Deck 6: Learning

Question 1

Michael has an introductory psychology assignment that requires him to observe and list any behaviors of the people in his dorm that indicate learning.Which of the following should be included on Michael's list?

A) Dan, who bumps into a door when he has the flu
B) Bill, who sometimes falls asleep while watching TV
C) Greg, who often whines until someone goes to the dining hall with him
D) Matt, who always forgets his keys in his room

Answer 1

Greg, who often whines until someone goes to the dining hall with him

Question 2

After repeated studying,Cressida is able to remember all of the state capitals.Now when she hears the word Michigan,she quickly thinks of the word Lansing.Cressida's learning is most likely due to long-term potentiation,which _______.

A) releases glutamate in the brain
B) strengthens synaptic connections
C) increases excitatory neural signals
D) decreases neurotransmitters in the synapse

Answer 2

strengthens synaptic connections

Question 3

Olivia takes a drug that is supposed to help her be able to memorize material for her class more easily.The drug works by increasing neural communication in the hippocampus,and when taken repeatedly,it may also support _______.

A) tabula rasa
B) long-term potentiation
C) non-associative learning
D) habituation

Answer 3

long-term potentiation

Question 4

Billy hates it when his upstairs neighbor wakes up early to take a shower.He is typically abruptly awakened when the water starts,but then he gets used to the noise and goes back to sleep.In this example,Billy is showing learning through _______.

A) conditioning
B) sensitization
C) habituation
D) modeling

Question 5

Every day after class,Jerome smells delicious pizza from Steel's Pizza House on his walk home and his mouth starts to water.One day,Jerome is riding the bus home from class and sees the Steel's Pizza House sign,and even this makes his mouth start to water.Jerome has most likely experienced all of the following EXCEPT _______.

A) strengthening of synaptic connections
B) habituation
C) long-term potentiation
D) learning

Question 6

Tammy is visiting the eye doctor.During her exam,a buzzer rings and a puff of air is blown into her eye,which makes her blink.This happens several times.Then Tammy blinks when she hears the buzzer because she expects that a puff of air will be blown into her eye.In this example,Tammy is showing _______ learning.

A) associative
B) non-associative
C) observational
D) sensitization

Question 7

In Pavlov's research,classical conditioning occurred when the dogs learned the metronome predicted the arrival of food because this process began with a(n)_______ stimulus.

A) classical
B) conditioned
C) neutral
D) unconditioned

Question 8

Mason can recite the first 100 digits of the number pi.He spent many hours studying to learn the exact order of the numbers,which has resulted in strengthened synaptic connections in his brain.Mason's ability to learn the numbers is most likely a result of _______.

A) vicarious conditioning
B) habituation
C) long-term potentiation
D) modeling

Question 9

Gavin is a 3-year-old who used to color on the walls with his crayons.Gavin's father told him,"We color on paper,not on walls," and gave him a time-out.Gavin does not color on the walls anymore,which is most likely a result of all of the following EXCEPT _______.

A) associative learning
B) long-term potentiation
C) learning
D) non-associative learning

Question 10

Tina believes in John Locke's idea of tabula rasa.When Tina's baby is born,she expects the child will most likely _______.

A) already show learning that occurred in the womb
B) be ready to learn new information based on sensory experiences
C) not be able to show learning for several months
D) be able to recognize sensory input she was exposed to before birth

Question 11

Shanna wants to use an observational study to explore how classical conditioning works.Before beginning her own study,it would be most helpful for Shanna to read about the research of _______.

A) Ivan Pavlov
B) John Skinner
C) John Watson
D) Alfred Bandura

Question 12

You are driving to school when suddenly an ambulance rushes past you with its sirens blaring,so you quickly pull your car to the side of the road.A few minutes later,when you hear sirens in the distance,you get ready to quickly pull the car over again.You have learned to respond quickly to the sirens because of _______.

A) vicarious conditioning
B) operant conditioning
C) sensitization
D) habituation

Question 13

If Dr.Raybel wants to observe how people learn to play a new game,he may want to consult the founder of behaviorism,_______.

A) Ivan Pavlov
B) John Watson
C) Alfred Bandura
D) John Locke

Question 14

Braxton's friend Shayla is caught cheating on a test and receives an "F." Braxton learns the consequences of cheating by watching Shayla be punished for this action.Braxton has learned through _______.

A) operant conditioning
B) sensitization
C) modeling
D) vicarious conditioning

Question 15

Fallon is afraid of loud sounds,like thunder.He associates lightning with thunder because it regularly precedes thunder.Thus,when Fallon sees lightning,he braces himself for hearing a big boom several seconds later.Fallon has experienced learning by associating two stimuli,which is called _______.

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

Question 16

When you first bought your pet hamsters Fudge and Brownie,only Fudge would let you pet him.After a few weeks of Brownie watching you pet Fudge,Brownie started to let you pet her.In this case,Brownie's new behavior is most likely the result of learning by _______.

A) associating two stimuli
B) habituation
C) sensitization
D) watching others

Question 17

Jonathan is traveling to Italy,and his motto for his trip is "When in Rome,do as the Romans do!" This phrase suggests that Jonathan is most likely to learn how to behave in Rome based on _______.

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

Question 18

Simone's desk at her new job is right next to an air conditioner.After a week of being chilly,she brings a sweater to work.Simone's change in behavior,which is based on her prior experience,is an example of _______.

A) learning
B) habituation
C) modeling
D) operant conditioning

Question 19

Timothy believes that his infant son Jamie was born as a blank slate,knowing nothing about the world.This information suggests that Timothy most likely believes in _______.

A) associative learning
B) habituation
C) tabula rasa
D) long-term potentiation

Question 20

In Pavlov's research,dogs learned that the sound of a metronome predicted the arrival of food,so the dogs salivated at the sound of the metronome.In this research,classical conditioning occurred in part because the _______ elicited a(n)_______.

A) unconditioned stimulus (food); innate, unconditioned response (salivation)
B) conditioned stimulus (food); conditioned response (salivation)
C) unconditioned stimulus (metronome); conditioned response (salivation)
D) conditioned stimulus (metronome); innate, unconditioned response (salivation)

Question 21

If Pavlov repeatedly presented the conditioned stimulus,the metronome,without the unconditioned stimulus,the food,the dogs would stop salivating to the sound of the metronome.In classical conditioning,this process is called _______.

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

Question 22

A father takes his young daughter to the park.The girl grabs a red flower and is stung by a bee.The next day,the girl's grandmother brings her a bouquet of red flowers.When the girl sees the flowers,she becomes afraid and runs away.In this example,the conditioned stimulus is the _______.

A) fear of the flowers
B) red flowers
C) pain of the sting
D) bee

Question 23

If Carlos wants to use classical conditioning so his 3-year-old sister learns to be afraid of dogs,he should _______.

A) shove her to the ground every day whether she pets a dog or not
B) blow an air horn to make her afraid every time she pets their own dog
C) pretend to be afraid of dogs himself
D) give her a piece of candy every time she is afraid to go near a dog

Question 24

Joseph used classical conditioning to teach his sister to be afraid of squirrels.If he is successful,the conditioned stimulus,the squirrel,must have been paired with a(n)_______,such as _______.

A) neutral stimulus; a light turning on
B) conditioned response; running away
C) unconditioned response; an increased heartbeat
D) unconditioned stimulus; a loud noise

Question 25

Professor Kraig is known for his difficult pop quizzes,which naturally make the students feel anxious.Immediately before he springs a quiz on his students and they start to feel anxious,he always shuts down his laptop to remove his lecture slides from the overhead screen.Students soon notice that they start to feel anxious when Professor Kraig reaches for his laptop and shuts it down.In terms of classical conditioning,Professor Kraig closing his laptop is a(n)_______.

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

Question 26

Jack uses classical conditioning to teach his dog Luna to sit whenever Jack says,"Sit." But now,anything that Jack says that is similar to "Sit" causes Luna to show the conditioned response of sitting.This is most likely the result of _______.

A) stimulus generalization
B) stimulus discrimination
C) extinction
D) second-order conditioning

Question 27

You are having a great time at a work picnic.Then,a spider walks onto your picnic blanket.It looks just like the one that bit you last year and made you very sick.You immediately start to feel panic,which in this situation is most likely a(n)_______.

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

Question 28

Maggie's partner always feels hungry at 7:00 PM.Maggie decides to play a particular song for her partner at 7:00 PM for several nights in a row.One night,Maggie plays the song at 5:30 PM and her partner says,"Huh ...I suddenly feel hungry." In this situation,classical conditioning occurred because _______.

A) Maggie presents dinner before playing the song for her partner
B) the song naturally causes her friend's stomach to growl
C) Maggie paired a neutral stimulus, a song, with an unconditioned stimulus, a certain time of day when her partner always felt hungry
D) Maggie plays the song when the partner first arrives home and then waits an hour to serve dinner

Question 29

At a football game,you cannot help but feel excited whenever your team scores a touchdown.Because this is an unlearned response,in terms of classical conditioning,it would be called a(n)_______.

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

Question 30

Pederson's teacher blows a whistle when it is time for his class to come in from recess.Pederson is afraid of being left on the playground alone,so he starts to go inside any time he hears a sound like the teacher's whistle,such as the school bell ringing.Pederson's behavior is an example of _______.

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

Question 31

Ralph ate sushi for lunch,and an hour later he felt sick to his stomach.In this situation,classical conditioning might occur.In other words,Ralph might learn an association between sushi and feeling sick because the two events _______.

A) relate to biological needs
B) are not related
C) prohibit normal functioning
D) are paired closely in timing

Question 32

You learned about classical conditioning in your introductory psychology class and are explaining it to your roommate.You tell him that a main outcome of Pavlov's research is that a neutral stimulus can become a conditioned stimulus _______.

A) when it elicits an innate response
B) with the presence of punishment
C) after pairing it with a stimulus that triggers a reflexive response
D) simply by observing that stimulus

Question 33

A conditioned stimulus is _______.

A) an unlearned reaction
B) something that causes a response after learning takes place
C) something that causes a response without learning
D) a reflexive, natural reaction

Question 34

If you are trying to use classical conditioning to train your pet mouse to be afraid of a flashing light,you will most likely be successful if you _______.

A) pair the light with giving the mouse a treat
B) pair the light with an electric shock
C) take away the mouse's food after the light comes on
D) take away the mouse's food before the light comes on

Question 35

Samuel always receives a painful shock when he turns on the lamp in his study.After a while,Samuel refuses to touch the switch on the lamp.The lamp switch was a(n)________ that elicited a(n)_______ after a period of time.

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

Question 36

Advertisers use classical conditioning in their commercials by showing ads.For example,they pair something that reflexively elicits pleasant feelings,such as the face of the actor Brad Pitt,with a product,such as the perfume Chanel N^o 5.If Brad Pitt elicits a response from you that is innate and does not require any prior learning,he is being used as a(n)_______.

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

Question 37

A cat has been classically conditioned to purr when it hears the door open to the refrigerator where its food is kept.But the cat does not purr when it hears the sound of the pantry door opening,where none of its food is kept.The fact that the cat shows the conditioned response,purring,only for the sound associated with the conditioned stimulus is most likely a result of _______.

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

Question 38

Alanna knows that a startling noise will always make people blink their eyes.If Alanna has learned to associate a blue light with a startling noise,causing her to blink when she sees the blue light,then this eye blink is a(n)_______.

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

Question 39

Eleanor wants to use classical conditioning to teach her students to run to the closet when the "intruder alert" sounds at their school.To be successful,Eleanor must begin the learning process with a(n)_______.

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

Question 40

Riley ate too much chocolate cake during his birthday party and was sick all night.If classical conditioning occurred and he associated the cake with being sick,then when Riley sees cake today,he will most likely _______.

A) be happy because it reminds him of the great time he had at his party
B) want to eat more cake because he is still celebrating his birthday
C) be turned off by the smell and the memory of the taste of cake
D) save the cake for later when he feels a little bit better

Question 41

Sampson is a dolphin trainer who trains his dolphins to perform tasks by blowing a high-pitched whistle,the sound of which dolphins enjoy,immediately after the dolphins do the task.Sampson is using _______ reinforcers to train the dolphins.

A) primary
B) negative
C) secondary
D) variable

Question 42

Rachel's dog loves meat and salivates when he sees it.Rachel repeatedly shows her dog a picture of a circle before showing him a piece of meat.Soon,the dog salivates to the picture of the circle.When Rachel shows her dog a picture of an oval without then showing him a piece of meat,the dog does not salivate,which is best explained by _______.

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

Question 43

Vincent wants to use systematic desensitization to treat his patient's phobia of elevators.Vincent's first step in this process should be to _______.

A) prescribe a drug that will inhibit certain regions of the amygdala
B) explain to the patient what is going on in his brain when he feels fearful
C) show the patient a picture of an elevator until he can look at it and feel calm
D) give the patient a dollar for every floor he passes during an elevator ride

Question 44

Percy wants to teach his daughter good manners.To increase the likelihood of her saying "Excuse me" when bumping into someone in a store,he should use a stimulus called a(n)_______.

A) punishment
B) reinforcer
C) operant
D) token economy

Question 45

Dante was sitting on a rock to rest during a hike.Suddenly,he felt immense pain and looked down to see a snake had bitten him in the leg.Because of this,Dante has learned to fear snakes.If his fear is out of proportion with the danger posed by snakes,then Dante has developed _______.

A) an evolutionary adaptation
B) stimulus discrimination
C) a phobia
D) second-order conditioning

Question 46

Dr.Shaw has a patient who has a phobia of spiders and also loves doing puzzles.Dr.Shaw exposes the patient to spiders briefly while having the patient complete a fun puzzle.Dr.Shaw is using _______ to treat his patient's phobia.

A) second-order conditioning
B) systematic desensitization
C) modeling
D) counterconditioning

Question 47

Positive punishment causes _______.

A) an increase in behavior through the addition of a stimulus
B) a decrease in behavior through the removal of a stimulus
C) a decrease in behavior through the addition of a stimulus
D) an increase in behavior through the removal of a stimulus

Question 48

Kathy goes to a boarding school.When she is in the shower and someone flushes the toilet,the water turns hot and she gets burned.So,Kathy becomes classically conditioned to fear the toilet flushing when she is in the shower.Over the summer,Kathy returns home,and if someone flushes the toilet while she is in the shower,she does not get burned.But in August when she returns to school,she is once again in the shower and hears the toilet flush and immediately feels a surge of fear.This example best illustrates the fact that extinction is _______.

A) a form of learning that inhibits, not deletes, what is learned
B) an adaptive response to delete information from memory associations
C) a useful tendency to try to readapt old learning strategies to novel problems
D) the basis for non-associative learning when applied to unfamiliar situations

Question 49

Susie wants to use operant conditioning to teach her cat to sit up for a treat.A psychologist who has conducted research that would be useful to her in this situation is _______.

A) Edward Thorndike
B) John Watson
C) Alfred Bandura
D) Ivan Pavlov

Question 50

You want to teach your dog to stop scratching at the door when he wants to go out.You do so by swatting his nose with a newspaper each time he scratches the door.By creating consequences for your dog's behavior,you have used _______ to train him.

A) operant conditioning
B) classical conditioning
C) modeling
D) the Premack principle

Question 51

Channing believes that the best way to get his boyfriend to clean up after himself is by initiating sex as soon as his boyfriend cleans up the apartment.Channing knows that sex is a _______ reinforcer that will likely _______ the probability that his boyfriend will clean the apartment in the future.

A) primary; increase
B) primary; decrease
C) secondary; decrease
D) secondary; increase

Question 52

During the famous experiment with "Little Albert," Albert learned to fear rats when researchers used classical conditioning and presented a _______.

A) loud sound as the unconditioned stimulus
B) rat as the unconditioned stimulus
C) rat as the conditioned response
D) loud sound as the conditioned response

Question 53

Sunil wants to classically condition his dog to fear skunks so he does not get sprayed again.This task should be much easier than teaching him to fear a house plant because a dog _______.

A) is biologically prepared to fear animals that might cause it harm
B) has high intelligence compared with other animals
C) can easily be conditioned to fear skunks specifically
D) likens house plants to grass, which is where the dog goes to the bathroom

Question 54

Ellie hates it when her teenagers leave their dirty clothes on the floor.If Ellie decides to use the Premack principle to help her teens change their behavior,she should _______ to reward them for doing a less valued activity.

A) give a primary reinforcer
B) give a secondary reinforcer
C) use shaping
D) promise them a more valued activity

Question 55

Last year,Martina was in love with Robert,but they eventually broke up.Today in the mall,Martina smells someone wearing the same cologne that Robert always wore.She is immediately filled with positive feelings,which is most likely due to _______.

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

Question 56

Professor McCready wants to study animal learning by putting birds in a cage where they have to figure out how to peck a button to receive food.Professor McCready is using _______ to modify animal behavior.

A) punishment
B) shaping
C) a Skinner box
D) the Premack principle

Question 57

Dr.Brimfield believes that humans learn best when they are given the opportunity to act on their environments and make associations between their behavior and the effects it produces.Dr.Brimfield is most likely to use _______ to teach his daughter to play the violin.

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

Question 58

Jean wants her daughter to eat her vegetables so she is healthy.Jean tells her daughter that after she eats her vegetables she can play outside,which is one of her daughter's favorite things to do.In this situation,Jean is using _______ to increase her daughter's eating of vegetables.

A) negative reinforcement
B) positive punishment
C) the Premack principle
D) primary reinforcement

Question 59

Derek is conducting research with chimpanzees and realizes that when the chimps' behaviors lead to some sort of satisfaction,they repeat those behaviors.Derek's observations are most consistent with _______.

A) the cognitive model of learning
B) the law of effect
C) counterconditioning
D) shaping

Question 60

Katie is afraid of clowns.She has been trying to overcome this fear by getting into a relaxed state and then looking at pictures of clowns.After months of this exposure,she is no longer afraid when she sees a clown.Katie has been using _______ to overcome her fear.

A) counterconditioning
B) systematic desensitization
C) extinction
D) modeling

Question 61

Whenever baby Colin cries,his mother picks him up.This stops Colin from crying.In turn,this makes Colin's mother pick him up more often.In this example,his mother picking him up serves as a _______ reinforcer for Colin.Colin stopping crying is a _______ reinforcer for the mother.

A) negative; negative
B) negative; positive
C) positive; negative
D) positive; positive

Question 62

If getting $1 for every correct answer on this test makes you study harder for the next test,then being given $1 is a form of _______.

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

Question 63

Reynold believes that reinforcement affects the performance of a behavior more than the acquisition of a behavior.Reynold's belief is consistent with the ideas of the cognitive theorist _______.

A) Edward Thorndike
B) John Watson
C) Edward Tolman
D) Alfred Bandura

Question 64

Spencer is an inmate at a state prison and works in the prison library stocking books.For each cart of books that he reshelves,he receives a chip.He is allowed to collect chips and then trade them in for candy,extra recreation time,or visitation time.The prison uses a token economy,which is a method of _______.

A) variable reinforcement
B) continuous reinforcement
C) positive punishment
D) behavior modification

Question 65

In the wild,when Arctic wolves hunt,their efforts are only sometimes reinforced because finding food is difficult.The fact that the wolves are only sometimes reinforced for hunting is an example of _______ reinforcement.

A) partial
B) continuous
C) ratio
D) fixed

Question 66

Samantha tells her roommate that negative reinforcement and negative punishment are similar because they _______.

A) remove a stimulus
B) decrease behavior
C) add a stimulus
D) increase behavior

Question 67

Sophia's daughter Melanie is getting "D" grades in several of her classes.To get Melanie to study more,her parents should _______.

A) punish her for poor academic performance
B) remove privileges when she earns a grade less than a "B"
C) ignore Melanie until she gets higher grades
D) praise Melanie when she practices good study habits

Question 68

The Acme Chemical Company has some employees who work in a production plant and some who work in a sales office.The plant workers get paid every Friday; however,the office workers get paid for every fifth sale that they make.The plant workers are paid on a _______ schedule,whereas the office workers are paid on a _______ schedule.

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

Question 69

Sandra is toilet training her son and only rewards him some of the time when he uses the toilet.Sandra knows that using partial reinforcement creates behaviors that are more enduring than does continuous reinforcement,which is a result of _______.

A) the partial-reinforcement extinction effect
B) the law of effect
C) primary reinforcement
D) the Premack principle

Question 70

Aldo cannot get the answer to a chemistry problem even after sitting at his desk for an hour.He gets up and goes for a walk.Suddenly,even though he appears to have stopped thinking about it for a while,the answer comes to him.Aldo has most likely solved the problem based on _______.

A) insight learning
B) a cognitive map
C) latent learning
D) behavior modification

Question 71

When explaining to his wife how positive reinforcement and positive punishment are similar,Jackson correctly says that both _______.

A) increase the probability of a behavior
B) decrease the probability of a behavior
C) remove a stimulus
D) add a stimulus

Question 72

Lenny needs to quickly train his cows to use one specific field when they graze.The reinforcement that will allow the cows to learn most quickly is _______ reinforcement.

A) partial
B) interval
C) continuous
D) fixed

Question 73

Reinforcement that comes after a predetermined amount of time is called _______.

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

Question 74

Tripp is serving a 10-year prison sentence when he is informed by his parole board that he is getting out of jail early for good behavior.If the early release has the effect of increasing Tripp's good behavior in the future,then early release is an example of _______.

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

Question 75

A month ago,Jenny was pulled over for speeding,and because it was her third ticket this year,her license was suspended.Jenny just received her license back and vows never to speed again.In this situation,having her license suspended has served as _______.

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

Question 76

If Sheila wants to decrease her dog barking at the cat next door,she should most likely use _______.

A) punishment
B) reinforcement
C) the Premack principle
D) shaping

Question 77

In operant conditioning,removing a stimulus to increase a behavior in the future is called _______.

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

Question 78

Professor Jackson wants his students to complete their reading assignments before he lectures on the material in class.He periodically gives them pop quizzes on the reading assignments.To encourage students to complete the reading assignments,the schedule of reinforcement he should use for the pop quizzes is a _______ schedule.

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

Question 79

Albert has a beautiful garden in his backyard and notices that hummingbirds come to feed on the flowers at the same time each day in order to get the sweetest nectar.The hummingbirds are being rewarded for their feeding behavior on a _______ schedule of reinforcement.

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

Question 80

Taylor's parents are very inconsistent with their child-rearing practices.Some days,Taylor can get away with climbing onto the back of the couch and jumping off,but other days she is punished.Taylor's parents are reinforcing her behavior on a _______ schedule.

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