Deck 2: Learning and Adaptation

Question 1

Natural selection is

A) a rapid process that changes features of an organism in just one generation.
B) a superior method of adaptation relative to learning because it benefits all members of the species.
C) based on a fitness criterion: that is, the fastest, largest, strongest, most distinctly marked members of the species are most likely to survive.
D) a process that enables the genetic transmission of both physical features and behaviors.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Predatory birds find it easier to discover light-colored moths than dark-colored moths, and thus the former moths are eaten. From the perspective of evolution, the light-colored moth lacks

A) reproductive success.
B) selection propensity.
C) fitness.
D) ecological value.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In the context of natural selection, "fitness" refers to the

A) ability of an organism to produce viable offspring.
B) body weight of the organism.
C) ability of an organism to survive.
D) difference between the mental and physical age of an organism.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In evolution, it is most important that an organism

A) survives.
B) is adaptive.
C) passes on its genes.
D) has fixed action patterns.

Question 5

Ethologists study

A) the adaptive benefits of an organism's physical features (e.g., feather coloration, fur length, body size).
B) the extent to which learned behaviors can be transmitted to the offspring of the next generation.
C) the fossil records of the body features of similar species in order to predict probable behavior patterns.
D) naturally occurring behaviors of organisms in their natural settings.

Question 6

Which statement best describes a fixed action pattern?

A) A behavior learned within the first few hours after birth
B) A behavior that becomes automatic and stereotyped
C) An apparently unlearned behavior that is demonstrated by all members of a species
D) An organism's disposition to act in certain ways that can be overridden by learning

Question 7

Sign stimuli

A) trigger classically conditioned responses.
B) are approached by organisms.
C) initiate fixed action patterns.
D) initiate operant behaviors.

Question 8

Which behavior is not likely to be a fixed action pattern?

A) A cat running into the kitchen whenever it hears the sound of the can opener
B) A dog raising its hackles when it sees another dog
C) A fish grabbing an insect hovering above the surface of the water
D) A peacock spreading and shaking its tail feathers in the presence of a peahen

Question 9

Artificial selection experiments

A) are useful but limited due to their artificial nature.
B) can demonstrate that behaviors can be passed across generations.
C) show us that no behavior is truly innate.
D) are like deprivation experiments, since they also show that behavior must be learned.

Question 10

Tinbergen observed that the number of black-headed gull eggs taken from a nest was a function of the distance of the nest from broken eggs. This experiment

A) demonstrates the phenomenon of mobbing.
B) is an example of comparative ethology.
C) made use of the evaluative approach.
D) demonstrates the phenomenon of fixed action patterning.

Question 11

Habituation is a learning process in which an innate behavior

A) becomes less likely to occur when a sign stimulus is presented repeatedly.
B) becomes more likely to occur when a sign stimulus is presented repeatedly.
C) first becomes less likely to occur with repeated stimulation but then rebounds.
D) gradually becomes capable of being triggered by a variety of novel stimuli.

Question 12

To habituate anxiety elicited by public speaking you might

A) pair public speaking with applause.
B) make a monetary payment contingent on public speaking.
C) practice public speaking over and over.
D) give up-such anxiety is innate and cannot be modified.

Question 13

Which example best demonstrates habituation?

A) Having been recently stung by a bee, Sara is now highly anxious whenever she is outside and hears a buzzing sound.
B) After being on campus for two weeks, Mario sleeps through the night instead of being awakened by the daily 2 a.m. train.
C) Due to hearing loss from a firecracker incident, Justin does not hear the humming of the transformer outside his room.
D) Having just returned home from a two-hour rock concert, Amber turns up the volume on her television so high that her next-door neighbors complain.

Question 14

After 14 weeks of exposure to public speaking, John's public-speaking anxiety has subsided. His therapist should tell him that

A) habituation is relatively permanent and he will need no further help.
B) habituation is stimulus specific, so that as long as he continues speaking to similar audiences he will need no further help.
C) habituation fades with time; the anxiety can spontaneously recover and he may need more treatments.
D) he can reduce his anxiety further by preparing more talks that reinforce his calmness.

Question 15

A therapist should be aware that when exposing a client to a stimulus that elicits unwanted behaviors, emotions, or cognitions,

A) habituation might reduce these responses eventually, but the initial anxiety might be too intense for the client to tolerate.
B) the client can become sensitized to the extent that the unwanted behavior never occurs again, even if it could be adaptive in some situations.
C) habituation and sensitization processes likely work together and the unwanted behaviors could increase.
D) no behavioral changes can take place unless the consequences are manipulated.

Question 16

Behavior is most likely to change in strength when O is

A) good or pleasant.
B) bad or unpleasant.
C) neutral.
D) either good or bad.

Question 17

Positive reward involves the _______ of _______ stimulus following a response.

A) presentation; an aversive
B) presentation; a pleasant
C) removal; an aversive
D) removal; a pleasant

Question 18

Omission involves the _______ of _______ stimulus following a response.

A) presentation; an aversive
B) presentation; a pleasant
C) removal; an aversive
D) removal; a pleasant

Question 19

Reward involves the _______ of _______ event following a behavior.

A) presentation; a pleasant
B) removal; a pleasant
C) presentation; an aversive
D) removal; an aversive

Question 20

Negative reinforcement involves the _______of _______ event following a behavior.

A) presentation; a pleasant
B) removal; a pleasant
C) presentation; an aversive
D) removal; an aversive

Question 21

Punishment training involves the _______ of _______ event following a behavior.

A) presentation; a pleasant
B) removal; a pleasant
C) presentation; an aversive
D) removal; an aversive

Question 22

Which scenario demonstrates the application of positive reinforcement?

A) A dog is given a "sit" command while the family eats dinner.
B) A parrot is sprayed with water whenever it attempts to bite.
C) A dolphin is given a herring when it places its tail fluke on the deck for a blood test.
D) A male blue jay scuffles with another male blue jay that enters the yard.

Question 23

Which scenario demonstrates the application of punishment?

A) When Jason is one hour late in picking up his brother from soccer practice, his mother takes away his driving privileges for two weeks.
B) When Jennifer hears the garage door closing, she quickly turns off the TV and runs to the dining room to set the table for dinner before her mother enters the house.
C) For every foul that Angelo made during a basketball game, he is required to run 10 laps at the next team practice.
D) Maria puts on a pair of gloves when her hands and fingers start to get cold and stiff while she is ice skating.

Question 24

Which scenario involves escape?

A) Kevin loses his computer game privileges for one week because he pushed his sister off the deck.
B) Matt is required to do his sister's chores as well as his own for one week after refusing to give her a ride home from the dance.
C) Maddie skips her history class and then decides to go off-campus for lunch when she sees her history professor walking to the cafeteria.
D) Ashley's hands hurt from a morning spent pruning bushes and weeding, and so she finds a pair of gardening gloves to wear while she finishes her yardwork.

Question 25

Which scenario involves avoidance?

A) Since getting a new suede jacket, Keith listens to the weather forecast every morning before deciding whether he will wear it.
B) Since Sonya has been late to school 66 times and cut class 94 times during the school year, she will be required to attend summer school.
C) Based on past experiences with spam and computer viruses, Kelly now deletes all e-mail messages from senders she does not know without even reading them.
D) Because of positive results from a test of banned drugs, the state wrestling champion is stripped of his medal and his name is stricken from the record book.

Question 26

Karen talks back to her mother every time she is asked to do something. How might her mother change this behavior?

A) Reinforce Karen for performing the desired task, applying positive reinforcement.
B) Turn around and walk out of the room, applying avoidance learning.
C) Take Karen's cell phone away, applying omission training.
D) Take Karen's cell phone away, applying punishment.

Question 27

Monica places a hot dog in her mouth, chews it, and swallows. She very much enjoys the taste, and her hunger pains go away. Subsequent overeating might be supported by

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) escape learning.
D) both positive and negative reinforcement.

Question 28

The kind of reinforcement operating in a particular scenario is defined by

A) the type of outcome used.
B) the effect of the outcome on behavior.
C) whether the outcome precedes or follows the behavior.
D) whether the behavior is voluntary or involuntary.

Question 29

The process of negative reinforcement is defined by

A) the type of outcome used.
B) the effect of the outcome on behavior.
C) whether the outcome precedes or follows the behavior.
D) whether the behavior is removed.

Question 30

Because of public concern about underage drinking, some states now revoke driving privileges until age 21 if an underage driver tests positive for alcohol consumption. Other states require underage drunk drivers to engage in community service (e.g., picking up roadside trash) and to take an alcohol awareness/defensive driving course before driving privileges are restored. The states revoking driving privileges are using a(n) _______ contingency, whereas the states using community service and mandatory driving class are using a(n) _______ contingency.

A) punishment; negative reinforcement
B) punishment; omission
C) omission; punishment
D) omission; negative reinforcement

Question 31

Escape and avoidance are forms of

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) punishment.
D) omission.

Question 32

Punishment and _______ are methods for producing _______ in a behavior.

A) omission; a decrease
B) negative reinforcement; a decrease
C) positive reinforcement; an increase
D) negative reinforcement; an increase

Question 33

_______ and _______ are ways of decreasing the probability that a behavior will occur in the future.

A) Negative reinforcement; omission
B) Punishment; negative reinforcement
C) Omission; punishment
D) Escape; omission

Question 34

_______ and _______ are ways of increasing the probability that a behavior will occur in the future.

A) Negative reinforcement; positive reinforcement
B) Omission; negative reinforcement
C) Escape; punishment
D) Punishment; avoidance

Question 35

Which term does not belong with the others in the list?

A) Positive reward
B) Escape
C) Omission
D) Avoidance

Question 36

Which example illustrates shaping?

A) Children in a family receive gifts or treats regardless of whether they behave well or poorly.
B) A rat receives foot shocks that are presented randomly but are always signaled by a bell.
C) Twenty minutes into the flight, a business traveler no longer notices the soft hissing of the plane's overhead air vent.
D) In preparation for a recital, a piano teacher praises a student for first learning musical scales, then simple songs, and then complex songs.

Question 37

As a process, shaping involves a gradual

A) increase in the amount of reward that is given following a behavior.
B) change in the kind of reward that is given following a behavior.
C) increase in the response requirement.
D) change in the contingency, from punishment to reward to omission.

Question 38

Which statement about shaping is false?

A) Shaping is an effective technique for creating simple or complex behaviors.
B) Shaping can be used to increase or decrease the frequency or distribution of behaviors.
C) Shaping is a procedure that is equally effective with animals and humans.
D) Shaping seldom occurs in the natural world, and for this reason behavior change relies more on other processes.

Question 39

For taste aversion learning to work best, the food or beverage needs to possess _______ features.

A) novel
B) familiar
C) changing
D) stable

Question 40

Which statement about taste aversion learning is accurate?

A) Taste aversion learning is an example of an instrumental contingency.
B) For the taste aversion association to form, the aversive stimulus must occur quickly after ingestion of the food or beverage.
C) Humans develop aversions less readily than animals.
D) Taste aversion learning often requires only a single training trial.

Question 41

Longing for some familiar food while visiting Japan, Erin visits a Japanese pizza parlor and orders a thin-crust pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, mushrooms, pepperoni, and squid. Later that day, she become nauseated. Which item is Erin most likely to associate with her nausea and avoid eating in the future?

A) Pizza
B) Cheese
C) Pepperoni
D) Squid

Question 42

Which statement about classical conditioning and food cues is true?

A) Humans are resistant to learning taste aversions because they can reason about how they became ill and thus understand the accidental nature of the food-illness pairing.
B) Animals are so prepared to acquire taste aversions that they develop food-illness associations regardless of how familiar or commonplace the food cue is.
C) In the process of recovering from an illness or a state of nutritional deficiency, humans and animals can learn to associate foods and flavors eaten during this time with a feeling of well-being, and thus they develop a preference for that food.
D) Feelings of over-satiation from high-calorie foods interfere with learning a preference for those foods.

Question 43

In the study by Karen Hollis, fish and birds that were given a cue prior to being exposed to a potential mate or rival were

A) only able to associate the cue with a threatening rival, preparing them for defense.
B) only able to associate the cue with a potential mate, preparing them to defend against competitors.
C) able to associate different cues with either a potential mate or rival, leaving them better prepared for what was forthcoming.
D) able to form distinct cue‒outcome associations that signaled a potential mate or rival, but could not learn both associations.

Question 44

In rats, freezing

A) is often a maladaptive response to fearful stimuli, since fighting or fleeing are more useful in most situations.
B) is accompanied by analgesia only when the response allows escape from the fear-inducing stimulus.
C) can be accompanied by the release of endorphins, particularly when the fear-inducing stimulus can produce pain.
D) is slow to condition because it competes with the tendency to flee or fight.

Question 45

A conditioned compensatory response is

A) an instrumentally conditioned analgesic response that increases drug effectiveness.
B) an instrumentally conditioned extinction response that decreases drug effectiveness.
C) a classically conditioned fear response to cues associated with past embarrassing situations or events.
D) a classically conditioned response to cues associated with the environment in which the drug is used or administered.

Question 46

Researchers studying the conditioned compensatory response have found that

A) only the effectiveness of narcotics and sedatives are diminished.
B) only the effectiveness of antibiotics and stimulants are diminished.
C) conditioned tolerance effects can reduce the likelihood of drug overdose.
D) animals, but not humans, develop conditioned compensatory drug responses.

Question 47

The conditioned compensatory response produces a response that is

A) similar to the one produced by the outcome.
B) the opposite of the one produced by the outcome.
C) similar to the natural response to the signal for the outcome.
D) the opposite of the natural response to the signal for the outcome.

Question 48

Sign tracking is a tendency to

A) approach a stimulus that predicts a good outcome.
B) approach stimuli that predict good outcomes and retreat from those that predict bad ones.
C) follow a positive outcome, like a cat chasing a mouse.
D) respond to signals to determine which are predictive and which are meaningless.

Question 49

Which example below represents sign tracking?

A) A dog barks at a cat sitting out of reach on a fence.
B) A cat approaches, meows, and rubs up against a light that is always turned on before a food treat is delivered.
C) A hamster buries seeds and nuts in the cedar chip bedding in different areas of the terrarium.
D) A parrot repeats the various phrases it hears repeatedly in the home, on the radio, and on TV.

Question 50

Positive and negative sign tracking and the law of effect

A) ensure adequate adaptation to changing environments.
B) serve similar and parallel functions.
C) operate only in instrumental conditioning.
D) change behavior more in classical conditioning situations than in instrumental ones.

Question 51

Extinction is a learning process in which

A) punishments cause a rapid reduction or elimination of an inappropriate or dangerous response.
B) a subject is taught that an event or behavior that previously was predictive of a particular outcome is no longer predictive.
C) a reflexive behavior that was once adaptive now becomes a threat to the animal's survival due to environmental changes.
D) animals acquire cues and behaviors that allow them to compete successfully enough to eliminate the competitors in their niche.

Question 52

At the end of your first two months in your new apartment, you rearrange the bathroom and move the clothes hamper from one corner to the other. For the next two weeks, you accidentally throw your clothes in the wrong corner, but by the end of the third week you are tossing the clothes in the correct location. After spending Thanksgiving break at home with your parents, you again find yourself pitching your dirty clothes in the corner where the hamper used to be, and you think, "Wow, _______ really does occur."

A) sign tracking
B) generalization
C) extinction
D) spontaneous recovery

Question 53

_______ and _______ both decrease an organism's responses, but the decrease in behavior resulting from the latter is not a learned response.

A) Omission training; extinction
B) Extinction; omission training
C) Negative reinforcement; extinction
D) Extinction; habituation

Question 54

Exposure therapy uses _______ to reduce fear responses.

A) spontaneous recovery
B) extinction
C) punishment
D) omission

Question 55

Extinction is basically

A) forgetting.
B) the opposite of learning-it illustrates the unlearning process.
C) the same as habituation; both involve a subject learning to ignore a stimulus.
D) the acquisition of a competing or alternative expectation.

Question 56

Which statement about the timing of outcomes in relation to other events is true?

A) Classical conditioning works best when the critical events are close together in time, whereas instrumental conditioning works best when the critical events are further apart in time.
B) Classical conditioning works best when the critical events are further apart in time, whereas instrumental conditioning works best when the critical events are closer together in time.
C) Both classical and instrumental conditioning work best when critical events are close together in time.
D) Both classical and instrumental conditioning work best when critical events occur simultaneously.

Question 57

Which statement about the timing of an outcome is true?

A) The timing of the outcome relative to the response has a strong impact on reward learning but not on punishment.
B) The timing of the outcome is more critical for instrumental than for classical conditioning procedures.
C) The same stimulus‒outcome timing that produces good learning will also maximize response‒outcome learning when the timing is the same.
D) In both classical and instrumental conditioning, close timing produces better learning, but the time scale differs between paradigms.

Question 58

In general, which statement about the size of an outcome that follows a cue is true?

A) The larger or more intense the outcome, the greater the likelihood that it will overwhelm the animal and disrupt learning.
B) The larger or more intense the outcome, the more rapidly learning occurs.
C) The size of the outcome is a more powerful cue affecting behavior than the timing of the outcome.
D) Evolution, or the preparedness factor, has little impact on behavior relative to the timing and size of the outcome.

Question 59

Which statement best justifies the conclusion that learning is designed to uncover probable "causes" of outcomes?

A) Large outcomes tend to lead to faster behaviors.
B) Evolution has prepared organisms to associate certain stimuli just as they occur in nature.
C) Instrumental action is directly affected by the size of O.
D) Organisms learn to approach stimuli and perform behaviors that lead to good outcomes and avoid stimuli and stop behaviors that lead to bad outcomes.

Question 60

The concept of preparedness refers to the extent to which the

A) researcher has selected the most effective training procedure.
B) animal or human is motivated to learn an association.
C) the response to be learned has a natural relationship with the outcome.
D) classical and instrumental associations must be formed for the organism to be prepared.

Question 61

Preparedness illustrates

A) important differences between animal and human learning.
B) the impact of heredity and environment on behavior.
C) that most learning involves instrumental rather than classical associations.
D) that most learning involves classical rather than instrumental associations.

Question 62

Which behavior likely involves a response that a subject is highly prepared to learn?

A) A dog learns to bark at the door in order to be let out every morning.
B) A cat learns to walk on a leash.
C) A parrot learns to hold out its wing to signal to the owner that it is time to be fed.
D) A child learns to share the family computer with siblings who also want to play computer games.

Question 63

Monarch butterflies taste nasty to predators due to the presence of cardenolide aglycones in their system. Viceroy butterflies, which look much like Monarchs, are much more tasty. Describe how the Viceroy might have evolved to mimic the Monarch.

Question 64

Monarch butterflies taste nasty to predators due to the presence of cardenolide aglycones in their system. Viceroy butterflies, which look much like Monarchs, are more tasty. Ethologists have argued that the Viceroy's appearance mimics that of the Monarch because predators avoid those that look like Monarchs and thus Viceroys pass on their genes to offspring. How might you test this evaluative approach?

Question 65

Eibl-Eibesfeldt suggested that eyebrow flashing at friendly social greetings is a fixed action pattern. Based on your knowledge of how fixed actions patterns are supposed to work, how could you test that idea?

Question 66

Describe an example of habituation not used in the text or class and discuss how you know that it is habituation.

Question 67

Describe examples of positive and negative reinforcement from your own experience. Clearly identify the behavior, the consequences, and how the behavior changes.

Question 68

Describe, with a concrete example, how you could use an omission versus punishment contingency to influence someone's behavior.

Question 69

You have a hidden box of caramel popcorn, which your roommate loves. Describe how you could shape your roommate to do the dishes using caramel popcorn as a reinforcer.

Question 70

Your roommate enjoys watching your big-screen TV in the living room, as well as eating your mother's homemade brownies when he goes into the kitchen. You want your roommate to clean the living room and to wash the dishes, and you have two reinforcers available-access to the TV and the brownies. Which reinforcer would be best with each behavior, and why do you think so?

Question 71

Compare and contrast the processes of natural selection and shaping by consequences in instrumental conditioning, noting the means by which organisms adapt in these two processes.

Question 72

Describe the adaptive nature of a conditioned compensatory response and provide an example.

Question 73

Describe how a compensatory response can protect against drug overdose and discuss the experimental evidence.

Question 74

How can a conditioned compensatory response help support drug abuse?

Question 75

Support the idea that classical and operant conditioning operate by similar principles by discussing specific similarities.

Question 76

The figure below shows the results of the seminal work by Garcia and Koelling demonstrating preparedness. Describe the experiment and the results, referencing the figure and what the experiment tells us about preparedness.

Question 77

Some pigeons landed in a park near a woman wearing a large, bright orange hat. The lady fed the pigeons as she walked through the park, and the pigeons began to follow her wherever she went. On future visits, when wearing her flashy hat, the pigeons often landed on her hat. Discuss possible reasons why the pigeons developed these behaviors, both following the woman in the park and landing on her hat.

Question 78

Which term does not belong with the others?

A) Ethology
B) Innate
C) Fitness
D) Experience

Question 79

Which of the following studies would not be conducted by ethologists?

A) A comparison of the fossil records of related species
B) A comparison of the natural behaviors of related species
C) A field experiment to study natural behaviors
D) A study to evaluate the benefit or survival value of innate behaviors

Question 80

The concept of fitness means that compared to the less successful members of a species, the more successful members are

A) more similar to each other.
B) more likely to have offspring that reproduce.
C) likely to live longer.
D) bigger, faster, or stronger.