Deck 10: A Synthetic Perspective on Instrumental Action

Question 1

Avoidance learning is somewhat puzzling because

A) it is an unlearned response developed through evolution to prevent harm to the organism, and yet it is readily modified by instrumental conditioning procedures.
B) the instrumental avoidance response cannot occur until the organism has first learned a classically conditioned fear contingency.
C) it is difficult to explain what reinforces the instrumental response and why avoidance responses are so resistant to extinction when the aversive outcome is omitted.
D) sometimes the avoidance S^D facilitates learning the instrumental avoidance response and sometimes it interferes with learning the instrumental avoidance response.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Mower's two-factor theory of avoidance proposes that

A) Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning take place simultaneously; a species-specific defense reaction results when the Pavlovian contingency is learned first, and a more arbitrary, researcher-selected response results when the instrumental contingency is learned first.
B) subjects must first experience the outcome and determine its aversive value before the removal of the aversive outcome will support the learning of an instrumental response.
C) subjects first learn an instrumental response that prevents the aversive S^D and then learn a Pavlovian contingency that serves to produce the motivation for long-term avoidance responding.
D) subjects first learn a Pavlovian association between a signal and the stimulus to be avoided, which then provides a mechanism for reinforcing the instrumental avoidance response.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Miller's acquired drive experiment demonstrated that

A) aversive stimuli produce more motivation than appetitive stimuli do.
B) learned motivational stimuli extinguish more rapidly than innate or natural motivational stimuli.
C) conditioned fear can be serve as an acquired drive
D) a conditioned stimulus for an aversive event can be as effective a reinforcer as the actual aversive event.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Response prevention refers to

A) a training procedure in which the S^D for the aversive outcome is presented and then the avoidance response is prevented.
B) the problem that occurs when the researcher-selected S^D for the aversive outcome elicits a behavior that competes with or prevents the avoidance response.
C) the prevention of the escape response by means of the avoidance response.
D) the prevention of an aversive outcome by means of the avoidance response.

Question 5

Which of the following examples illustrates response prevention?

A) An aggressive teenager is given two weeks of detention after school for starting a fight at recess.
B) A 22-year-old binge-drinker has his driver's license suspended for three years following his third DUI arrest.
C) A person with a spider phobia is required to hold a nonpoisonous tarantula for 10 minutes, put the spider down, and then pick it up and hold it for another 10 minutes.
D) A puppy owner decides to wake up her puppy throughout the day so that it will be tired enough to sleep through the night.

Question 6

If two-factor theory is an accurate explanation of avoidance learning, then

A) fear of a warning should be inversely correlated with avoidance responding.
B) the immediate termination of the aversive CS following a response will be more effective than delayed termination.
C) no CS should be as effective as training with an explicit CS.
D) termination of the warning signal should produce an escape response, as it is synchronous with the onset of the aversive stimulus.

Question 7

The failure to find a strong direct correlation between fear responses and the avoidance response is less problematic if we assume that

A) the aversive CS activates a central motivational state rather than a peripheral response.
B) the instrumental response does not occur automatically or habitually.
C) avoidance and Pavlovian-instrumental transfer are incompatible.
D) fear is not an acquired motivation.

Question 8

The Sidman avoidance procedure

A) first conditions an escape response without a CS, then shifts to a Pavlovian conditioning phase of CS + aversive stimulus pairings, and then tests subjects by presenting the CS only in a third phase of training.
B) involves presenting a successive, overlapping three-stimulus compound avoidance CS (e.g., light  tone  clicking  shock) and measuring which CS is the strongest reinforcer for the avoidance response.
C) presents an uncued, fixed-duration aversive stimulus (e.g., shock) at regularly occurring or fixed intervals unless a response occurs in the time between the successive scheduled aversive stimulus presentations.
D) involves classically conditioning a response to an explicit stimulus, then extinguishing that explicit stimulus, and then using that extinguished stimulus as the avoidance CS in the instrumental phase.

Question 9

The Sidman avoidance procedure was developed to test the two-factor theory's emphasis on the

A) role of the strength of the fear responses in motivating instrumental learning.
B) role of the warning signal's termination as an index of reinforcer strength.
C) requirement that Pavlovian conditioning precede the instrumental conditioning of the avoidance response.
D) necessity of using strong, surprising aversive stimuli versus weak to moderately aversive, commonly occurring stimuli.

Question 10

Herrnstein rejected the notion that temporal cues, aversiveness, or fear motivate Sidman avoidance responding. Instead, he argued that Sidman avoidance results from

A) a reduction in the average shock rate based on responding.
B) a reduction in shock intensity based on responding.
C) extensive practice on the avoidance schedule.
D) species-specific defense reactions triggered by shock.

Question 11

Turning off a warning signal

A) is necessary for avoidance learning.
B) facilitates avoidance learning, but only with some behaviors.
C) has no effect on behavior unless it also prevents the aversive event.
D) turns off the avoidance response.

Question 12

Research on avoidance learning has shown that it

A) is always more difficult than reward learning.
B) is as difficult as escape learning.
C) can vary enormously, from requiring only one trial to requiring hundreds of trials.
D) extinguishes more rapidly than other instrumental contingencies.

Question 13

An SSDR is a _______ response.

A) species-specific displacement
B) species-specific defense
C) single-stimulus discrimination
D) stimulus-sensitization disgust

Question 14

Why should termination of the warning signal be more important in learning to shuttle than in one-way avoidance?

A) One-way avoidance is signaled by the researcher removing the animal from the shuttle box.
B) Shuttling requires the animal to approach an area where it has been shocked.
C) Termination of the warning signal is necessary to prevent thigmotaxis from interfering.
D) Shuttling is a flight response.

Question 15

According to Bolles' analysis of SSDRs, two easily learned avoidance responses would be

A) attacking the warning signal or freezing.
B) freezing or jumping a hurdle to get away from the warning signal.
C) jumping a hurdle to get away from the warning signal or attacking it.
D) jumping a hurdle to get away from the warning signal or emitting a vocalization.

Question 16

The thigmotaxis response in rats causes them to naturally

A) burrow into the dirt to hide.
B) freeze and attempt to blend into the surrounding environment.
C) emit a pungent odor.
D) run to a wall or other object on the perimeter of their environment.

Question 17

With more and more avoidance trials in which the response terminates the warning signal,

A) extinction of fear should take place, presenting a problem for two-factor theory when extinction of avoidance does not occur.
B) fear is increased with more conditioning trials, making the response very resistant to extinction.
C) both fear of the warning stimulus and the avoidance response will be maintained.
D) SSDRs will eventually interfere with avoidance learning.

Question 18

Rats can learn to avoid a regularly occurring aversive event, even when it is not signaled. This observation is

A) evidence that two-factor theory is incorrect, as there is no signal to terminate, and thus no fear reduction.
B) explainable by the rats' sense of elapsed time from the last response, and thus not a threat for two-factor theory.
C) inconsistent with the idea that avoidance can become habit.
D) argued to be a demonstration of escape responding.

Question 19

Which of the following is not part of the definition of an SSDR?

A) Instrumentally conditioned response
B) Behavioral systems response
C) Stereotypic or reflexive response
D) Species-specific response

Question 20

If a researcher coincidentally selects an SSDR as the instrumental avoidance response, the subject should

A) learn the response slowly.
B) learn the response quickly.
C) learn the response at an intermediate rate.
D) be unable to learn a contraprepared response.

Question 21

SSDRs are

A) innate and functional, and can vary between members of the same species.
B) innate and functional, and do not vary between members of the same species.
C) learned and functional, and do not vary between members of the same species.
D) learned and functional, and can vary between members of the same species.

Question 22

An avoidance response that is learned after very few trials (e.g., 1‒4) is

A) probably a Pavlovian response rather than an instrumental SSDR.
B) probably a Pavlovian conditioned SSDR rather than an instrumental response.
C) insensitive to extinction.
D) probably a very effective escape response as well.

Question 23

A recuperative behavior is a

A) reflexive defense response.
B) response that promotes healing.
C) displacement behavior that occurs when avoidance is prevented.
D) defense response with several options (e.g., flight, freeze, attack).

Question 24

The perceptual-defensive-recuperative model assumes that

A) the motivational state of fear will enhance pain and trigger other behaviors.
B) only predators or natural events (e.g., thunder) will elicit SSDRs.
C) SSDRs elicit recuperative behaviors and the production of endorphins.
D) stimuli in the environment determine the particular SSDR that occurs.

Question 25

What is the main function of the response in the perceptual-defensive-recuperative model?

A) To prepare the organism to encounter a threat
B) To prevent the animal from reaching the next step of the danger imminence continuum
C) To elicit SSDRs
D) To preserve other motivational states

Question 26

Which statement regarding modern theories of avoidance learning is false?

A) The explicit biological emphasis on SSDRs is inconsistent with the cognitive emphasis on memory and attention.
B) Theories of avoidance learning have become more ethological in approach.
C) Pavlovian theories and sign tracking are increasingly emphasized as significant factors in avoidance responding.
D) Warning-signal termination is crucial for reinforcement by fear reduction when avoidance behaviors are not SSDRs.

Question 27

Which of the following statements about instrumental avoidance learning is true?

A) The response feedback stimuli become conditioned excitatory fear signals.
B) The avoidance response becomes a conditioned excitatory fear signal.
C) A cessation signal that is presented following the avoidance response facilitates avoidance learning even when the warning signal remains.
D) A Pavlovian conditioned inhibitor presented after the avoidance response weakens avoidance responding.

Question 28

If a subject learns only that "response = no shock," then the avoidance response should be

A) unaffected by extinction training.
B) facilitated by punishment.
C) able to act as a negative occasion setter.
D) able to act as a positive occasion setter.

Question 29

Learned helplessness is essentially a procedure in which subjects experience

A) intense punishment unless they remain still or passive.
B) aversive events that cannot be prevented or controlled.
C) unsignaled avoidance using a contraprepared behavior.
D) avoidance tasks in which the warning stimuli change over time.

Question 30

The crucial feature of a task that produces learned helplessness is the

A) use of an aversive stimulus (e.g., shock).
B) lack of cues to signal the occurrence of the aversive stimulus.
C) use of warning stimuli that constantly change.
D) lack of contingency between responding and aversive stimulation.

Question 31

Learned helplessness is less likely to occur when the subject experiences _______ before the helplessness treatment.

A) an aversive Pavlovian contingency
B) an inescapable aversive stimulus
C) an escape contingency
D) a punishment contingency

Question 32

Which group is not needed to demonstrates learned helplessness?

A) A group that receives escape training in Phases 1 and 2.
B) A group that receives non-contingent aversive stimulus presentations in Phase 1 and escape training in Phase 2.
C) A group that receives punishment training in Phase 1 and escape training in Phase 2.
D) A group that receives no training in Phase 1 and escape training in Phase 2.

Question 33

Travis is the victim of unpredictable bullying on the playground. In every case it continues until he sees the teacher coming, and then it promptly ends. What effect will the teacher have on his learned helplessness?

A) The aversive stimulus is still unpredictable, so the teacher will have no effect.
B) In future situations of bullying, he will be less likely to experience learned helplessness when the teacher is not around.
C) In future situations of bullying, he will be more likely to experience learned helplessness when the teacher is not around.
D) In future situations of bullying, his learned helplessness will be greater than if the teacher had never been present.

Question 34

In a learned helplessness study, subjects typically do not even try to escape, even when they have the opportunity to do so. This failure to initiate a response is thought to be due to _______ deficits.

A) cognitive
B) emotional
C) motivational
D) memory

Question 35

In a learned helplessness study, subjects typically show a "retardation of acquisition effect" in learning an escape response. This difficulty in learning the escape response is thought to be due to _______ deficits.

A) cognitive
B) emotional
C) motivational
D) memory

Question 36

Which of the following students would be most likely to experience learned helplessness?

A) A student with a 4.0/4.0 grade point average who fails a chemistry test
B) A student with a 3.5/4.0 grade point average who fails a chemistry test
C) A student with a 2.5/4.0 grade point average who fails a chemistry test
D) A student with a 1.5/4.0 grade point average who fails a chemistry test

Question 37

Which of the following students would be least likely to attend a test review or tutoring session before a test?

A) A student with a 1.5/4.0 grade point average
B) A student with a 2.5/4.0 grade point average
C) A student with a 3.5/4.0 grade point average
D) A student with a 4.0/4.0 grade point average

Question 38

Sam has learned that hard work in the kickboxing gym pays off, whereas Travis typically performs well with little effort. While sparring with Nelson in the gym, each suffers four consecutive knockdowns. How will this affect Sam and Travis?

A) Sam is likely to experience learned helplessness, while Travis is immune to it from his past experiences.
B) Travis is likely to experience learned helplessness, while Sam's past successes for his efforts have made him immune to it.
C) The experience of failing is new to both, so they are both likely to experience from learned helplessness.
D) Both are equally immunized against learned helplessness.

Question 39

Learned helplessness, learned irrelevance, and generalized learned irrelevance are all examples of a reduction in learning caused by exposure to a _______ contingency.

A) positive
B) negative
C) zero
D) mixed

Question 40

Learned irrelevance is a

A) combination of Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning that results in an extremely inhibitory CS that blocks instrumental learning.
B) situation in which exposure to a zero contingency between a CS and US interferes with future learning.
C) type of blocking effect that occurs in multistage instrumental conditioning procedures in which learning one response reduces the ability to learn a second response.
D) type of discrimination procedure in which the two stimuli that serve as the S^D and S^Δ are reversed across training phases so frequently that the subject comes to ignore both stimuli.

Question 41

A rat is first confined in a running wheel where it experiences inescapable shocksnext, and after a period of time it is placed in a box that allows it to jump onto a ledge to avoid shock. The failure of the rat to learn the jump response may be due to

A) competing responses.
B) generalized inhibitory conditioning.
C) discriminated passive avoidance.
D) generalized learned irrelevance.

Question 42

Researchers have found that one of the most important determinants of the psychological impact of aversive events is

A) predictability.
B) controllability.
C) intensity.
D) immediacy.

Question 43

Research has demonstrated that animals that have experienced inescapable exposure to an aversive stimulus in the first training phase of a study

A) are unaffected in the second phase by an attention-grabbing stimulus presented when a response is made and the aversive stimulus is terminated.
B) are less likely to experience extinction of escape responding after they have learned the escape response.
C) can relearn that behavior and outcome are unrelated very rapidly, even after they have learned an escape response.
D) experience less stress and negative health consequences in later phases, when their expectations have come to match their experiences.

Question 44

When animals have experienced inescapable exposure to an aversive event in the first training phase of a study, the negative effect of this treatment is reduced the most when

A) a backward CS is presented immediately after the aversive event is terminated.
B) a cessation CS is presented immediately before the aversive stimulus is terminated.
C) cessation and backward CS cues are presented with termination of the aversive stimulus.
D) backward CS cues are presented during exposure to the aversive stimulus.

Question 45

Which scenario illustrates the concept of instinctive drift?

A) A cat that has been trained to do a "handstand" on its two front legs always meows while performing the trick.
B) A raccoon is trained to "do laundry" by picking up a cloth out of a basket and then "washing" it in a small tub of water.
C) A dog that has been trained to bark on command for a treat licks the trainer instead of barking in response to the "bark" command.
D) A pet canary sings whenever its owner places a mirror inside the cage.

Question 46

In Staddon and Simmelhag's study of pigeons, subjects receiving fixed-time, noncontingent grain deliveries were most likely to engage in pecking in and around the grain hopper when the grain was about to be delivered. The researchers referred to these actions as _______ behaviors.

A) terminal
B) interim
C) superstitious
D) instinctive drift

Question 47

In a car-racing video game you are on a familiar stretch of road and know you will have the opportunity to pass your opponent in about 3 minutes. You begin to bump his bumper with yours until the opportunity to pass arrives. This bumping is a(n) _______ behavior.

A) terminal
B) interim
C) superstitious
D) instinctive drift

Question 48

Which term does not belong with the others?

A) Interim behaviors
B) Adjunctive behaviors
C) Displacement behaviors
D) Recuperative behaviors

Question 49

An adjunctive behavior is a response that is

A) likely to occur when reinforcers are delivered at regular intervals.
B) instinctive, competes with the instrumental response, and is elicited by the instrumental outcome.
C) elicited by exposure to aversive stimulation and promotes healing.
D) occurs when expected outcomes are devalued or withdrawn.

Question 50

Instrumental schedules are most likely to produce adjunctive behaviors when the schedule has a(n) _______ payoff rate.

A) lean
B) rich
C) intermediate
D) indeterminate

Question 51

Which set of events below would be most likely to elicit an adjunctive behavior while a rat is pressing a lever on a lean variable ratio schedule?

A) The presentation of a CS signaling food
B) The presentation of a CS that is inhibitory for food
C) The joint presentation of excitatory and inhibitory CSs for food
D) Increasing the rate of reinforcement

Question 52

Which behavior in rats would be referred to as schedule-induced polydipsia?

A) Reducing lever pressing for food to take time to drink to reduce thirst
B) Suppression of drinking due to frustration produced by a lean schedule of reinforcement
C) Engaging in other of instrumental behaviors (e.g., paw-press, nose-press, bar-pulling, etc.) when food and water are presented as rewards unpredictably
D) Spending time in unnecessary drinking following a food reward when reinforcements are delivered at intermediate rates

Question 53

Interim and terminal behaviors are most analogous to

A) elicited and voluntary behaviors.
B) Pavlovian and instrumental behaviors.
C) focal search and consummatory behaviors.
D) SSDRs and instinctive drift.

Question 54

Negative automaintenance is said to occur when

A) a recuperative behavior does not occur after exposure to an inescapable aversive outcome.
B) a reflexive behavior elicited by a stimulus prevents the subject from obtaining the reinforcement.
C) an adjunctive behavior becomes habitual and harmful to the well-being of the subject.
D) a reflexive withdrawal behavior is elicited by noncontingent aversive outcomes delivered on a fixed time schedule.

Question 55

Researchers who are trying to teach a raccoon to drop coins into a bank to receive reinforcement eventually pair the coins with food. From that moment on, the raccoon begins to persistently rub the coins together when it encounters them, even when that behavior is not reinforced. This "misbehavior" is most likely an example of

A) an adjunctive behavior.
B) negative automaintenance.
C) intrusion of a natural defensive behavior.
D) the action of cessation cues.

Question 56

Which statement about punishment is false?

A) Punishment has mixed effectiveness in shaping because the contingency can produce either an S-O or an R-O association.
B) Punishment may result in the suppression of behaviors that are not linked to punishment.
C) The S-O and R-O associations are acquired at the same rate, but the specific association that occurs depends on the SSDR elicited by the aversive outcome.
D) Pavlovian associations are the easier to learn and the elicited behavior is coincidental to the instrumental contingency.

Question 57

To be successful in shaping behavior, a researcher

A) must first extinguish naturally occurring behavior elicited by the stimuli in the environment that become associated with the reinforcer.
B) must take into account the types of behavior that are naturally related to the reinforcer, as well as how behavior systems are going to affect the responses elicited by stimuli in the environment that might become associated with the reinforcer.
C) must realize that all instrumental conditioning results from chains of Pavlovian responses elicited by stimuli in the environment associated with the reinforcer.
D) must make sure that the reinforcer follows only the target behavior and no other behavior.

Question 58

Punishment involves suppression of behavior by presenting aversive stimuli contingent on performing the behavior. Because so many natural responses to aversive stimuli involve suppression,

A) truly associating the response with the reinforcer is impossible; associating the stimuli near where the behavior occurs is what is responsible for the suppression.
B) simply observing suppression of the target behavior implies an R-O association.
C) S-O, but not R-O, associations are responsible for punishment.
D) S-O associations can explain a great number of the effects punishment, but R-O associations also can contribute.

Question 59

Sam and Travis spar with each other in the kickboxing gym. Often, when Travis throws a jab, he is punished with a left hook from Sam. For the next several rounds, he keeps his distance from Sam, but eventually learns to close in and fight while avoiding throwing the jab. Which analysis below fits Travis' behavior?

A) His initial suppression of jab throwing was due to R-O associations, but ultimately he formed an S-O association.
B) His avoidance of Sam was due to R-O learning, and his learning to avoid throwing the jab was S-O.
C) His tendency to keep his distance from Sam, and then later to fight but avoid throwing the jab, suggests that S-O learning was easier or faster than R-O learning.
D) Fear produced analgesia so that the left-hook was less effective, as the perceptual-defense-recuperative model would predict.

Question 60

At their high-school prom, Travis asks four girls to dance with him using the same simple question, "Will you dance with me?" They all say no, and Travis ends up spending the rest of the evening near the punch bowl. Posing several variously worded questions, Eric asks three girls to dance with him, and they all say no as well. He is successful with his fourth request and he his success continues with different girls throughout the evening. How might Eric and Travis' learning mechanisms differ?

A) Travis learns R-O associations more quickly than Eric does.
B) Eric learns R-O associations more quickly than Travis does.
C) Travis learns R-O associations more quickly than Eric learns S-O associations.
D) Eric learns S-O associations more slowly than Travis does.

Question 61

Which statement about S-O, R-O and S-(R-O) associations is true?

A) S-O must be formed first, followed by R-O and then S-(R-O).
B) R-O is formed before S-(R-O), but after S-O.
C) Though they may be learned at different rates, they are assumed to be learned in parallel.
D) R-O is necessary to motivate S-O.

Question 62

In Pavlovian learning, changing the value of O changes the CR to S. In instrumental learning, changing the value of O

A) has no effect on R.
B) affects R unless the incentive value of O has been changed.
C) affects R only when R and O are signaled by and S.
D) changes the motivation to respond.

Question 63

Which statement about the processes involved in instrumental learning is false?

A) The subject associates a specific behavior with a variety of outcomes.
B) The subject decides which behavior to produce according to the value of its outcome.
C) The subject learns the value of the outcome via incentive learning.
D) The subject learns that the outcome can become either more positive or more aversive.

Question 64

Sydney has been dancing with Eric and Travis all night. Both are equally happy to dance when she asks. Late in the evening, she hears that Travis has become intoxicated and belligerent. When she sees both Eric and Travis again, she asks Eric to dance. She is making effective use of

A) S-O associations.
B) R-O associations.
C) R-(S-O) associations.
D) perceptual-defensive-recuperative mechanisms.

Question 65

After dancing with Eric all night (at least 20 songs), Sydney sees Scott enter the disco. At the end of the current song, she abandons Eric and goes to dance with Scott. Perhaps Sydney is experiencing a variety of

A) sensory-specific satiety.
B) outcome devaluation.
C) reinforcer revaluation.
D) extinction.

Question 66

Which observation has had little influence in the argument by researchers that the laws regulating the formation of R-O learning are similar to those of S-O learning?

A) Extinction, timing of the O, and size of the O affect R-O and S-O learning similarly.
B) Blocking, relative validity, and priming effects occur in both instrumental and Pavlovian conditioning.
C) Surprisingness of O and extent of O rehearsal influence both instrumental and Pavlovian conditioning.
D) Suppression of behavior by instrumental punishment is mostly due to SSDRs elicited by cues in the environment.

Question 67

Tricia knows Dan, and occasionally talks to him on the phone or invites him to her house with other friends. While working on her senior thesis, she encounters a very hard statistical problem, and Adele tells her that Dan is an expert statistician. Tricia immediately invites him over for dinner. Tricia's change in behavior is most like the changes associated with

A) reinforcer devaluation.
B) incentive learning.
C) S-(R-O) learning.
D) instinctive drift.

Question 68

Adele and Tricia want Dan to help them with their statistics project. Tricia calls Dan two, three, and four times a day before finally reaching him and speaking with him about her project. Adele knows Dan is only available in the late afternoon, so waits to call about her project at that time. Then, Dan decides he doesn't want to provide free help and tells them both not to call him anymore. He has just "devalued" himself. Who will continue to call Dan, hoping to change his mind?

A) Tricia, because she was on a variable ratio schedule.
B) Adele, because she was on a variable ratio schedule.
C) Adele, because she was on a variable interval schedule.
D) They will be more or less equal in terms of persistence.

Question 69

At a conference, Sydney dials reception from her room to be connected to Eric whenever she wants to talk to him. Later, in Kelly's room, Kelly wants to talk to Travis, and Sydney dials reception for her to connect to Travis. While there, Sydney learns to dial Travis' and Eric's extensions directly. When she is back in her room, Sydney is going to use Eric's direct extension because

A) R-O associations direct her to do so.
B) S-O associations guide her responses.
C) Travis has been revalued.
D) Eric has acquired a new incentive value for Sydney.

Question 70

You often call the computer center for help with your statistics studies. In the morning, dialing 111 will connect you to Dan in the basement, and dialing 444 will connect you to Dave on the second floor. Both are usually good at handling your statistics questions, and you tend to use them both equally. To be fair with regard to the quality of their office environments, Dan and Dave switch offices at mid-day. The last time you talked to Dan, you got very bad advice and failed an assignment. Tomorrow morning, you will dial 444 because of

A) R-O associations.
B) S-(R-O) associations.
C) simple reinforcer devaluation.
D) both reinforcer devaluation and S-(R-O) associations.

Question 71

When you need help with your computer software, which is often, you always call Mike, and receive reasonably good help. One day, you call Mike and follow his instructions to the letter, only to find that you've reformatted your hard drive and lost all your data. When Susan asks you whom she should call for help with her computer you say, "Anyone but Mike." Yet you find yourself dialing his extension the next time your computer crashes. This paradox is explained by a combination of

A) S-O and S-R learning.
B) habit and instinct.
C) outcome devaluation and instinctive drift.
D) occasion setting and instrumental conditioning.

Question 72

After receiving bad computer advice from Mike, who you have a habit of calling for help, you continue to catch yourself dialing his number when you need help. Though frustrating, you should be grateful because

A) habit ensures that you continue behaviors that have paid off in the past so they don't have to be relearned if they become rewarding again.
B) S-R associations free working memory that can be devoted to new problems.
C) S-O associations are only functional with stable outcomes.
D) R-O associations are working-memory intensive.

Question 73

Cookies are freely available in the kitchen, except when your mother is home. Then, you have to ask for them. Your behavior toward your mother is governed by

A) habit.
B) instinctive drift (i.e., misbehavior).
C) S-(R-O) associations.
D) S-O associations.

Question 74

In S-(R-O) learning situations,

A) S is an occasion setter rather than just serving as a CS.
B) R is the occasion setter enabling the subject to determine when to respond.
C) S and R are directly linked to O and also serve as CSs.
D) S will not control R-O if it is also associated with O2, a different outcome.

Question 75

As training becomes extensive, the _______ association more and more strongly regulates performance, to the point that the behavior occurs automatically.

A) R-O
B) S-O
C) S-R
D) S-(R-O)

Question 76

Explain the difficulties that avoidance learning, as an operant process, presented for learning theorists.

Question 77

Think of anorexia as arising from a fear of getting fat and explain it from the perspective of Mowrer's two-factor theory.

Question 78

Describe the procedure of Sidman avoidance, explain how this procedure tests the assumptions of the two-factor theory, and evaluate whether it presents a challenge for two-factor theory.

Question 79

Compare and contrast an SSDR with an instrumental avoidance response. How does an SSDR affect instrumental avoidance learning?

Question 80

Develop a test that would allow you to distinguish between a Pavlovian SSDR and an instrumental avoidance response, and explain how you would know which type of response was occurring.