Deck 6: Learning and Behavior Analysis

Question 1

All of the following are critical elements that define learning EXCEPT for which one?

A) Change in behavior must be relatively consistent.
B) Change in behavior must be permanent.
C) Change in behavior must be based on experience.
D) Change can occur in behavior or in behavior potential.

Answer 1

Change in behavior must be permanent.

Question 2

Why do researchers study an organism's performance if they are really interested in whether the organism has learned?

A) It doesn't matter what they study, since performance and learning are identical.
B) Only performance involves a change in behavior or behavior potential.
C) Performance changes before learning has occurred.
D) Learning cannot ordinarily be directly observed.

Answer 2

Learning cannot ordinarily be directly observed.

Question 3

Learning is a process that can take place only through

A) trial and error.
B) positive and negative consequences.
C) classical conditioning.
D) experience.

Answer 3

experience.

Question 4

John Watson founded the school of psychology known as ________ and wrote the book entitled ________.

A) behaviorism; Beyond Freedom and Dignity
B) radical behaviorism; Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist
C) behaviorism; Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist
D) radical behaviorism; Behaviorism

Question 5

B. F. Skinner formulated the position known as ________ some time after reading Watson's book ________.

A) behaviorism; Beyond Freedom and Dignity
B) radical behaviorism; Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist
C) behaviorism; Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist
D) radical behaviorism; Behaviorism

Question 6

You deprive your dog of food just before you begin training him to sit down on command. You give your dog food only when he sits on the floor after you press on his back. Pretty soon your dog is sitting on the floor consistently. According to Skinner, your dog's behavior has been caused by

A) his desire to get the food.
B) his feelings of extreme hunger.
C) a combination of his innate intelligence, problem-solving ability, and motivation.
D) deprivation and the use of his food as reinforcement.

Question 7

B. F. Skinner argued that all behavior could be understood in terms of

A) an organism's internal mental states.
B) genetic predetermination.
C) simple forms of learning from environmental stimuli.
D) an interaction between motivation and personality.

Question 8

Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which an organism learns a new association between

A) a stimulus and a response.
B) a response and a stimulus.
C) two responses.
D) two stimuli.

Question 9

All of the following are accurate statements concerning the career of Ivan Pavlov EXCEPT for which one?

A) He won a Nobel Prize for his work on digestion.
B) His observation of classical conditioning was accidental.
C) His only training was in the field of psychology.
D) He was successful in the development of a research strategy to study conditioning.

Question 10

Imagine that you are observing one of Pavlov's early experiments on classical conditioning. After a dog is placed in a harness, what is most likely to happen?

A) A tone will be presented, and then a bell will ring.
B) If the dog makes an orienting response, he will be given some food.
C) A tone will be presented, and the dog will be given some food.
D) If the dog barks, he will be given an electric shock.

Question 11

Reflex responses, which are central to classical conditioning, are

A) learned responses to specific stimuli.
B) naturally elicited, unlearned responses.
C) conditioned behaviors.
D) naturally occurring associations between stimuli.

Question 12

In a typical classical conditioning experiment, a conditioned stimulus is

A) repeatedly paired with the UCR.
B) repeatedly paired with the CS.
C) not paired with any other stimulus.
D) repeatedly paired with the UCS.

Question 13

In classical conditioning, any stimulus that naturally elicits a reflexive behavior is called a(n) ________ stimulus, and the behavior it elicits is called the ________ response.

A) reflexive; orienting
B) conditioned; unconditioned
C) conditioned; conditioned
D) unconditioned; unconditioned

Question 14

In classical conditioning, nature provides the ________ connection, and conditioning provides the ________ connection.

A) UCS-CS; UCR-CR
B) UCS-UCR; CS-CR
C) UCR-CR; UCS-CS
D) CS-CR; UCS-UCR

Question 15

You feel fine when you sit down in the classroom, but as soon as the teacher announces a surprise quiz you immediately feel your pulse quicken and your stomach churn. Your reaction to the teacher's announcement is most likely a(n)

A) conditioned response.
B) unconditioned response.
C) orienting response.
D) unconditioned stimulus.

Question 16

The first time a child is inoculated for measles, he responds by crying. The next time he visits the doctor for his booster shot, he cries as soon as he sees the nurse who gave him the first shot. In the context of classical conditioning, the pain associated with being injected represents the ________ and the nurse represents the ________.

A) UCS; CS
B) CS; UCS
C) UCS; UCR
D) CS; CR

Question 17

Acquisition is the process during which the CR is first elicited and gradually increases in frequency over trials. In general, for a conditioned response to be acquired, the ________ must be paired several times.

A) CS and UCS
B) CS and CR
C) UCS and UCR
D) UCR and CR

Question 18

The most widely used type of conditioning, in which the CS occurs prior to and continues at least until the UCS is presented, is called ________ conditioning.

A) trace
B) simultaneous
C) backward
D) delay

Question 19

While trying to study in the library, you are distracted by two students who are arguing about which CS-UCS time interval is most effective. One student claims that a second or less is best, but the other is positive that longer intervals of five to fifteen seconds work best. Finally, you go over and tell them that the

A) shorter the interval the better.
B) longer the interval the better.
C) optimal interval most depends upon the person who is being conditioned.
D) optimal interval most depends upon the response being conditioned.

Question 20

"In classical conditioning, as in telling a good joke, timing is critical." By this, the authors of the textbook mean that the ________ must be presented ________.

A) CR and UCR; closely enough in time to be perceived as related
B) CR and UCR; far enough apart in time to be perceived as unrelated
C) CS and UCS; far enough apart in time to be perceived as unrelated
D) CS and UCS; closely enough in time to be perceived as related

Question 21

Conditioning is usually most effective in a ________ paradigm, while conditioning is very poor with a ________ paradigm.

A) delay; trace
B) trace; delay
C) backward; delay
D) delay; backward

Question 22

A researcher pairs a tone of 1200 Hz with an electric shock in a conditioning experiment. On some trials, he presents tones of 1000 Hz or 1500 Hz without the shock. The procedure he is using resembles the method used to bring about

A) blocking.
B) trace conditioning.
C) stimulus discrimination.
D) stimulus generalization.

Question 23

The results of Robert Rescorla's research on the importance of contingency in classical conditioning are analogous to the real-world situation in which people

A) ignore car alarms because they are not dependable predictors of burglary attempts.
B) enter a door that says "no admittance" if they see others using the door.
C) predict weather based on idiosyncratic physiological states or hunches.
D) believe the predictions of horoscopes because they are based on random events.

Question 24

Classical conditioning is more complex than Pavlov originally realized in that a neutral stimulus will only become an effective CS if it is appropriately

A) contingent and informative.
B) contiguous and novel.
C) noncontingent and familiar.
D) contiguous and informative.

Question 25

Suppose that laboratory animals are taught that a tone predicts food delivery. Then, a light is added as a second CS and they are given additional trials paired with food. If the animals now are tested with the light alone, they will

A) salivate more to the light than when it was presented with the tone.
B) salivate equally to the light as they did to the tone.
C) salivate to the light, but less quickly than they did to the tone.
D) not salivate to the light.

Question 26

To condition fear in Little Albert, Watson and Rayner used a ________ as a UCS and found that fear developed in just ________ trial(s).

A) white rat; five
B) white rat; ten
C) loud noise; seven
D) loud noise; one

Question 27

After Watson and Rayner established conditioned fear in Little Albert, they found that

A) his fear generalized to other furry objects.
B) he had developed strong masochistic tendencies.
C) it was fairly easy to remove the experimentally conditioned fear.
D) he had only been pretending to be afraid.

Question 28

When people take drugs repeatedly in the same setting, the body responds with countermeasures intended to reestablish homeostasis. In the language of classical conditioning, these countermeasures to the drug are the ________ and the setting in which the drug is taken is the ________.

A) conditioned response; unconditioned response
B) conditioned stimulus; compensatory response
C) unconditioned response; conditioned stimulus
D) unconditioned stimulus; unconditioned response

Question 29

Imagine conditioning a rat to elicit a pain response to a previously neutral stimulus. Based on the work of John Garcia and Robert Koelling, you are LEAST likely to be successful in creating the pain response if you use ________ as the neutral stimulus.

A) sweet water
B) noise
C) a bright light
D) a bright light and noise

Question 30

The research of John Garcia and Robert Koelling on taste aversion is noteworthy in the understanding of learning because it demonstrated that

A) organisms are biologically prepared to learn certain associations.
B) complex behaviors may be acquired by shaping of successive approximations.
C) a more probable activity can be used to reinforce a less probable one.
D) the associationist principles of learning are common to all organisms.

Question 31

Which of the following is out of place among the others?

A) classical conditioning
B) Edward L. Thorndike
C) cats in puzzle boxes
D) stimulus-response connections

Question 32

Thorndike's law of effect emphasizes the relationship between

A) the CS and the UCS.
B) stimuli and responses.
C) behavior and its consequences.
D) "stamping in" and "stamping out."

Question 33

In a study quoted in your text, researchers found that the effects of classical conditioning could be used to explain ________ in people undergoing chemotherapy treatment for various forms of cancer.

A) anticipatory nausea
B) reactive alopecia
C) psoriatic eczema
D) fungal infections

Question 34

Suppose you wanted to replicate some of the research carried out by B. F. Skinner. When deciding on a behavior to measure, it is most likely that you would choose the

A) time it takes to run a maze.
B) number of drops of saliva that are secreted.
C) probability that a given response will occur.
D) changes in a research participant's thoughts.

Question 35

All of the following behaviors are instances of operants EXCEPT for which one?

A) A pigeon pecks a key to receive a food reinforcer.
B) Ted raises his hand in class and waits to be called.
C) Baby Terri coos in order to be picked up by Mom.
D) Jim blinks in response to the flash of the camera.

Question 36

Which of the following statements is an example of a reinforcement contingency?

A) A child's mother will give him what he wants, but only if he says "please."
B) When a door is closed, you should knock before entering.
C) Hotdogs and peanuts go together, because both are sold at baseball games.
D) If the recipe says to preheat the oven, you should turn it on before mixing the ingredients.

Question 37

Covering your ears when you find yourself in a room that is too noisy is an example of ________ conditioning; wearing earplugs that reduce sound intensity before going into a room that you know will be too noisy is an example of ________ conditioning.

A) escape; avoidance
B) avoidance; escape
C) operant; classical
D) classical; operant

Question 38

A boy runs on an icy sidewalk, slips, and falls. In the future, he no longer runs on icy sidewalks. His getting hurt is an example of

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

Question 39

According to Skinner, the three-term contingency is composed of a(n)

A) operant chain of three events.
B) three-part schedule of reinforcement.
C) discriminative stimulus-emitted response-stimulus consequence.
D) stimulus, a response, and a punisher.

Question 40

A student would like to change his study habits by applying what he knows about reinforcement contingencies to his routines. He has written down the basic rules that he plans to follow. All of the student's rules are correct EXCEPT for which one?

A) Carefully define the specific behavior you would like to change.
B) Make sure reinforcement is not contingent on the behavior you want to occur.
C) Define the discriminative stimuli that will control the behavior you want.
D) Try to extinguish your inappropriate behaviors.

Question 41

A child was very sick and unable to attend school. While she was ill, she received lots of attention and was excused from her normal responsibilities. Although she no longer has symptoms, the child says she still does not feel well. A behavior analyst would most likely suggest that the child's current behavior is the result of

A) emotional scars from childhood.
B) irrational or inappropriate thought processes.
C) secondary gains derived from being sick.
D) instinctual drift.

Question 42

Gerald Patterson's coercion model suggests that children's antisocial behavior may result from parents who

A) use exceedingly large amounts of reinforcement with their children to prevent misbehavior.
B) sometimes use large amounts of reinforcement, but often ignore misbehavior.
C) encourage children to misbehave, then punish them when they do so.
D) make threats that sometimes have no consequences, but are other times followed by strong discipline.

Question 43

All of the following are primary reinforcers EXCEPT

A) food when you are hungry.
B) a glass of water when you are thirsty.
C) a good night's sleep when you are tired.
D) money when you are broke.

Question 44

All of the following are likely to be conditioned reinforcers EXCEPT a

A) twenty-dollar bill slipped to you by your dad.
B) chuckle from a friend when you make a joke.
C) plate of spaghetti when you are hungry.
D) trophy for winning a miniature golf tournament.

Question 45

You read about a program designed to help patients in a psychiatric hospital take better care of themselves and their environment and engage in more positive social interactions. After engaging in specified behaviors, the patients are given plastic chips that can be exchanged later for rewards and privileges. Such systems are technically known as

A) self-reinforcement systems.
B) token economies.
C) verbal reinforcements.
D) reinforcement exchanges.

Question 46

A woman is keeping her New Year's resolution. Every morning she makes a list of what she is going to do that day. Then, she performs the tasks in order of their appeal to her, doing the least appealing thing first and the most appealing thing last. The woman is applying

A) successive approximations.
B) a schedule of reinforcement.
C) response deprivation theory.
D) a biological constraint.

Question 47

According to research examining the most effective way to punish children's misbehavior, the concept of "time out" was explored. Researchers found that "time out" was most effective when administered to children between the ages of ____ and ____ years.

A) 2; 5
B) 2; 7
C) 3; 5
D) 3; 7

Question 48

The parents are trying to get their three-year-old daughter to go to bed without fussing, but sometimes they give in to her tears and let her stay up later. On the basis of the partial reinforcement effect, it can be expected that the child's fussing will

A) be difficult to stop.
B) be easy to stop.
C) disappear for a while, but then reappear.
D) develop into a discriminative stimulus.

Question 49

Imagine being quizzed by your teacher on schedules of reinforcement. You are asked to name the schedule that generates the highest rate of responding and the greatest resistance to extinction. You are told further that gamblers are often under the control of this schedule. You should respond that this describes a ________ schedule of reinforcement.

A) fixed-interval
B) fixed-ratio
C) variable-interval
D) variable-ratio

Question 50

Research has shown that response rates under ________ schedules show a "scalloped" pattern.

A) FR
B) VR
C) FI
D) VI

Question 51

Every night at supper time a telemarketer calls people and tries to get them to buy things that they don't need. On average, he makes a sale after every 72 calls. Every Friday night he treats himself by buying a steak dinner with part of his earnings. The telemarketer's success is on a ________ schedule of reinforcement, and his dining behavior is on a ________ schedule of reinforcement.

A) fixed-interval; variable-ratio
B) fixed-ratio; variable-interval
C) variable-ratio; fixed-interval
D) variable-interval; fixed-ratio

Question 52

A man and woman are farm workers. The man is paid every week for his work, while the woman is paid for every two bushels of fruit she picks. The man is under a ________ schedule of reinforcement and the woman is under a ________ schedule of reinforcement.

A) variable-ratio; fixed-interval
B) fixed-interval; variable-ratio
C) fixed-ratio; fixed-interval
D) fixed-interval; fixed-ratio

Question 53

A boy is teaching his younger sister how to make her bed. At first, he tells her she did a good job if she gets the bedspread pulled up, even if the sheets are still rumpled. Each following day, he encourages her to be a little neater before telling her she did a good job. The boy may not know it, but he is using

A) secondary reinforcement.
B) primary reinforcement.
C) a fixed-interval schedule.
D) shaping by successive approximations.

Question 54

To understand the phenomenon of instinctual drift, it is most helpful to realize the importance of

A) cognitive maps.
B) species-specific tendencies.
C) operant conditioning.
D) classical conditioning.

Question 55

In their use of operant conditioning techniques to train animals from many species to perform various behaviors, the Brelands described instances of animal "misbehavior." They attributed this misbehavior to the

A) spontaneous recovery of extinguished behaviors.
B) use of punishment rather than reinforcement.
C) tendency for learned behavior to drift toward instinctual behavior.
D) use of shaping by successive approximations.

Question 56

Edward Tolman pioneered the study of cognitive processes in learning by designing experiments in which

A) conditioned reinforcers were used instead of primary reinforcers.
B) one-to-one associations between stimuli and responses could not explain animals' behavior.
C) animals' biological preparation to learn certain associations was experimentally manipulated.
D) the operant chamber could be used to test animal cognitions.

Question 57

A student notices that a classmate is praised by the teacher for asking questions in class. The student then begins asking questions also. The student is exhibiting learning through

A) vicarious punishment.
B) vicarious reinforcement.
C) the application of cognitive maps.
D) response deprivation theory.

Question 58

Suppose your nephew's parents have forbidden his viewing of television shows that depict violent acts, preferring that he watch shows with prosocial themes. Your nephew knows you are familiar with the impact of television on learning and hopes that you can intercede on his behalf. Based on the research, you can honestly tell his parents that

A) viewing television violence does not bring about increases in aggressive behavior.
B) viewing television violence leads viewers to underestimate the occurrences of real-world violence.
C) viewing television violence may bring about a reduction in both emotional arousal and distress at viewing violent behavior.
D) there has been little psychological research on the behavioral impact of viewing television violence.

Question 59

What is the law of effect? Discuss what is meant by reinforcement contingencies and explain how reinforcement and punishment affect the probability of behavior. Describe the difference between variable-ratio and variable-interval schedules of reinforcement.