Deck 1: Learning Theory: What It Is and How It Got This Way

Question 1

Learning typically occurs in

A) nonhuman animals, but only for very simple motor tasks during critical periods of development.
B) humans, but primarily in childhood and adolescence during critical periods of development.
C) humans, throughout their entire life span.
D) human and nonhuman animals throughout their entire life spans.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which behavior is the best example of a "reflex action" as described by René Descartes?

A) Sydney is given a set of crayons, and she immediately chooses the green crayon to complete her drawing.
B) Travis descends stairs, trips and almost falls, and then notices that his heart is pounding and his breathing rate has increased.
C) A dog sees a rabbit run under a fence and then rapidly tries to squeeze under the fence.
D) A squirrel walks across the top of a fence, jumps to and crosses a telephone wire, leaps to the top of a bird feeder, and then opens the latched door to gain access to the bird seed.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The French philosopher René Descartes would most likely agree with which statement?

A) Animals are more machinelike than humans, because only humans possess a mind that allows for free will and voluntary behavior.
B) All behaviors of human and nonhuman animals are governed by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
C) All knowledge, and indeed the mind, results from experience with the environment.
D) Humans and animals come into the world with minds that are already prepared or formatted to interpret the environment they are likely to encounter so that they can learn from their experiences.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which philosopher would most strongly disagree with the idea that human thoughts and actions are governed, at least in part, by physical laws?

A) Thomas Hobbes
B) Julien de la Mettrie
C) David Hume
D) René Descartes

Question 5

The theory of _______ suggests that behavior can be predicted by whether it maximizes pleasure or minimizes pain.

A) dualism
B) empiricism
C) hedonism
D) rationalism

Question 6

The British philosopher Thomas Hobbes would most likely agree that

A) human thought and behavior are governed by the intent to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
B) humans and animals have free will and are capable of voluntary behavior.
C) the holistic approach is the best way to study the contents of the mind.
D) experience leads humans to associate pleasure with pain.

Question 7

The important idea that the mind can affect the mechanistic body came from _______, while the idea that the body can affect the mind is associated with _______.

A) Hume; Locke
B) Mettrie; Locke
C) Descarte; Hume
D) Descarte; Mettrie

Question 8

A parent who tries to understand the actions of her children by observing how they interact with their environment is taking which approach?

A) Dualism
B) Empiricism
C) Hedonism
D) Rationalism

Question 9

The view that the mind is empty at birth and that exposure to the environment gives rise to experiences that the organism stores in its memory is known as

A) dualism.
B) rationalism.
C) empiricism.
D) hedonism.

Question 10

The perspective that the mind is a tabula rasa at birth is associated with the philosopher

A) Thomas Hobbes.
B) Julien de la Mettrie.
C) John Locke.
D) Immanuel Kant.

Question 11

The early laws of association assumed that two ideas were likely to be associated if they were

A) dissimilar.
B) separated by time and space.
C) commonplace.
D) dwelt upon.

Question 12

Assuming the laws of association are correct, which pairing would likely produce the strongest relationship?

A) Lighting incense and sneezing
B) Playing classical music and experiencing a startle response
C) Taking a shower in the morning and winning $500 in a lottery in the afternoon
D) The lights turning on in your classroom and the outside temperature dropping

Question 13

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant would most likely agree with which statement?

A) Animals are more machinelike than humans, because only humans possess a mind that allows for free will and voluntary behavior.
B) All behaviors of human and nonhuman animals are governed by the pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain.
C) All knowledge, and indeed the mind, results from experience with the environment.
D) Humans and animals come into the world with minds that are already prepared or formatted to interpret the environment they are likely to encounter so that they can learn from their experience.

Question 14

Ivan Sechenov's work on reflexes during the 1800s emphasized the phenomenon of

A) habituation.
B) inhibition.
C) reflex action.
D) hedonism.

Question 15

Charles Darwin's study of plants and animals led him to propose a theory of evolution that assumed that

A) animals, but not plants, change by means of evolution.
B) only the physical features of plants and animals (e.g., flower or eye color) change by means of evolution.
C) physical and mental features of animals and humans change by means of evolution.
D) the process of evolution creates a single line of progress in plants and animals.

Question 16

An early comparative psychologist who studied the mental life of animals and attempted to demonstrate the evolution of mind by recording owners' stories about their pets and working animals was

A) George Romanes, and his approach was rigorous.
B) Charles Darwin, and his approach was scientific.
C) Ivan Sechenov, and his approach was quasi-scientific.
D) George Romanes, and his approach was not very scientific.

Question 17

Which statement most closely represents an application of Morgan's Canon?

A) In animals and humans, mind and behavior exist, to varying degrees, to solve problems.
B) Mind and behavior are governed by cognition.
C) Human and animal behaviors result from interactions with the environment.
D) Human and animal behaviors result from an interaction of genetics and free will.

Question 18

Who would be most likely to take that position that learning is not the experience of sudden insights, but rather a gradual process of trial and error?

A) Ivan Sechenov
B) Edward Tolman
C) Edward Thorndike
D) Ivan Pavlov

Question 19

To conduct a study that makes use of the law of effect, the design would need to

A) ensure that subjects' behaviors are followed by satisfying events.
B) precede behaviors with clear stimuli and follow behaviors with satisfying events.
C) inform subjects that their behavior will have an effect on the outcomes.
D) The law of effect would not be used due to ethical considerations.

Question 20

Edward Thorndike studied learned relationships that could best be described as _______ associations.

A) stimulus-stimulus
B) stimulus-response
C) response-response
D) response-stimulus

Question 21

Ivan Pavlov studied learned relationships that could best be described as _______ associations.

A) stimulus-outcome
B) stimulus-response
C) response-response
D) response-stimulus

Question 22

Structuralism, a historical school of thought in psychology, examined the

A) brains of various animals to develop an atlas of the common and unique brain structures.
B) structure of the human mind via introspection and describing perceptions.
C) evolutionary advantages of different structures of consciousness (e.g., dreaming, attention).
D) role played by stimulation and perception in the development of cognitive structures.

Question 23

The structuralist approach to studying the mind

A) produced many important results, but it was a time consuming and expensive approach.
B) considered only normal adult humans, and thus could not be generalized to a wider population.
C) used unreliable techniques and contributed little to modern knowledge in psychology.
D) was heavily influenced by evolutionary theory and initiated animal research on the mind.

Question 24

The school of thought known as behaviorism argued that real progress in the field of psychology would occur if psychologists would limit their study to

A) simple animal behaviors before attempting to explain the complexity of human behavior.
B) just those human behaviors that could be verified by asking the subjects to explain how they had learned the behavior and why they performed it.
C) behavior that could be verified by physiological data from the nervous system.
D) directly observable and measurable behaviors that could be independently verified.

Question 25

Some forms of behaviorism rejected the study of mental processes because they

A) are not common in animals and humans and thus cannot be compared.
B) cannot be reliably observed or measured and thus cannot be objectively studied.
C) can be verified only in adult humans, and animal comparisons are important.
D) were viewed as consequences, not precursors, of behavior.

Question 26

. B. F. Skinner's approach is referred to as radical behaviorism because he advocated

A) the position that all behavior is due to evolutionary processes.
B) ignoring the potential effect of intervening variables between a stimulus and a response.
C) studying only mental behavior because it is the trigger for motor behavior. d. ignoring the study of deviant behavior until we have a complete understanding of normal behavior.

Question 27

Which characteristic below is not associated with using Skinner boxes (operant chambers) in an experiment?

A) The amount and types of uncontrolled stimulation experienced by the animal in the box are limited.
B) The subject controls the type, rate, and amount of responding during the experimental session.
C) It requires frequent monitoring to ensure events are controlled.
D) It can be used to study simple behaviors in lower level animals (e.g., rats, pigeons).

Question 28

The use of intervening variables is found

A) only in psychology.
B) in psychology and mathematics.
C) in all sciences.
D) only in Tolman's work.

Question 29

Which observation illustrates the principle of operant behavior?

A) Increasing the amount of food that follows lever pressing increases lever pressing.
B) Increasing the amount of food that follows a light increases drooling to the light.
C) Increasing the amount of food that follows lever pressing has no effect on lever pressing.
D) Increasing the volume of a tone paired with food increases drooling to the tone.

Question 30

A behavior that is controlled by its consequences would be considered a(n) _______ behavior.

A) respondent
B) classically conditioned
C) operant
D) radical

Question 31

An experimenter who observes that manipulating an antecedent stimulus changes the subject's behavior is most likely looking at

A) operant behavior.
B) dualism.
C) respondent behavior.
D) the law of effect.

Question 32

Which term is most associated with respondent behaviors?

A) Voluntary
B) Consequence-controlled
C) Complex
D) Reflexive

Question 33

A consequence of a response that increases the response would be classified as a(n)

A) reinforcer.
B) operant.
C) punisher.
D) satisfier.

Question 34

Modern learning theory is most associated with the perspective of

A) radical behaviorism.
B) operational behaviorism.
C) information processing.
D) the law of effect.

Question 35

Operational behaviorism asserted that

A) behavior can be studied reliably only by using the highly controlled equipment of the operant chamber.
B) an unobservable variable can be used to explain behavior if we indicate how we will manipulate it and how it will affect behavior.
C) before we can reliably measure and predict behavior, we must have accurate operational definitions of the antecedents.
D) both respondent conditioning and operant behavior are controlled by the same operations-antecedent events.

Question 36

An intervening variable exists only

A) in our explanation of a behavior.
B) to the extent that it is defined operationally.
C) if it influences another intervening variable.
D) to connect one stimulus to one response.

Question 37

Which of the following would not be considered an intervening variable?

A) Anger
B) Fear
C) Eating
D) Curiosity

Question 38

Which behavioral psychologist would be least likely to use intervening variables to explain behavior?

A) Edward Tolman
B) Edward Thorndike
C) John Watson
D) B. F. Skinner

Question 39

Tolman and Hull were important because

A) their work resulted in our knowledge of maze learning and drive.
B) their approaches made it possible and acceptable to use unobservable events in psychological explanations.
C) they eliminated radical behaviorism from psychology.
D) they brought back introspection as a valid framework.

Question 40

Which of the following can be used to demonstrate an intervening variable, a motivating force, and a biological need?

A) Tolman's concept of anchoring
B) Hull's concept of habit
C) Hull's concept of Drive
D) Skinner's box

Question 41

Hull's theory

A) is important as an explanation for the development of habits.
B) has been mostly disconfirmed.
C) is important as an example of the correct use of theoretical constructs.
D) is archaic.

Question 42

Psychologists use metaphors in explaining psychology because

A) metaphors are more precise than theories.
B) metaphors can offer insightful ways of understanding behavior.
C) people understand metaphors better than they understand theories.
D) all learning is metaphorical.

Question 43

The perspective that compares computer operations to mental operations fits best with the ideas of

A) operational behaviorism.
B) information processing.
C) parallel distributed processing.
D) operant experimentation.

Question 44

Computers are generally considered to be limited as models of information processing because computers

A) are a better model for symbol manipulation than for actual learning processes.
B) store most information in temporary rather than long-term memory.
C) tend to use parallel processing instead of serial processing.
D) do not transform or change input the way encoding processes do.

Question 45

Which perspective views cognition as a network of nodes that activate one another in a manner akin to neuronal networks?

A) Information processing
B) Connectionist
C) Darwinian
D) Hullian

Question 46

Which term does not belong in this list of related terms?

A) Parallel distributed processing
B) Information processing
C) Connectionism
D) Neural networks

Question 47

Which modern framework represents the most atomistic approach?

A) Behaviorism
B) Connectionism
C) Information processing
D) The "standard model"

Question 48

According to the assumptions of connectionism,

A) activation of one node generally results in the activation of other strongly linked nodes.
B) all nodes must be activated before recognition can take place.
C) the nodes are stored in long-term but not short-term memory.
D) positive node connections result in remembering and negative node connections result in forgetting.

Question 49

Which statement about human and animal learning is accurate?

A) The computer metaphor is appropriate for explaining human learning but not for explaining animal learning.
B) The connectionist approach has replaced learning theory as a parsimonious way to explain both animal and human learning.
C) Animal learning tends to focus more on associations between behavior and emotionally significant events.
D) Human learning is influenced more strongly by evolutionary and genetic factors.

Question 50

Which statement is not a reason that animals provide excellent models for studying human learning processes?

A) Their genetic background can be known and controlled.
B) Many of the same basic learning processes occur in a variety of different species.
C) We can study the effects of aversive, invasive, or enduring events on learning processes in animals.
D) Many animal behaviors are species specific, allowing us to study a process uncomplicated by other competing processes.

Question 51

What might lead a novice researcher to study humans instead of animals?

A) Extensive federal and state laws have severely restricted the kinds of physiological and genetic research that may be conducted with animals.
B) The present body of knowledge about learning phenomena requires researchers to use more complex species, such as humans.
C) Animals are not the best model for studying topics such as language, tool use, creativity, or self-esteem.
D) Research with humans can be better controlled through randomization.

Question 52

Which statement about classical conditioning phenomena is false?

A) They allow us to learn how organisms anticipate biologically significant events.
B) They allow us to study only simple reflexive behaviors.
C) They allow us to obtain useful insights into how organisms adapt to their environment.
D) They allow us to identify how organisms learn about meaningful versus meaningless stimulus relationships.

Question 53

Psychologists use the symbol O to stand for a(n)

A) instrumental response.
B) classical response.
C) classical stimulus cue.
D) biologically significant outcome.

Question 54

Psychologists use the symbol R to stand for a(n)

A) response.
B) reinforcer.
C) organism that responds.
D) biologically significant outcome.

Question 55

Which statement about conditioning is false?

A) Classical conditioning generally produces associations between two stimuli.
B) Instrumental conditioning generally produces associations between a response and an outcome.
C) Learning typically involves classical or instrumental conditioning, but not both processes.
D) Classical and instrumental conditioning are involved in learning about biologically significant events.

Question 56

Which example best illustrates instrumental conditioning?

A) Chuck placing chili into a crock pot to heat it
B) Chuck getting hungry in the lab
C) Chuck getting hungry at the sight of a crock pot
D) Chuck avoiding chili after having eaten too much chili

Question 57

Which example illustrates instrumental conditioning?

A) Crows flocking to the beach at low tide but not high tide
B) A baby kicking her legs to move a mobile
C) Feeling a craving for a drug at a particular location
D) A child getting excited at the sight of a brightly colored bottle of bubbles

Question 58

Which example illustrates classical conditioning?

A) A baby sucking on a pacifier to get a sweet drink
B) Feeling a craving for a drug at a particular location where the drug has been taken before
C) Crows dropping large whelks from a specific height onto rocks
D) A child loading a precise amount of soap onto a bubble wand

Question 59

Which example best illustrates classical conditioning?

A) Crows selecting large whelks instead of small whelks
B) Crows dropping large whelks from a specific height onto rocks
C) A child getting excited at the sight of a brightly colored bubble bottle
D) A child loading a precise amount of soap onto a bubble wand

Question 60

Modern neuroimaging in humans can give us information about

A) brain activity during different learning tasks, and thus the brain areas responsible for learning.
B) brain activity during different learning tasks, but little information as to whether they are responsible for learning.
C) causal connections between brain events and behavior, but no information about learning.
D) where associations are formed and stored.

Question 61

What was Descartes' answer to the question of whether people are simply complex machines, and what are the important aspects of his conclusion?

Question 62

Explain why the theory of evolution is relevant to understanding learning in animals and humans.

Question 63

Discuss how comparative psychology emerged as a function of Darwin's ideas.

Question 64

Explain how Morgan's Canon and empiricism produced a sound foundation for understanding behavior.

Question 65

Explain Kant's notion of "a prioris" and describe an example and its use.

Question 66

Describe the impact of the law of effect on behaviors and provide a personal example of a way the law of effect has operated in your own behavior.

Question 67

Describe an operant and a respondent behavior not presented in the text and what distinguishes them from one another.

Question 68

Compare and contrast Skinner's radical behaviorism and Tolman's operational behaviorism.

Question 69

Summarize the meaning of connectionism and provide an example.

Question 70

Describe an intervening variable and explain why psychologists include intervening variables in their theories.

Question 71

Given our current knowledge of learning processes, why does psychology continue to use animals in learning research?

Question 72

Consider the differences between Romanes' and Morgan's approaches to understanding behavior. In what ways do these differences resemble the disagreement that exists between structuralist and behaviorist understandings of behavior?

Question 73

Give an example of classical conditioning not discussed in the text or in class and explain its components and effect.

Question 74

Give an example of instrumental conditioning not discussed in the text or in class, and explain its components and effect.

Question 75

Johnny was riding his bicycle very quickly when a red car whizzed by, startling him and causing him to fall and skin his knee. He now is afraid of both red cars and riding his bicycle. Analyze the situation in terms of the component associations that could have produced these fears.

Question 76

When you are hungry you search for food. Imagine that you are hungry now as you take this test-but you are not searching for food. The associative link(s) required to make you respond to the hunger with a search for food is(are) missing. List the link(s) that are absent and describe why the link(s) are necessary for you to search for food.

Question 77

Learning is a process that is presumed to be due to

A) evolution.
B) experience.
C) development.
D) maturation.

Question 78

Which statement best illustrates or defines the concept of hedonism?

A) Animal behavior is controlled by physical laws, but human behavior is determined by free will.
B) A chick moves toward its mother for warmth and avoids an open door to the cold.
C) Genetics and environmental experiences interact to produce behavior.
D) Bob refuses to eat eggplant.

Question 79

According to the philosophical perspective of empiricism,

A) animal behavior is controlled by physical laws, but human behavior is determined by free will.
B) all organisms seek to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
C) genetics and environmental experiences interact to produce behavior.
D) ideas and mind are developed entirely from experience.

Question 80

A therapist tells a client that all troubling thoughts and feelings are learned, and that they can therefore be overcome by setting up appropriate contingencies in the client's environment. This therapist is a(n)

A) empiricist.
B) rationalist.
C) atomist.
D) dualist.