Deck 7: Learning and Adaptation: the Role of Experience

Question 1

This form of learning has strong adaptive significance because if we responded continuously to every stimulus in the environment, we would quickly become fatigued and overwhelmed. This form of learning is called:

A) negative reinforcement
B) extinction
C) habituation
D) one-trial learning

Answer 1

habituation

Question 2

A decreasing response to a repeated stimulus is called _.

A) habituation
B) latent learning
C) extinction
D) shaping

Answer 2

habituation

Question 3

Which of the following provides the best definition of habituation?

A) Habituation is an extinction of response to an increasing stimulus.
B) Habituation is an increase in the strength of response to a changing stimulus.
C) Habituation is a continuous response to a discriminative stimulus.
D) Habituation is a decrease in the strength of response to a repeated stimulus.

Answer 3

Habituation is a decrease in the strength of response to a repeated stimulus.

Question 4

Psychologists who focus on how organisms learn and assume that there are general laws of learning that apply to virtually all organisms are called _.

A) cognitivists
B) behaviourists
C) ethologists
D) neurobiologists

Question 5

Which perspective in psychology assumes that the laws of learning apply to virtually all organisms, and therefore studies learning in animals such as rats and pigeons to learn more about humans?

A) behaviourist
B) psychoanalytic
C) humanist
D) cognitive

Question 6

Ahmen adopts a dog from the local animal shelter. When Ahmen's mother comes home that day, she runs to the dog to pet her, but the dog cowers and puts her tail between her legs. The dog continues to exhibit this response whenever Ahmen's mother approaches her. Eventually, after several weeks, the dog cowers less until finally, Ahmen's mother is able to pet the dog. What the dog has learned is that Ahmen's mother will not harm her; therefore, her response decreases with time. This is an example of:

A) habituation
B) latent learning
C) extinction
D) tabula rasa

Question 7

Habituation has strong adaptive significance because it allows organisms to learn not to respond to stimuli.

A) novel
B) changing
C) uneventful and familiar
D) discriminative

Question 8

In a research study, a dog learned to salivate in response to a tone presented alone. In this case, the salivation would technically be considered a(n):

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

Question 9

With repeated presentation of a loud tone, the startle response increases in intensity. This is an example of:

A) classical conditioning
B) sensitization
C) habitation
D) reinforcement

Question 10

Five-year-old Anais has foolishly covered her arms in masking tape. As her mother starts to remove the tape, little Anais cries harder and harder as the removal of tape becomes more and more painful over time. This would be an example of _.

A) sensitization
B) latent learning
C) habituation
D) operant conditioning

Question 11

The notion of tabula rasa, or blank tablet upon which learning experiences were ascribed, is most closely associated with which of the following schools of psychology?

A) cognitive perspective
B) ethology
C) constructivism
D) behaviourism

Question 12

Advertisers often develop commercials for alcohol that include young, attractive individuals having a good time so that consumers will learn to associate their product with having a pleasant experience. This would be an example of:

A) operant conditioning
B) latent learning
C) sensitization
D) classical conditioning

Question 13

Learning NOT to respond to uneventful, familiar stimuli so that the organism can conserve energy and attend to more important stimuli is an example of:

A) habituation.
B) generalization.
C) a fixed action pattern.
D) operant generalization.

Question 14

The term "personal adaptation" is concerned with how:

A) adaptive significance affects species adaptation.
B) the laws of learning and the environment shape the behaviour of organisms.
C) evolutionary factors operate through the environment to shape the biology of a species.
D) learning directly modifies the genes of a species.

Question 15

While writing your exam, the person next to you keeps tapping their pencil. At first you find it quite distracting but after a while you stop noticing it. This is an example of ________.

A) sensitization
B) extinction
C) habituation
D) latent learning

Question 16

The role of _ is to conserve energy so that an organism can attend to other more important stimuli, whereas helps increase the responsiveness of an organism
To potentially dangerous stimuli.

A) sensitization; habituation
B) habituation; sensitization
C) latent learning; extinction
D) extinction; latent learning

Question 17

You have just settled down to begin studying for your exam in this course when your roommate decides to turn on some music. At first, the music distracts you from your studying, but after a short time, the music no longer bothers you even though it continues to play. This example most clearly demonstrates the process of:

A) classical conditioning.
B) extinction.
C) negative reinforcement.
D) habituation.

Question 18

A learning process in which the organism learns to associate two stimuli such that a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response is called:

A) shaping
B) modeling
C) operant conditioning
D) classical conditioning

Question 19

A picture fell off the wall startling James quite a bit, making him jump. His roommate comes home a couple minutes later and his shutting the door makes James jump again though it doesn't typically. The reason he jumps the second time is that the falling picture
________ to loud noises.

A) made him vulnerable
B) habituated him
C) made him more aware
D) sensitized him

Question 20

An increase in the strength of a response to a repeated stimulus is known as:

A) reinforcement
B) sensitization
C) habituation
D) classical conditioning

Question 21

Under which of the following conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus pairing conditions does learning usually occur most quickly?

A) forward trace pairing
B) backward pairing
C) forward short-delay pairing
D) simultaneous pairing

Question 22

You are conducting an experiment in which you are trying to manipulate the immune response of rats by using the principles of classical conditioning. First, for several days of an experiment, you give rats artificially sweetened water with an immune system-enhancing drug in it. You later remove the drug and notice that the immune
Systems of rats are boosted when they consume the sweetened water. In your experiment, what is the unconditioned response (UCR)?

A) the enhanced immune system functioning in response to the drug
B) the sweetened water
C) the drug
D) the enhanced immune system functioning in response to the sweetened water

Question 23

Which type of learning alerts organisms to stimuli that signal the impending arrival of an important event?

A) operant conditioning
B) classical conditioning
C) latent learning
D) sensitization

Question 24

In a classical conditioning experiment that is utilizing backward pairing, the conditioned stimulus is presented after the _.

A) conditioned response
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) forward trace pairing
D) unconditioned response

Question 25

Shannon is absorbed in the latest novel and is surprised when she looks at the clock and sees that it is dinnertime. Normally, Shannon starts feeling hungry about 5:30 pm every night but now it is 6:00 pm and her stomach just started to rumble. On her way to the dining hall, Shannon starts feeling very hungry. In Shannon's case, the unconditioned stimulus is:

A) The walk to the dining hall
B) The novel she was reading
C) The food at the dining hall
D) The time on her clock

Question 26

In classical conditioning experiments, learning is typically fastest when the unconditioned stimulus is intense and the time interval between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is _.

A) very delayed
B) short
C) long
D) no amount of time

Question 27

Usually, learning through classical conditioning occurs more quickly with:

A) forward trace pairing of the conditioned stimulus and conditioned response.
B) forward trace pairing of the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.
C) simultaneous pairing of the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.
D) simultaneous pairing of the conditioned stimulus and conditioned response.

Question 28

When Pavlov was conditioning his dogs to salivate in response to a tone, he first paired the tone with the presentation of food until the tone alone could induce salivation. In his experiments, which of the following was considered to be the unconditioned stimulus?

A) the food
B) salivation in response to the food
C) the tone
D) salivation in response to the tone

Question 29

A child probably only needs to burn her hand on a hot stove once to learn to avoid doing this in the future. Psychologists have found that when the is particularly aversive, only one pairing is needed.

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

Question 30

Shannon is used to eating dinner every night about 7:00 pm, but now that she is away at college she eats earlier because the dining hall is open from 4-6pm every night for dinner. Shannon eats dinner without feeling hungry for several weeks. Then one day while walking to the dining hall, Shannon starts feeling very hungry. Those first several weeks of eating early are considered the phase of her conditioned response.

A) shaping
B) acquisition
C) persistence
D) extinction

Question 31

Pavlov is known as the one who discovered , which has been described as one of the most important discoveries in the history of psychology.

A) operant conditioning
B) latent learning
C) classical conditioning
D) sensitization

Question 32

Karen's boyfriend gets very excited whenever he smells pizza as he walks by the pizza place where she works because whether Karen is working then or not, he still associates the place with Karen. Which of the following correctly identify the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned stimulus?

A) unconditioned stimulus = Karen; conditioned stimulus = excitement
B) unconditioned stimulus = Karen; conditioned stimulus = pizza place
C) unconditioned stimulus = the pizza smell; conditioned stimulus = Karen
D) unconditioned stimulus = pizza place; conditioned stimulus = Karen

Question 33

All of the following are circumstances under which conditioned responses are typically acquired more rapidly EXCEPT:

A) when the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are paired multiple times.
B) when the UCS is more intense.
C) when the UCS is aversive.
D) when the conditioned stimulus is presented after the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 34

Imagine that you wish to condition a dog to salivate in response to a particular song that you play on your CD player. Prior to beginning the learning trials, the song would be considered a(n) stimulus.

A) discriminative
B) neutral
C) conditioned
D) unconditioned

Question 35

When the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response will gradually weaken in a process called:

A) extinction.
B) habituation.
C) discrimination.
D) negative reinforcement.

Question 36

You are conducting an experiment in which you are trying to manipulate the immune response of rats by using the principles of classical conditioning. First for several days of an experiment, you give rats artificially sweetened water with an immune system-enhancing drug in it. You later remove the drug and notice that the immune
Systems of rats are boosted when they consume the sweetened water. In your experiment, what is the conditioned stimulus (CS)?

A) the enhanced immune system functioning in response to the drug
B) the drug
C) the enhanced immune system functioning in response to the sweetened water
D) the sweetened water

Question 37

A researcher in a classical conditioning experiment is attempting to condition a startle response to a green light. To do this, she illuminates the light, then it goes off and then she plays a very loud noise. This experiment is utilizing what type of sequence and timing of the CS-UCS pairing?

A) simultaneous pairing
B) forward short-delay pairing
C) backward pairing
D) forward trace pairing

Question 38

Learning is typically slowest under which of the following conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus pairings?

A) backward pairing
B) forward trace pairing
C) simultaneous pairing
D) forward short-delay pairing

Question 39

Pavlov determined that a tone triggered salivation more quickly when the size of the ________ was more intense or greater.

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

Question 40

A researcher in a classical conditioning experiment is attempting to condition a startle response to a green light. To do this, she illuminates the light at the same time that she plays a very loud noise. This experiment is utilizing what is called simultaneous pairing of the:

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

Question 41

The process in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus after being paired with an already established conditioned stimulus is called:

A) higher-order conditioning
B) extinction
C) shaping
D) latent learning

Question 42

One difficulty that a therapist might encounter when trying to treat a client with a phobia is , where the fear response to a stimulus that has been extinguished might suddenly reappear if the client encounters the location where the phobia was acquired after a break.

A) secondary recovery.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) natural recovery.
D) automatic recovery.

Question 43

A smart political candidate becomes friends with a very popular professional baseball player because she hopes that this will improve her popularity with the voters. With regard to classical conditioning principles, the positive emotional reactions already evoked by the professional baseball player would be viewed as a(n):

A) conditioned response.
B) well-established conditioned stimulus.
C) unconditioned stimulus.
D) neutral stimulus.

Question 44

Stimulus generalization refers to the process where stimuli that are similar to the initial ________ also elicit a conditioned response.

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

Question 45

During the process of extinction, it is not uncommon for a conditioned response to recur if, after a period of time has passed, the conditioned stimulus is presented again. This is known as:

A) secondary recovery.
B) automatic recovery.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) natural recovery.

Question 46

The key factor in determining whether extinction will occur or not is:

A) whether punishment has been used during the learning trials or not.
B) the use of a conditioned stimulus that lends itself readily to habituation.
C) the passage of time after a conditioned stimulus has been reinforced.
D) repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 47

If a conditioned stimulus has high stimulus generalization, then it will be triggered by several different stimuli, while if it has high discrimination, it will occur in response to ________.

A) a discriminative stimulus
B) several different stimuli
C) a single stimulus
D) a neutral stimulus

Question 48

Stuart is afraid of public speaking, but only when he has to make speeches on the weekend. He is a professor and has no trouble speaking in front of large groups of students, and he has made effective presentations at conferences, as long as he presents on a weekday. The specificity of Stuart's fear mostly clearly demonstrates the process of:

A) negative reinforcement.
B) discrimination.
C) avoidance conditioning.
D) stimulus generalization.

Question 49

Pavlov observed that when he conditioned dogs to salivate to a particular tone, not only would they salivate to this tone but also to other similar tones. This phenomenon is known as:

A) shaping.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) stimulus generalization.
D) stimulus discrimination.

Question 50

Emily developed a phobia of snakes after a serious accident. According to classical conditioning, snakes would be considered an example of a:

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

Question 51

John Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920) conducted experiments with an 11-month-old baby named Albert to demonstrate how:

A) the process of extinction is observable even in infants.
B) the principles of classical conditioning can explain, and be used to create phobias.
C) a neutral stimulus can become a conditioned stimulus by being paired with an established conditioned stimulus.
D) the key factor in classical conditioning is the perception of an association between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 52

A researcher in a classical conditioning experiment first conditions a dog to salivate in response to the presentation of a red circle. After this response has been established, she presents a light immediately before she displays the red circle and after several trials, the light comes to trigger the salivation response. This example best demonstrates the
Process of:

A) stimulus generalization.
B) backward pairing of the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.
C) higher-order conditioning.
D) discrimination.

Question 53

John Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920) conducted experiments with an 11-month-old baby named Albert. Knowing that Albert was afraid of loud noises, they conditioned him to fear a white rat by pairing the presentation of the rat with a loud noise. Though he was initially unafraid of the rat, after several trials, he would cry and become fearful when
Shown the rat. In this instance, the rat represented the:

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

Question 54

Emily developed a fear of python snakes after an accident. Using the principles of classical conditioning, the accident would be considered the unconditioned stimulus. The fact that Emily was fearful of all snakes and not just python snakes demonstrates
________.

A) higher-order conditioning
B) discrimination
C) stimulus generalization
D) backward pairing of the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus

Question 55

In classical conditioning, discrimination refers to how:

A) a conditioned response can be triggered by many different stimuli.
B) a conditioned response can fade when a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
C) a conditioned response is triggered by one stimulus but not by others.
D) an unconditioned stimulus can become a conditioned stimulus.

Question 56

Higher-order conditioning occurs when:

A) a conditioned stimulus becomes a neutral stimulus after being paired with an established conditioned stimulus.
B) a conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus.
C) a neutral response becomes a conditioned response after being paired with an established conditioned response.
D) a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus after being paired with an established conditioned stimulus.

Question 57

A child is bitten by a German Shepherd when he is young. When he grows up, the child develops a fear of not just German Shepherds, but of all dogs and he refuses to go near them. The fact that this person now avoids all dogs illustrates the process of:

A) negative reinforcement.
B) stimulus generalization.
C) punishment.
D) avoidance learning.

Question 58

Susan is staying with some friends who have a dog. Each night, when she has turned off the TV and is heading for bed, she gives the dog a treat. Soon the dog gets very excited whenever Susan turns off the TV at night because he has learned what this signal means. When Susan eventually leaves her friends' house, the dog continues to get excited when the owners turn off the TV, but since the owners don't give the dog a treat at this time, the dog's behaviour soon returns to normal. The change in the dog's behaviour after Susan's departure best illustrates the concept of:

A) extinction.
B) response cost.
C) habituation.
D) punishment.

Question 59

A smart political candidate becomes friends with a very popular professional baseball player because she hopes that this will improve her popularity with the voters. This example demonstrates the process of:

A) stimulus generalization.
B) backward pairing of the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.
C) higher-order conditioning.
D) discrimination.

Question 60

According to behaviourists the formation of phobias is due to what type of learning?

A) latent learning
B) operant conditioning
C) classical conditioning
D) sensitization

Question 61

In order to cure himself of smoking, a man regularly places his package of cigarettes next to a particularly disturbing picture of two lungs that are black from a lifetime of smoking. After a week of this, the man can't pick up his cigarettes without thinking of this intense image, and as a result he smokes less. In this example, what type of therapy is the man using to help stop smoking?

A) systematic desensitization
B) aversion therapy
C) in vivo exposure
D) flooding

Question 62

The goal of exposure therapies is to expose a phobic person to the feared stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus, so that the process of _

A) habituation
B) extinction can occur.
C) generalization
D) discrimination

Question 63

Edward Thorndike based his "law of effect" on which of the following observations?

A) The immune systems of rats can be improved or impaired by pairing specific drugs with distinct tastes.
B) Over time, dogs can be trained to salivate in response to a tone.
C) With trial-and-error, hungry cats will eventually learn to press a lever in order to escape a puzzle box.
D) An 11-month old baby named Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat and other similar-looking animals.

Question 64

A key principle in many therapies that treat phobias and fears is that the phobia or fear is learned and can therefore be:

A) adaptive
B) counterconditioned
C) unlearned
D) habituated

Question 65

In aversion therapy, a stimulus that triggers an unwanted behaviour is paired with:

A) a conditioned stimulus.
B) a pleasant stimulus.
C) a discriminative stimulus.
D) a noxious stimulus.

Question 66

A patient starts chemotherapy and becomes ill each time after he receives it. After a few weeks of treatment, he develops anticipatory nausea at the mere sight of the waiting room at the hospital. In this instance, the unconditioned stimulus would be considered the _.

A) nausea induced by the waiting room
B) chemotherapy
C) waiting room
D) nausea induced by the chemotherapy

Question 67

An 11-year-old girl with an overactive immune system that attacks her own body receives a treatment in which cod liver oil is paired with an immune-suppressant drug. After these initial trials, she occasionally receives only cod liver oil (without the drug), yet her body still shows the desired impairment of functioning. According to the principles of classical conditioning, the cod liver oil would be considered the:

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

Question 68

There was a case of an 11-year-old girl who was suffering from a disease in which her own immune system attacked her body. To treat her, researchers first paired cod liver oil with an immune-suppressant drug. Later, when she only received pure cod liver oil
(without the drug), her immune system still showed the intended impairment. In this instance, the conditioned stimulus would be the:

A) cod liver oil.
B) immune system impairment triggered by the cod liver oil.
C) immune-suppressant drug.
D) immune system impairment triggered by the drug.

Question 69

The textbook describes using virtual reality to treat phobias where clients, over a series of trials, receive increasing exposure to their feared stimulus (e.g., a spider). This is an example of what type of exposure therapy?

A) aversion therapy
B) flooding
C) in vivo exposure
D) systematic desensitization

Question 70

In order to cure himself of smoking, a man regularly places his package of cigarettes next to a particularly disturbing picture of two lungs that are black from a lifetime of smoking. After a week of this, the man can't pick up his cigarettes without thinking of this intense image, and as a result he smokes less. In this example, since the picture naturally inspires negative feelings for the man, the picture would be considered a(n):

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

Question 71

A patient starts chemotherapy and becomes ill each time after he receives it. After a few weeks of treatment, he develops anticipatory nausea at the mere sight of the waiting room at the hospital. In this instance, the unconditioned response would be considered the _.

A) nausea induced by the chemotherapy
B) nausea induced by the waiting room
C) waiting room
D) chemotherapy

Question 72

A man becomes moderately aroused whenever his wife wears a particular red outfit. In terms of classical conditioning principles, the red outfit represents a(n) that has become a(n) .

A) unconditioned stimulus; conditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned response; conditioned response
C) previously neutral stimulus; conditioned stimulus
D) conditioned stimulus; unconditioned stimulus

Question 73

John Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920) conditioned an 11-month-old baby named Albert to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise. Albert already feared the loud noise. After the conditioning had taken place, the researchers also found that Albert was afraid of furry white and grey objects, such as a rabbit and a Santa Claus mask. The fact that Albert was afraid of these additional items demonstrated that:

A) higher-order conditioning had occurred.
B) stimulus generalization had occurred.
C) discrimination had occurred.
D) extinction had occurred.

Question 74

Ben nearly drowned as a child and has since developed a deep fear of not only swimming, but all water in general. When Ben seeks help from Dr. Brown, the first thing Dr. Brown does is take Ben to a swimming pool and force him to get into the water. Dr. Brown is using:

A) an in vivo exposure therapy
B) a cognitive therapy
C) aversion therapy
D) systematic desensitization therapy

Question 75

Some chemotherapy and radiation therapy patients can become sick minutes or hours before they receive their treatments. In this anticipatory nausea and vomiting response that can occur, initially neutral stimuli, such as needles, the hospital, or the treatment room, become that trigger sickness.

A) unconditioned responses
B) conditioned stimuli
C) unconditioned stimuli
D) conditioned response

Question 76

In a study designed to improve immune system functioning of rats, a researcher pairs a drug that strengthens the immune system with sweet water. After several trials, the drug is removed, but when the rats consume only the sweetened water, their immune system functioning improves. This example demonstrates a potentially important application of:

A) the principles of classical conditioning.
B) evidence of stimulus generalization.
C) the use of negative reinforcement.
D) the principles of operant conditioning.

Question 77

An 11-year-old girl with an overactive immune system that attacks her own body receives a treatment in which cod liver oil is paired with an immune-suppressant drug. After these initial trials, she occasionally receives only cod liver oil (without the drug), yet her body still shows the desired impairment of functioning. According to the
Principles of classical conditioning, the immune suppressant drug would be considered the:

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

Question 78

Classical conditioning can also affect our physical health as in the example of allergies. For example if the kitty litter is repeatedly paired with a natural allergen, like cat dander, the kitty litter alone can start to trigger the allergic reaction. In this example, the kitty litter would be the _.

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

Question 79

Edward Thorndike proposed that a response that was followed by a satisfying consequence was more likely to occur. This was termed as Thorndike's law of _.

A) effect
B) aversive conditioning
C) generalization
D) instrumental learning

Question 80

A researcher conducted an experiment with rats in which she paired the administration of a drug that boosted the immune system with sweet water. Later, when the drug was removed and the rats continued to receive just the sweet water, the functioning of the rats' immune systems:

A) improved.
B) showed evidence of stimulus generalization.
C) remained unchanged.
D) decreased.