Deck 7: Extension C: Conditioning and Learning

Question 1

A parent who relies heavily on the use of physical punishment for aggressive behavior in the home should be aware that this child-rearing practice is more likely to produce

A)children who engage in aggressive, impulsive, and antisocial behavior.
B)complete extinction of the aggressive behavior.
C)a prolonged period of submissive learned helplessness.
D)a variety of learning disabilities.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

After he is spanked, Terrence feels angry, frustrated, and hostile, and goes immediately outside and picks a fight with his younger brother.What is most likely to occur in the future?

A)Picking a fight with his brother will be an isolated event in the future, although he will still misbehave and receive spankings.
B)Because Terrence releases anger on his younger brother, his aggression will be rewarded and will tend to occur again in other frustrating situations.
C)Because Terrence releases his anger on his younger brother, he will be less likely to be aggressive toward any other children in the future.
D)Terrence's overall aggression will decline, and he will become a model child at home, in the neighborhood, and at school.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A problem with the use of punishment is that

A)it causes fear, frustration, anxiety, and encourages aggression.
B)it has little or no power to actually suppress an undesirable response.
C)negative reinforcement is superior to punishment for suppressing a response.
D)once begun it cannot be withdrawn.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The basic tools available to control simple learning work best when used

A)independently.
B)in combination.
C)randomly across situations.
D)successively until one finally works.

Question 5

Regarding the basic tools a person has available to control simple learning, which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)Reinforcement strengthens responses.
B)Non-reinforcement causes responses to extinguish.
C)Punishment suppresses responses.
D)The three basic tools work best when used independent of each other.

Question 6

One of the basic tools available to control simple learning is

A)reinforcement.
B)cognitive modeling.
C)generalization.
D)acquisition.

Question 7

A teen who is punished at home a lot will be gone as much as possible.This is an example of

A)classical conditioning.
B)modeling.
C)negative transfer.
D)avoidance learning.

Question 8

Cynthia is an elementary classroom teacher who often yells and humiliates her students for their misbehavior.A fellow teacher suggests that she use praise, approval, and rewards to change the students' behaviors.According to research, what would you tell Cynthia?

A)Her yelling and humiliation strategies will eventually work if she is consistent and intensifies this approach.
B)Using physical punishment to correct her students' misbehaviors would be the most effective method for her to use.
C)The use of praise, approval, and reward are largely ineffective in controlling students' misbehaviors.
D)None of these are correct.

Question 9

Brian's parents use frequent punishment for his misbehavior at home.Which of the following is most likely to be true?

A)Brian is a quiet, model child at school.
B)Brian often gets into trouble for fighting at school.
C)Brian is a compliant child but makes poor grades.
D)The amount of physical punishment at home has no effect on a child's behavior at school.

Question 10

A major drawback to the use of punishment is that

A)it may encourage aggression.
B)it may cause rapid extinction.
C)it is effective only if administered intermittently.
D)once begun it cannot be stopped.

Question 11

____ causes responses to extinguish, while _____ suppresses responses.

A)Generalization; operant stimulus discrimination
B)Non-reinforcement; punishment
C)Punishment; non-reinforcement
D)Intermittent reinforcement; non-reinforcement

Question 12

Mac is five year old, and his parents were using spanking as their only means of disciplining Mac.After each spanking, Mac grew increasingly angry and usually took it out on the dog or his two year old brother.A counselor suggested other punishment alternatives, such as time-out, as well as encouraging the parents to use praise and rewards more often when Mac was behaving appropriately.According to research, since Mac's parents have changed to less punitive parenting, Mac's level of aggression will most likely

A)increase because Mac's parents will not be able to suppress his misbehavior and aggression using time-out.
B)remain at the current level since aggressiveness is a part of Mac's innate temperament.
C)remain at the current level because Mac is too old to benefit from a change in parenting styles.
D)decline.

Question 13

_____ strengthen(s) responses.

A)Reinforcement
B)Non-reinforcement
C)Punishment
D)All of these

Question 14

The basic tools a person has available to control simple learning include

A)reward conditioning.
B)acquisition.
C)generalization.
D)punishment.

Question 15

You work with a loud and obnoxious person and try to end your conversation with him as soon as possible, which illustrates _____ learning; while "going the opposite way" when you see him coming down the hall illustrates _____.

A)classical conditioning; operant conditioning
B)place learning; latent learning
C)escape learning; avoidance learning
D)shaping; response chaining

Question 16

In a classic study of angry adolescent boys who were severely punished at home, it was found that

A)they continued to be aggressive at home and at school.
B)they continued to be aggressive at home, but not at school.
C)their misbehavior was suppressed at home, but they were aggressive at school.
D)their misbehavior and aggression were suppressed both at home and at school.

Question 17

Punishment is often a bad idea in modifying behavior because it

A)has no effect on most people.
B)takes too long to take effect.
C)can increase aggression.
D)is ineffective in suppressing undesirable behavior.

Question 18

If parents change to less punitive parenting, their children's levels of aggression will

A)decline, at least for younger children.
B)decline no matter the age of the child or adolescent.
C)increase since the parents will be unable to suppress the misbehaviors and the aggression with milder punishment.
D)remain the same since aggressiveness depends more on a child's temperament than the discipline style.

Question 19

According to your textbook, the three basic tools one has available to control simple learning include all of the following EXCEPT

A)reinforcement.
B)non-reinforcement.
C)punishment.
D)cognitions.

Question 20

Kyle, a 12-year-old child, who is frequently punished by his father, often lies to his father about where he has been and often stays at a friend's house rather than going home.Kyle is demonstrating

A)place and latent learning.
B)escape and latent learning.
C)negative modeling and negative transfer.
D)escape and avoidance learning.

Question 21

For punishment to be effective with children,

A)they must be punished on an intermittent schedule.
B)one parent must be the punisher and the other the reinforcer.
C)parents should be very clear about what they regard as misbehavior.
D)it is important that the punishment not be too predictable, that is, if you gave three warnings last time, give only one warning this time.

Question 22

Peter is 12 years old and is about to be punished by his parents.According to the guidelines for punishment in the textbook, the parents should use

A)frequent punishment, since this strategy will be the most effective.
B)response cost, since this strategy is usually best for older children.
C)a delayed punishment in order to give Peter more time to think about his transgression.
D)all of these techniques.

Question 23

To be effective with young children, punishment should be

A)delivered late in the day.
B)expressed with anger to get the child's full attention.
C)explained in detail to the child.
D)paired with reinforcement.

Question 24

Which of the following is a rule for using effective punishment?

A)Be consistent.
B)Ignore the feelings of the person being punished.
C)Use response cost for young children, not older ones.
D)Use a harsh punishment to guarantee obedience.

Question 25

Although punishment has several drawbacks, it is most effective when

A)it occurs several days after the behavior.
B)the punisher uses reinforcement in addition to punishment.
C)the punisher exhibits visible anger while punishing.
D)the behavior is intermittently punished.

Question 26

To be most effective, punishment should be combined with

A)response costs.
B)mild stimuli.
C)delayed feedback.
D)reinforcement.

Question 27

With older children and adults, you can bridge the delay between the misbehavior and the punishment by

A)making the punishment more severe.
B)waiting until the next instance of misbehavior.
C)clearly stating what act you are punishing.
D)doing all of these.

Question 28

If you cannot punish an animal or young child immediately,

A)wait for the next instance of misbehavior.
B)take the animal or child back to the place of the misbehavior and then punish them.
C)delay the punishment but increase the intensity.
D)clearly state or point at the damage while punishing later.

Question 29

Regarding the use of punishment for training or discipline, which of the following statements is/are TRUE?

A)Two-thirds of child abuse cases start out as attempts at physical punishment.
B)It is important not to punish a person in front of others.
C)Avoid punishing when you are angry, since it is easy to get carried away and become abusive.
D)All of these statements are true.

Question 30

Punishment may be necessary to manage the behavior of a child.Therefore,

A)use the minimum punishment necessary to suppress misbehavior.
B)use spanking since it will prevent "spoiling" the child.
C)delay the application of punishment as long as possible after the misbehavior.
D)punish any anger that may result.

Question 31

It is much more effective to

A)punish unwanted behaviors than it is to reinforce desirable behaviors.
B)reinforce desirable behaviors than it is to punish unwanted behaviors.
C)use punishment for unwanted behaviors than to use nonreinforcement by ignoring them.
D)use a combination of punishment and extinction than to use reinforcement.

Question 32

Regarding the use of the three basic tools to control simple learning, which of the following is/are TRUE?

A)It is usually best to begin by making liberal use of positive reinforcement, especially praise, to encourage good behavior.
B)Use extinction by ignoring problem behaviors.
C)As a last resort, use punishment to help suppress disruptive behaviors.
D)All of these statements are true.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways the textbook recommends to apply punishment?

A)Be consistent in how and what you punish.
B)Punish in public to cause embarrassment and increase the effectiveness of punishment.
C)Use the minimum punishment necessary to suppress misbehavior.
D)Along with the punishment, it is best to also reward an alternate, desired response.

Question 34

If you want a child to behave,

A)punish disruptive behavior.
B)praise appropriate behavior.
C)ignore undesirable behavior.
D)use all of these in combination.

Question 35

When using punishment,

A)be consistent with what you regard as misbehavior and punish it every time it occurs.
B)both parents should try to punish their children for the same things and in the same way.
C)one should also reward an alternate, desired response.
D)all of these are good suggestions.

Question 36

Regarding spanking, which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)Most children show no signs of long-term damage from spanking if it is backed up by supportive parenting.
B)Emotional damage does occur if spankings are severe, frequent, or coupled with harsh parenting.
C)Frequent spankings tend to decrease aggression and reduce problem behaviors.
D)Anti-spanking laws have been passed in a number of countries around the world.

Question 37

The use of harsh or excessive punishment with children has been shown to lead to

A)long-term mental health problems.
B)increased aggressiveness by the children toward others.
C)avoidance and escape behaviors.
D)all of these.

Question 38

Regarding the use of punishment with children, which of the following statements is/are TRUE?

A)If punishment is used at all, it should always be mild.
B)Punishment works best when it produces actions incompatible with the response.
C)Response cost is usually best for older children and adults.
D)All of these statements are true.

Question 39

When using the three tools to control behavior, it is usually best to begin

A)by making liberal use of positive reinforcement.
B)with mild punishment for problem behaviors.
C)with severe punishment to eliminate problem behaviors.
D)by suppressing problem behaviors with negative reinforcement.

Question 40

Which of the following is an effective recommendation for the use of punishment?

A)Use response cost with younger children, but no older ones.
B)Punish children in front of others to provide an example.
C)Parents should try to punish the same way for the same things.
D)If you punish your child and then find that he or she was innocent, ignore the punishment to put the incident behind you.

Question 41

If you have ever learned your way through some of the levels found in many video games, you have developed a(n) _____ of the video game.

A)cognitive map
B)behavioral contract
C)automatic adaptation
D)projective assessment

Question 42

Using punishment can be "habit forming" because putting a stop to someone else's irritating behavior can

A)positively reinforce the person who applies the punishment.
B)negatively reinforce the person who applies the punishment.
C)encourage the person to use punishment less often in the future.
D)lead to the liberal use of positive reinforcers.

Question 43

Internal images or other mental representations of an area (maze, city, campus, etc.) that underlie an ability to choose alternative paths to the same goal is a(n)

A)cognitive map.
B)cognitive antecedent.
C)eidetic image.
D)non-operant response.

Question 44

Human learning is affected by

A)information.
B)expectations and perceptions.
C)mental images.
D)all of these.

Question 45

Punishment

A)tells a person or an animal that a response was "wrong."
B)tells a person or an animal what the "right" response is.
C)teaches new behaviors.
D)is described by all of these characteristics.

Question 46

As you enter the grocery store, your little daughter Marcy spots a toy at the front of the store and begins to beg for it.According to the textbook, your best course of action would be to

A)spank her immediately in front of people so the punishment will have the most effect.
B)immediately go and buy her a toy and then continue your shopping.
C)get very angry with her and stay angry with her as long as you are in the store.
D)ignore the whine and try to engage her in helping you shop.

Question 47

Tomas has a habit of taking toys from his little sister.Which of the following would be the best way for Tomas' parents to correct this bad habit?

A)Use mild punishment, such as reprimanding Tomas for taking his sister's toys.
B)Reprimand Tomas for taking his sister's toys, but praise him for cooperative play and sharing his toys with others.
C)Ignore this habit since all children go through a phase of intense "sibling rivalry."
D)Use moderate punishment, such as giving his sister's toys back as well as giving her some of Tomas's toys as punishment to Tomas.

Question 48

Regarding the use of punishment for training or discipline, which of the following statements is/are TRUE?

A)The overall emotional adjustment of a child or pet disciplined mainly by reward is usually superior to one disciplined mainly by punishment.
B)Using punishment can become "habit forming."
C)Mild punishment tends to be ineffective if reinforcers for that misbehavior are still available in the situation.
D)All of these statements are true.

Question 49

"After visiting Chattanooga, Tennessee last summer, I can imagine the layout of the city in my mind." This is an example of

A)imprinting.
B)a cognitive map.
C)automatic adaptation.
D)stimulus control.

Question 50

You have a mental picture of how your city is organized so that you can easily take an alternate route if there is a traffic jam.Psychologists call this mental map a(n)

A)intuitive map.
B)cognitive map.
C)latent map.
D)discovery map.

Question 51

Annie is being noisy and disrespectful, and her mother gives her a "swat" on her rear end.Annie immediately gets quiet.The next time Annie is being noisy and disrespectful, her mother is most likely to use punishment again.According to research, which of the following is a FALSE statement regarding the use of punishment?

A)Annie's mother will "swat" her again because this punishment worked well the last time.
B)Annie's resulting silence was negatively reinforcing for her mother
C)"Sparing the rod" on Annie would have resulted in her becoming a "spoiled" child.
D)The overall emotional adjustment of a child disciplined by reward will usually be superior to one disciplined by punishment.

Question 52

Barry is making a decision concerning which job he will accept.He remembers how it was in similar jobs in the past and anticipates potential rewards and problems on each of these jobs.In choosing which job to take, Barry is using

A)operant conditioning.
B)vicarious classical conditioning.
C)cognitive learning.
D)instrumental learning.

Question 53

The most common error in the use of punishment for training or discipline is that it is

A)seldom severe enough to be effective.
B)often accompanied by parental anger.
C)relied on to the exclusion of other methods.
D)administered unfairly.

Question 54

The control of learning is likely to be most successful when parents and educators

A)use punishment alone.
B)use punishment with reinforcement.
C)avoid punishment altogether.
D)use punishment on a random basis.

Question 55

Memory, thinking, problem-solving, and the use of concepts and language are all involved in

A)operant learning.
B)instrumental conditioning.
C)response-dependent learning.
D)cognitive learning.

Question 56

An internal representation of relationships that acts as a guide is referred to as a(n)

A)cognitive map.
B)cognitive antecedent.
C)eidetic image.
D)non-operant response.

Question 57

Understanding, knowing, anticipating, or otherwise making use of higher mental processes is known as

A)operant learning.
B)instrumental learning.
C)cognitive learning.
D)Pavlovian cognition.

Question 58

When using punishment to teach a person that a response is wrong, one should

A)also reward an alternate, desired response.
B)use a strong punisher to make it effective.
C)make the punisher non-contingent on the undesirable behavior.
D)impose a sense of danger to strengthen the effectiveness of the punishment.

Question 59

Punishment

A)tells a person or an animal that a response was "wrong."
B)does not teach new behaviors.
C)becomes less effective if reinforcement is missing.
D)is described by all of these characteristics.

Question 60

The fact that rats running a maze will go directly to a food goal box instead of a previously learned longer route indicates that rats

A)learn a series of responses only.
B)learn what turns to take in a maze to get to a reward.
C)are smarter than monkeys when it comes to finding food.
D)learn the location of a reward.

Question 61

An English teacher encourages her students to write the main aspects of the short story the class is reading into ovals and then draw lines connecting the various themes and concepts.In other words, she is encouraging her students to make a(n) _____ of the short story.

A)ablation
B)behavioral contract
C)cognitive map
D)projective assessment

Question 62

Elizabeth no longer has a difficult time finding her way around the new mall because after several visits she has developed a(n) _____ of the mall.

A)cognitive map
B)behavioral contract
C)ablation
D)projective assessment

Question 63

Facts or principles gained by insight or understanding describe

A)rote learning.
B)observational learning.
C)vicarious reinforcement.
D)discovery learning.

Question 64

If you give an attractive classmate a ride home, you may make mental notes about how to get to his or her house, even if a date is only a remote future possibility.This illustrates

A)classical conditioning.
B)shaping.
C)latent learning.
D)discovery learning.

Question 65

It has been found that in humans, latent learning often occurs because of

A)indirect reinforcement.
B)immediate gratification.
C)operant conditioning.
D)the anticipation of future reward.

Question 66

Which of the following is an example of latent learning?

A)knowing where the emergency exits are in a theater even though you have never used them
B)becoming emotional in the presence of bees after you receive a bee sting
C)Pavlov's dogs learning to salivate to a bell
D)a person in an institution being rewarded for exhibiting healthy behavior with tokens

Question 67

Latent learning involves learning without any obvious

A)reinforcement.
B)practice.
C)response expectancies.
D)cognitive shaping.

Question 68

Compared to learning by rote, discovery learning

A)produces better understanding of new problems.
B)occurs more rapidly.
C)requires less reinforcement.
D)skills are gained through observation and practice.

Question 69

Cindy has watched her mother cook for several months.However, today her mother is ill so Cindy offers to cook.Cindy has never had to cook before, but she does an excellent job without any assistance.This demonstrates

A)insight.
B)latent learning.
C)vicarious classical conditioning.
D)higher-order conditioning.

Question 70

In a classic experiment, two groups of rats explored a maze with the first group being rewarded with food at the end of the maze, while the second group wandered the maze but were not rewarded with food at the end of the maze.On another trial, the second group was rewarded with food at the end of the maze.This second group of "uneducated" rats

A)only then began to learn the maze.
B)showed only a slightly slower completion time as compared to the first group.
C)ran the maze as quickly as the first group.
D)never learned the maze until numerous feeding trials were utilized.

Question 71

In an experiment, one group of students was encouraged to see that a "piece" of parallelogram could be "moved" to create a rectangle, while the other group memorized the height times base formula.The results of the experiment demonstrated that

A)the discovery learning group performed better on the unusual problems.
B)the rote learning group performed better on the unusual problems.
C)both groups performed exceptionally well on the unusual problems.
D)both groups performed poorly on the unusual problems.

Question 72

You have never played baseball before, but you know most of the rules from watching games on TV.This illustrates

A)instrumental learning.
B)classical conditioning.
C)latent learning.
D)respondent conditioning.

Question 73

_____ tends to lead to a better understanding of new or unusual problems.

A)Latent learning
B)Discovery learning
C)Response chaining
D)Rote learning

Question 74

Learning that occurs without obvious reinforcement and remains hidden until reinforcement is provided is known as

A)instrumental learning.
B)latent learning.
C)covert conditioning.
D)respondent conditioning.

Question 75

Which of the following does NOT belong with the other three?

A)discovery learning
B)classical conditioning
C)latent learning
D)cognitive learning

Question 76

_____ involves repetition and memorization; while _____ involves insight and understanding.

A)Rote learning; instrumental learning
B)Rote learning; discovery learning
C)Discovery learning; antecedent learning
D)Antecedent learning; instrumental learning

Question 77

Compared with learning by rote, _____ produces learning that is more lasting and flexible.

A)discovery learning
B)instrumental learning
C)respondent conditioning
D)shaping

Question 78

One of the reasons you had labs in your science courses in high school was to allow you to perform experiments that fostered your understanding of the scientific principles.This is an example of

A)latent learning.
B)discovery learning.
C)observational learning.
D)cognitive mapping.

Question 79

Latent learning is most closely associated with which of the following?

A)classical conditioning
B)cognitive learning
C)instrumental conditioning
D)reinforced generalization

Question 80

Even though you do not plan to be a teacher, you make mental notes of the way your teacher handles the class or explains a certain topic because it might come in handy one day.These mental notes you are making illustrate

A)instrumental learning.
B)latent learning.
C)covert conditioning.
D)respondent conditioning.