Deck 8: Behaviorism

Question 1

John Watson's famous address at Columbia University in 1913 argued that

A)psychology had failed as a science
B)introspection was a valid method only when introspectors were properly trained
C)psychology needed to shift its focus from consciousness to scientifically identifiable mental states
D)for psychology to succeed in solving the deepest of human questions, it needed to pay more attention to its philosophical roots

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Darwin's theory of evolution made possible the field of

A)developmental psychology
B)comparative psychology
C)animal behavior
D)forensic psychology

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The principal method by which George Romanes studied animal behavior was called

A)reification
B)naturalistic observation
C)introspection by analogy
D)puzzle box problems

Answer 3

C

Question 4

C. Lloyd Morgan's canon in animal research argued that in explaining animal behavior

A)anthropomorphizing was an acceptable practice for primates but likely not for organisms lower on the phylogenetic scale
B)a higher mental process should not be invoked if the behavior can be explained by a lower mental process
C)introspection by analogy was a valid technique when supplemented by field observations
D)psychologists should be cautious about evoking evolutionary explanations

Question 5

Thorndike wrote that "Any act which in a given situation produces satisfaction becomes associated with that situation, so that when the situation recurs the act is more likely than before to recur as well." This statement is known as

A)the law of effect
B)the principle of satisfaction
C)the partial reinforcement effect
D)the principle of classical conditioning

Question 6

Pavlov's discovery of what would later be labeled classical conditioning came about because he noticed that his dogs

A)were learning to perform in a maze even when they were not reinforced
B)responded to a light but not a sound, even though both had been paired with food
C)would salivate in the presence of highly preferred foods but not for foods that were less preferred
D)were salivating prematurely, that is, before the food was present

Question 7

Of the research methods advocated by Watson which one did he most prefer?

A)introspection
B)classical conditioning
C)psychological testing
D)method of limits

Question 8

John Watson's most famous study with the infant, Albert B., demonstrated that

A)infants possessed all of their sensory systems at birth
B)certain emotions were innate
C)orphanage-reared infants were deficient in learning and memory
D)fear could be conditioned in humans

Question 9

The label "behaviorist manifesto" refers to

A)Watson's 1913 address at Columbia University
B)Watson's rejection of control as a goal for psychology
C)Watson's list of acceptable research methods for a behavioral psychology
D)Watson's plea for psychology to focus on studies of animal behavior

Question 10

John Watson's book on child rearing warned parents against using too much

A)positive reinforcement
B)punishment
C)negative reinforcement
D)affection

Question 11

Although Watson published his influential article in 1913, it wasn't until the ________ that behaviorism began to dominate American psychology.

A)1920s
B)1930s
C)1940s
D)1950s

Question 12

Neobehaviorism is a label used to describe American psychology in what time period?

A)1910s-1930s
B)1930s-1970s
C)1920s-1950s
D)1940s-1980s

Question 13

The neobehaviorists were principally interested in

A)learning and motivation
B)evolutionary psychology
C)sensation and perception
D)operant conditioning

Question 14

Edward Tolman's psychology could be described as

A)instrumental learning
B)radical behaviorism
C)purposive behaviorism
D)reinforcement driven

Question 15

A number of Tolman's maze studies of rats demonstrated that

A)rats performed maximally only when reward were available
B)rats could not learn in the absence of reinforcers
C)learning and performance were the same
D)rats developed cognitive maps of their surroundings

Question 16

In Tolman's plus-shaped maze, which animals learned to find food the fastest?

A)place learners
B)latent learners
C)response learners
D)those rats that always turned left

Question 17

Clark Hull's grand theory of behavior was established using what method?

A)cognitive maps
B)hypothetico-deductive method
C)classical conditioning
D)logical positivism

Question 18

For Hull, the mechanism for reinforcement was

A)drive reduction
B)latent learning
C)animal satisfaction
D)habit strength

Question 19

According to Hull, habit strength, a measure of the strength of learning, was directly enhanced by

A)the motivational level of the animal
B)the number of reinforcements the animal received
C)the strength of punishment received to stamp out competing responses
D)the strength of the animal's cognitive maps

Question 20

Unlike classical conditioning, Skinner's operant conditioning was not concerned with the

A)reinforcing stimulus
B)process of extinction
C)consequences of behavior
D)eliciting stimulus

Question 21

Skinner proposed to be able to control behavior by understanding how behavior was affected by

A)desires
B)needs
C)consequences
D)mental states

Question 22

The partial reinforcement effect refers to the fact that

A)partially reinforced behaviors are stronger than continuously reinforced behaviors
B)partially reinforced behaviors are weaker than continuously reinforced behaviors
C)partially reinforced behaviors are less resistant to extinction
D)in partial reinforcement, some behaviors go unreinforced

Question 23

Reinforcement schedules that are based on the number of responses emitted by the organism are called

A)interval schedules
B)continuous schedules
C)ratio schedules
D)partial schedules

Question 24

In his book, Beyond Freedom and Dignity, Skinner argued that

A)society needed to make greater use of punishment to rid itself of problem behaviors
B)society needed to understand the behavioral controls already in place to be able to shape a better society
C)human dignity was possible only by giving up freedom to a benevolent, agreed-upon government
D)genetics play a much greater role in determining behavior than most psychologists admit

Question 25

Discuss the history of comparative psychology from the work of Darwin and the other British naturalists through the work of Thorndike and Pavlov. Why was this work important to a behavioristic psychology?

Question 26

Watson delivered his "behaviorist manifesto" at Columbia University in February 1913. Discuss the main points of that lecture indicating how Watson proposed to reform the science of psychology.

Question 27

Edward Tolman is often referred to as a cognitive behaviorist. Discuss his psychology in light of that label.

Question 28

Describe the method that Clark Hull used to generate the grand theory of behavior that would make him one of the most cited psychologists of his time. And explain why it ultimately led to his theory being largely discarded.

Question 29

The psychologies of Thorndike, Pavlov, and Hull are described as stimulus - response or S-R psychologies. But Skinner's psychology is labeled an R-S psychology. Explain how and why Skinner's system is different.

Question 30

Explain the partial reinforcement effect. Indicate why partial reinforcement would produce such an effect compared to an animal that had been continuously reinforced.

Question 31

Discuss the concept of reinforcement in the neobehavioral psychologies of Tolman, Hull, and Skinner.