Deck 6: B: Learning

Question 1

Which example of behaviours is NOT learned through classical conditioning?

A)the physiological functioning of the immune system
B)voluntary behaviours such as setting the table for dinner
C)both pleasant and unpleasant emotional responses
D)simple reflexive behaviours such as blinking

Answer 1

voluntary behaviours such as setting the table for dinner

Question 2

Imagine eating your favourite dessert. If just thinking about the dessert causes your mouth to water, then what is the classical conditioning term for your salivation, in this case?

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

Answer 2

conditioned response

Question 3

Which term refers to an unlearned reaction to a stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning?

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

Answer 3

unconditioned response

Question 4

In classical conditioning, what is a UCS?

A)a previously neutral stimulus that has acquired the capacity to evoke a learned response
B)a stimulus that evokes a response without previous conditioning
C)a learned reaction to a stimulus that occurs as a result of previous conditioning
D)an unlearned reaction to a stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning

Question 5

In Pavlov's principle experiment, what is the term for a dog salivating after hearing a tone?

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

Question 6

In Pavlov's principle experiment, what term is used to describe the dog's salivation after receiving meat powder?

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

Question 7

Bella has an intense fear of dogs. Her fear dates back to when, as a young child, she was attacked and bitten by a stray dog. Which process likely brought about Bella's dog phobia?

A)classical conditioning
B)negative reinforcement
C)operant conditioning
D)observational learning

Question 8

What occurs in classical conditioning?

A)Voluntary responses come to be controlled by their consequences.
B)An organism's response is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models.
C)An event following a response increases an organism's tendency to make that response.
D)A stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.

Question 9

Every Sunday morning when Marco was a young child, his family would have a special breakfast complete with freshly baked cinnamon rolls. To this day he finds himself smiling whenever he smells cinnamon rolls baking. In this example, what is the smell of cinnamon rolls?

A)cue
B)conditioned stimulus
C)unconditioned stimulus
D)discriminative stimulus

Question 10

In Pavlov's principle experiment, what was the conditioned stimulus?

A)meat powder
B)tone
C)light
D)salivation

Question 11

A child covers her ears when she sees fireworks, before actually hearing the sound of the fireworks. In this example, what classical conditioning term is used to label the sight of the fireworks?

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

Question 12

In conditioning research conducted on quail, what is elicited from male quail when they experience cues that have predicted that sexually willing female quail will soon be available?

A)UCS of sexual excitement
B)CR of increased sperm volume
C)UCR of sexual excitement
D)CR of decreased sperm volume

Question 13

What is the term for a previously neutral stimulus that, through conditioning, acquires the capacity to evoke a response?

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

Question 14

What is the conditioned response that advertisers are attempting to create if they try to sell clothing by pairing the clothing with images of attractive models and celebrities?

A)increased sales elicited by the celebrities
B)decreased fear elicited by the clothes
C)positive emotions elicited by the clothing
D)positive emotions elicited by the celebrities

Question 15

Which type of learning occurs when a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus?

A)observational learning
B)reinforcement
C)classical conditioning
D)operant conditioning

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT included in the definition of learning?

A)Learning involves a change in behaviour or knowledge.
B)Learning is an automatic process.
C)Learning is relatively durable.
D)Learning is due to experience.

Question 17

In classical conditioning, what is a conditioned response?

A)unlearned reaction to a stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning
B)stimulus that evokes a response without previous conditioning
C)previously neutral stimulus that has acquired the capacity to evoke a learned response
D)learned reaction to a stimulus that occurs as a result of previous conditioning

Question 18

Which psychological concept refers to a relatively durable change in behaviour or knowledge that is due to experience?

A)development
B)learning
C)operant conditioning
D)classical conditioning

Question 19

In Pavlov's principle experiment, what was the unconditioned stimulus?

A)salivation
B)a light
C)meat powder
D)a tone

Question 20

Which childhood behaviours could be easily explained by classical conditioning?

A)a toddler becoming potty-trained
B)a child learning to fear the dentist
C)a child learning to pick up her toys
D)a child learning to feed himself

Question 21

When does extinction of a conditioned response in classical conditioning occur?

A)when the CS is occasionally presented without the UCS
B)when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS
C)when the UCS is repeatedly presented without the UCR
D)when the UCS is occasionally presented without the UCR

Question 22

According to conditioning models of drug tolerance, why do drug users start using larger and larger doses over time?

A)The drug effect is a UCR that is very rewarding, so more is used over time.
B)The CR compensates for the effect of the drug, resulting in a smaller high than usual with the same dose.
C)The CS becomes ineffective in eliciting the typical high, so a more salient CS must be used.
D)The CS becomes larger and larger over time, so the drug dose must become larger as well.

Question 23

A dog has been conditioned to salivate in the presence of a 1000 hertz tone, but whenever an 800 hertz tone was presented there would be no food presented. Which of the following tones will elicit the least salivation from the dog?

A)1200 hertz
B)1100 hertz
C)900 hertz
D)700 hertz

Question 24

What is the term for the gradual weakening and disappearance of a tendency to make a conditioned response?

A)stimulus discrimination
B)extinction
C)spontaneous recovery
D)higher-order conditioning

Question 25

Which behaviours would be most appropriate to change using operant conditioning?

A)allergic responses to the sight of cats
B)frequency of studying
C)heart rate
D)a phobic response to airplanes

Question 26

What is it called when an organism responds to a specific stimulus or conditioned stimulus and doesn't respond to another stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus?

A)spontaneous recovery
B)stimulus generalization
C)stimulus discrimination
D)extinction

Question 27

When an organism that has learned a conditioned response also responds with the same response to a new stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus, what is that called?

A)spontaneous recovery
B)stimulus discrimination
C)extinction
D)stimulus generalization

Question 28

What must be done to demonstrate higher-order conditioning?

A)present a UCS that elicits a novel UCR
B)pair a new CS with an established CS
C)pair the CS with a new UCS
D)repeatedly present the CS without presenting the UCS

Question 29

Which individual is most closely associated with operant conditioning?

A)B. F. Skinner
B)Albert Bandura
C)Shepard Siegel
D)Ivan Pavlov

Question 30

If a dog that has been classically conditioned to salivate when shown a square also salivates when shown a rectangle, what does the dog's behaviour illustrate?

A)stimulus generalization
B)stimulus discrimination
C)response discrimination
D)response generalization

Question 31

Pavlov conditioned a dog to salivate to the sound of a tone. He then paired a light with the tone until the dog salivated to the light alone. What is this an example of?

A)stimulus generalization
B)stimulus discrimination
C)higher-order conditioning
D)spontaneous recovery

Question 32

Which of the following pairs are situations in which an animal will give a conditioned response to a stimulus that has never been associated with the presentation of the original UCS?

A)stimulus discrimination and higher-order conditioning
B)stimulus generalization and higher-order conditioning
C)higher-order conditioning and spontaneous recovery
D)stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination

Question 33

What is spontaneous recovery?

A)a situation in which a conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an unconditioned stimulus
B)the gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response
C)the reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of nonexposure to the conditioned stimulus
D)the initial stages of learning a conditioned response

Question 34

When Veronica first quit smoking, she experienced cravings for cigarettes whenever she took a coffee break. Gradually, those cravings went away and she doesn't typically think of smoking when she has a coffee now. Sometimes, however, she still experiences a craving for cigarettes during a coffee break. What is the term used for the occasional craving that Veronica experiences now?

A)spontaneous recovery
B)extinction
C)stimulus discrimination
D)higher-order conditioning

Question 35

If a dog that has been classically conditioned to salivate when shown a square does not salivate when shown a triangle, what does the dog's behaviour illustrate?

A)response discrimination
B)stimulus discrimination
C)stimulus generalization
D)response generalization

Question 36

When Veronica first quit smoking she felt cravings for cigarettes whenever she had a cup of coffee, because in the past she always had a cigarette when she took a coffee break. Eventually, several months after quitting, Veronica gradually stopped experiencing the cravings. What is the term used to describe the gradual decline in Veronica's cravings?

A)spontaneous recovery
B)higher-order conditioning
C)stimulus discrimination
D)extinction

Question 37

In classical conditioning, what is the term for the initial stage of learning a new association?

A)acquisition
B)habituation
C)adaptation
D)contingency

Question 38

A dog has been conditioned to salivate in the presence of a 1000 hertz tone. Which of the following tones will elicit the most salivation from the dog?

A)1500 hertz
B)1400 hertz
C)1200 hertz
D)900 hertz

Question 39

Last year Stacia went to a psychologist and was cured of her dog phobia. Today, however, while jogging in the park she was overcome with anxiety when she saw a young man jogging toward her with his golden retriever on a leash. What happened to Stacia's dog phobia?

A)It had not been extinguished after all.
B)It showed spontaneous recovery.
C)It showed stimulus generalization.
D)It showed higher-order conditioning.

Question 40

If you give your dog a treat every time he jumps through a hoop, what method are you using?

A)operant conditioning
B)classical conditioning
C)observational learning
D)latent learning

Question 41

If you wanted to teach your pet parakeet to give you a kiss on the cheek, which technique would be most effective?

A)higher-order conditioning
B)modelling
C)shaping
D)classical conditioning

Question 42

As a rat in a Skinner Box presses a lever, a cumulative recorder documents each lever press over time. What is the term for the data that is represented on the cumulative record?

A)the strength of the UCR
B)the rat's reinforcement contingency
C)the strength of the CR
D)the rat's response rate

Question 43

Which researcher studied the ability of cats to learn to escape from puzzle boxes?

A)B. F. Skinner
B)Ivan Pavlov
C)Edward L. Thorndike
D)Albert Bandura

Question 44

The cats that escaped from Thorndike's puzzle boxes got faster at escaping over time, but the change was quite gradual. What did Thorndike interpret about this pattern of behaviour change?

A)Learning occurs as a result of gradual strengthening of rewarded behaviours.
B)Learning is enhanced when there is time for reflection in between trials.
C)Cats require exposure to experienced models in order to learn appropriately.
D)Cats are capable of thinking and understand the problems they solve.

Question 45

What is the major difference between responses that are relevant to classical conditioning and responses that are relevant to operant conditioning?

A)Classical responses are elicited while operant responses are emitted.
B)Classical responses are emitted while operant responses are elicited.
C)Classical responses are innate while operant responses are learned.
D)Classical responses are learned while operant responses are innate.

Question 46

If you are using "shaping" to increase the likelihood that a child will put away all his toys, what would you need to do each time the child does a better job of putting away his toys than he did previously?

A)give the child a closer approximation to the reinforcement
B)model the correct behaviour by picking up the remaining toys
C)give the child a reinforcer
D)give the child a UCS

Question 47

While out trick-or-treating for Halloween, at first Billy's neighbours had to remind him to say "trick or treat" before they dropped their treats into his bag. As he continued to visit houses in the neighbourhood, soon Billy would say "trick or treat" as soon as the neighbours answered the door. In this situation, which operant conditioning term describes the change in Billy's behaviour as a result of the reminders and treats?

A)contingency
B)classical conditioning
C)shaping
D)observational learning

Question 48

What is another name for operant conditioning?

A)observational learning
B)instrumental learning
C)latent conditioning
D)classical conditioning

Question 49

What happens to an operant response, in order to extinguish that response?

A)It is followed by intermittent reinforcement.
B)It is no longer associated with the CS.
C)It is no longer followed by reinforcement.
D)It is followed by continuous reinforcement.

Question 50

While out trick-or-treating for Halloween, at first Billy's neighbours had to remind him to say "trick or treat" before they dropped their treats into his bag. As he continued to visit houses in the neighbourhood, soon Billy would say "trick or treat" as soon as the neighbours answered the door. Which operant conditioning term is used to describe the cue provided by the neighbours answering the door?

A)discriminative stimulus
B)conditioned stimulus
C)reward
D)reinforcer

Question 51

Operant responses are typically established through a gradual process in which closer and closer approximations of the desired response are reinforced. What is this process called?

A)shaping
B)modelling
C)discrimination
D)learning

Question 52

While out trick-or-treating for Halloween, at first Billy's neighbours had to remind him to say "trick or treat" before they dropped their treats into his bag. As he continued to visit houses in the neighbourhood, soon Billy would say "trick or treat" as soon as the neighbours answered the door. In this situation, which operant conditioning term describes the treats he received for the behaviour of saying "trick or treat"?

A)reward
B)discriminative stimulus
C)conditioned stimulus
D)reinforcer

Question 53

After responding at a steady rate for several minutes, a rat pauses and does not respond at all for a period of time. How would this pause be reflected in the cumulative record?

A)a gradually increasing slope
B)a vertical line
C)a gradually decreasing slope
D)a horizontal line

Question 54

In an operant conditioning study, what is the device that creates a graphic record of an organism's response and reinforcement over time?

A)cumulative recorder
B)response monitor
C)Pavlov Box
D)Skinner Box

Question 55

B. F. Skinner demonstrated that organisms tend to repeat responses that are followed by favourable consequences. What did Skinner call these favourable consequences?

A)bribes
B)reinforcers
C)rewards
D)unconditioned stimuli

Question 56

If the cumulative record for Rat A has a steep slope, while Rat B's has a shallow slope, what would you conclude?

A)Rat A has a higher rate of responding than Rat B.
B)Rat B has a higher rate of responding than Rat A.
C)Both Rat A and Rat B have high rates of responding.
D)Both Rat A and Rat B have low rates of responding.

Question 57

What happens in operant conditioning?

A)An organism's response is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models.
B)Voluntary responses come to be controlled by their consequences.
C)An organism's tendency to give a response reappears after a period of time.
D)A stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.

Question 58

What procedure did you use to stop your dog from begging at the table by ensuring no one ever feeds the dog table scraps?

A)shaping
B)reinforcement
C)extinction
D)punishment

Question 59

Which of the following is defined by the statement "If a response in the presence of a stimulus leads to satisfying effects, the association between the stimulus and the response is strengthened"?

A)acquisition
B)reinforcement
C)latent learning
D)the law of effect

Question 60

Tyler still sends a lot of text messages to his ex-girlfriend even though she no longer responds to them. Which term characterizes Tyler's behaviour of sending texts to his ex?

A)low association with reinforcement
B)high resistance to extinction
C)low resistance to extinction
D)high association with reinforcement

Question 61

What is a schedule of reinforcement?

A)a description of whether positive or negative reinforcement is in use
B)a specific pattern of presentation of reinforcers over time
C)a pattern of resistance to extinction
D)the reinforcement of closer and closer approximation of a desired response

Question 62

What is true of secondary reinforcers?

A)They satisfy biological needs.
B)They acquire reinforcing qualities through association with primary reinforcers.
C)They are less effective and salient compared to primary reinforcers.
D)They are reinforced on intermittent schedules of reinforcement.

Question 63

Why are primary reinforcers effective?

A)They satisfy biological needs.
B)The organism has learned to desire them.
C)We want approval for our actions.
D)They have been associated with secondary reinforcers.

Question 64

When Jeff compliments Marnie, she sometimes gives him a big kiss. What is this pattern of reinforcement called?

A)primary reinforcement
B)continuous reinforcement
C)secondary reinforcement
D)intermittent reinforcement

Question 65

Six-year-old Sam asks only his Dad if he can stay up past his bedtime and never asks his Mom. Which term could be used to describe Sam's father?

A)generalized stimulus
B)reinforcement
C)discriminative stimulus
D)schedule of reinforcement

Question 66

Which term would be used to describe reinforcers like tasty food or hugs from your favourite people?

A)classical reinforcers
B)secondary reinforcers
C)primary reinforcers
D)typical reinforcers

Question 67

Which schedule of reinforcement involves reinforcement that is given after a variable number of nonreinforced responses?

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

Question 68

When you were a child and you first realized that you could use money to buy candy and other treats, what did money become?

A)secondary reinforcer
B)operant reinforcer
C)classical reinforcer
D)primary reinforcer

Question 69

A rat gets reinforcement for responding when a green light is on but no reinforcement for responding when a red light is on. As a result of stimulus discrimination, what will the rat do?

A)respond primarily to the red light
B)stop responding to both the green and red lights
C)respond primarily to the green light
D)respond equally to the green and red lights

Question 70

Zane is allowed to play video games after every time he helps with doing dishes. What is this pattern of reinforcement called?

A)continuous reinforcement
B)secondary reinforcement
C)intermittent reinforcement
D)primary reinforcement

Question 71

Which type of reinforcement schedule leads to the greatest resistance to extinction?

A)continuous
B)intermittent
C)secondary
D)primary

Question 72

At preschool, Courtney has learned that she must wash her hands before snack-time in order to get a snack. At home, however, her parents do not check to make sure she washes her hands. When she is home, Courtney does not wash her hands before eating. Which process does Courtney's behaviour illustrate?

A)stimulus generalization
B)response generalization
C)stimulus discrimination
D)response discrimination

Question 73

In an FR schedule, when is the reinforcement given?

A)for the first response that occurs after a fixed time interval has elapsed
B)after a fixed number of nonreinforced responses
C)for the first response after a variable time interval has elapsed
D)after a variable number of nonreinforced responses

Question 74

If an employee of a company that conducts telephone surveys receives $1.00 for every three completed surveys he conducts, which schedule is he being paid on?

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

Question 75

Which schedule of reinforcement should you use if you want a rat in a Skinner Box to respond with both a high and steady rate of response?

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

Question 76

In a fixed interval schedule, when is the reinforcement given?

A)the first response after a variable time interval has elapsed
B)the first response after a fixed time interval has elapsed
C)after a variable number of nonreinforced responses
D)after a fixed number of nonreinforced responses

Question 77

What is the key factor in interval schedules when describing schedules of reinforcement?

A)elapsed time
B)number of reinforcements given
C)length of the training period
D)number of responses given

Question 78

At preschool, Jaspreet has learned that she must wash her hands before snack-time in order to get a snack. At home, she has started to wash her hands before asking for snacks. Which processes does Jaspreet's behaviour illustrate?

A)stimulus generalization
B)response generalization
C)response discrimination
D)stimulus discrimination

Question 79

What is most likely to lead to the development of a superstitious behaviour?

A)explicit extinction trials
B)partial reinforcement schedules
C)non-contingent reinforcement
D)classical conditioning

Question 80

Many people find it hard to "walk away from" or stop playing a slot machine. What schedule of reinforcement is responsible for this tendency?

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