, it can be observed that the:

A) amount of neurotransmitter released by the motor neuron increases.
B) number of synapses between sensory and motor neurons decreases.
C) number of motor neurons decreases.
D) number of presynaptic terminals in the sensory neurons increases.

Question 73

In Aplysia, the:

A) neural connections involved in the gill-withdrawal reflex have been well mapped out.
B) nervous system consists of just 24 neurons.
C) neurons are smaller than normal.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 74

In Aplysia, what accounts for the habituation of the gill-withdrawal reflex?

A) a decrease in the motor neuron's sensitivity to glutamate
B) an increase in the motor neuron's sensitivity to glutamate
C) a decrease in the amount of glutamate released by the sensory neuron
D) an increase in the amount of glutamate released by the sensory neuron

Question 75

Cortical neurons that are physically close together are tuned to similar stimulus features. This is known as:

A) a homunculus.
B) the sensory zone.
C) the receptive field of a neuron.
D) a topographic map.

Question 76

Sensitization is demonstrated in Aplysia when, after shocking the _____, touching the siphon causes a _____ gill-withdrawal reflex.

A) siphon; strengthened
B) tail; strengthened
C) siphon; weakened
D) tail; weakened

Question 77

Habituation and sensitization in Aplysia are explained well by which theory?

A) dual process theory
B) comparator models
C) differentiation theory
D) priming theory

Question 78

The phenomenon of perceptual learning suggests that the other-race effect can be reduced by:

A) exposing people to more examples of faces from their own racial group.
B) teaching people to recognize their implicit racial biases.
C) repeatedly presenting a single face from another racial group.
D) training people to distinguish between several faces of other racial groups.

Question 79

Studies in which wasps' potential landmarks were removed demonstrated that:

A) landmarks are not required for wasps to navigate.
B) wasps rely mainly on remembering a sequence of movements for navigation.
C) wasps rely mainly on smell for navigation.
D) landmarks are an important part of wasp navigation.

Question 80

When more sensory neurons are tuned to a particular feature of a stimulus, the organism will:

A) become sensitized to the stimulus more quickly.
B) habituate to the stimulus more quickly.
C) take longer to learn about the stimulus.
D) be better able to make fine distinctions related to the stimulus.