Deck 4: Edward Lee Thorndike

Question 1

Morgan's animal research was questionable because he employed:

A)correlational techniques
B)naturalistic observations
C)college students
D)idiographic techniques

Answer 1

naturalistic observations

Question 2

Thorndike's theory can be considered the original _____theory of learning.

A)S-R
B)cognitive
C)physiological
D)all of the above

Answer 2

S-R

Question 3

For Thorndike, between the stimulus and the response there was:

A)understanding
B)a synapse
C)a neural bond
D)electrical potential

Answer 3

a neural bond

Question 4

Thorndike concluded that learning was:

A)incremental
B)insightful
C)insightful for cats but incremental for humans
D)incremental for cats but insightful for humans

Question 5

Thorndike's comparison of learning curves of lower animals and humans led him to believe that:

A)lower animals learn differently than humans
B)humans' learning is mediated by ideas
C)both use ideation
D)both learn in the same manner

Question 6

Thorndike defined "satisfying state of affairs" as:

A)anything that makes an organism feel good
B)drive reduction
C)something that an organism does nothing to avoid
D)something that an organism typically abandons

Question 7

"Connections between situations and responses are weakened when practice is discontinued." This statement summarizes the:

A)Law of Effect
B)Law of Readiness
C)Law of Use
D)Law of Disuse

Question 8

The Law of states that the more times stimuli and responses are paired, the stronger the association between becomes.

A)Readiness
B)Exercise
C)Preparedness
D)Effect

Question 9

For Thorndike, a reinforcer is a stimulus that produces:

A)a satisfying state of affairs
B)the satisfaction of a biological need
C)aversive stimulation
D)happiness

Question 10

Thorndike attempted to answer the question as to how a positive effect can work back in time to strengthen a connection by postulating the existence of a(n):

A)mind
B)expectancy
C)confirming reaction
D)neural bond

Question 11

Thorndike's concept of multiple response essentially means that:

A)an organism will make many correct responses to the same stimulus
B)an organism chooses multiple response when there are no options
C)there are many possible responses to one stimulus and if one response does not bring satisfaction the organism will try others
D)an organism may choose not to respond to a particular stimulus

Question 12

Which of the following comes closest to selective perception?

A)prepotency of elements
B)set or attitude
C)multiple response
D)response by analogy

Question 13

In the identical-elements theory of transfer, the identities that transfer are:

A)specific S-R connections
B)procedures
C)either specific S-R connections or procedures
D)neither specific S-R connections nor procedures

Question 14

The fundamental notion in associative shifting is:

A)that if a response can be kept intact through a series of changes in the stimulus situation, it may finally be given to a totally new stimulus
B)it is important for the subject to make free associations
C)when the organism varies its responses, success follows
D)when the organism has achieved the attitude, it will be able to learn

Question 15

Which of the following best describes how Thorndike revised his Law of Exercise after 1930.He salvaged:

A)only the Law of Use
B)only the Law of Disuse
C)both the Laws of Use and Disuse
D)neither the Law of Use or Disuse

Question 16

According to Thorndike's concept of belongingness:

A)verbal material will be learned in units that have meaning to the subjects
B)learning will be most efficient when the effects produced by a response are relevant to the organism's drive state
C)both 1 and 2
D)none of the above

Question 17

"Learned responses are most easily given in the direction in which they were learned." This statement describes Thorndike's principle of:

A)belongingness
B)the spread of effect
C)directional learning
D)polarity

Question 18

Which of the following concepts was added to Thorndike's theory after 1930?

A)The Law of Readiness
B)The Law of Effect
C)The Spread of Effect
D)The Law of Disuse

Question 19

Thorndike found that the effects of reinforcement spread to:

A)other stimuli close to the reinforced
B)other animals who were watching the reinforced one
C)other responses made shortly before or after the reinforced one
D)all aspects of the reinforced organism's life

Question 20

Morgan issued his "Canon" as a guard against:

A)anthropomorphizing
B)naturalistic observation
C)animal research
D)comparative psychology

Question 21

Thorndike's animal research was:

A)experimental
B)anecdotal
C)naturalistic
D)correlational

Question 22

Concerning the role of mediation (e.g., reasoning or thinking) in learning, Thorndike concluded that it:

A)characterized only human learning
B)characterized the learning of "lower" animals but not human learning
C)characterized both human and nonhuman learning
D)it was an unnecessary assumption, since all learning could be explained without
Reference to it

Question 23

The Law of Readiness states that:

A)if an organism is ready to act, it is satisfying for it to act
B)if an organism is not ready to act, it is satisfying for it not to act
C)if an organism is not ready to act, it is annoying for it to act
D)all of these

Question 24

Thorndike defined "annoying state of affairs" as:

A)anything an animal hates
B)drive reduction
C)something that the animal does nothing to avoid
D)something that the animal commonly abandons

Question 25

The law that states that the effect of a reinforcer is to strengthen the association between the preceding stimuli and the response is called the Law of:

A)Association
B)Readiness
C)Effect
D)Exercise

Question 26

Trial and error learning is possible because of which of the following principles?

A)prepotency of elements
B)set or attitude
C)multiple response
D)response by analogy

Question 27

Which of the following determines what will satisfy or annoy the organism?

A)prepotency of elements
B)set or attitude
C)multiple response
D)response by analogy

Question 28

Cultural background is covered in Thorndike's concept of:

A)prepotency
B)set
C)significance
D)readiness

Question 29

What principle determines how we respond to a novel situation?

A)prepotency of elements
B)set or attitude
C)multiple response
D)response by analogy

Question 30

"Forcing children to reason out very difficult problems will cause their capacity to reason to develop more fully." This statement characterizes:

A)formal discipline
B)the mental muscle approach
C)faculty psychology
D)all of the above

Question 31

According to Thorndike, "good thinkers" come out of hard courses because:

A)hard courses make students better thinkers
B)education results in highly specific skills
C)transfer is specific rather than general
D)they were "good thinkers" before the course started

Question 32

The current emphasis on____ in our primary and secondary schools suggests that the mental muscle approach to education is still widely accepted.

A)home economics
B)automobile repair
C)mathematics
D)agriculture

Question 33

Thorndike's law that states that a connection is weakened or strengthened as a result of its consequences is the:

A)earlier Law of Exercise
B)earlier Law of Effect
C)Law of Readiness
D)truncated Law of Effect

Question 34

With his principle of belongingness, Thorndike indicated that:

A)some associations are formed more easily than others
B)reinforcement was necessary for learning to take place
C)stimulus- response contiguity is all that is necessary for learning
D)backward conditioning is impossible

Question 35

It is easier to recite the alphabet forward than to recite it backwards.This is:

A)directional learning
B)belongingness
C)readiness
D)polarity

Question 36

According to Thorndike, reinforcement for correct responses:

A)not only increases probability of the correct responses being repeated but also increases the probability of responses adjacent to the reinforced response being repeated
B)is not nearly as important as the punishment of incorrect responses
C)produces a permanent disposition to respond in the reinforced manner
D)must involve satisfaction of a biological drive

Question 37

Thorndike felt the lecture technique of teaching was:

A)the best teaching technique available
B)effective only with laboratory animals
C)effective only with bright humans
D)ineffective