Deck 7: A: Learning and Bahaviour Analysis

Question 1

Who carried out the first rigorous study of classical conditioning?

A)B)F.Skinner.
B)John Watson.
C)Sir Charles Sherrington.
D)Ivan Pavlov.

Answer 1

Ivan Pavlov.

Question 2

In the context of classical conditioning,what are reflex responses?

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

Answer 2

naturally elicited,unlearned responses.

Question 3

A research assistant in listening to John Watson as he describes one of his potential experiments.What primary measure will Watson likely suggest?

A)learning rather than performance.
B)verbal reports of the thoughts of participants.
C)responses on questionnaires about emotions.
D)observable behaviour.

Answer 3

observable behaviour.

Question 4

Colleen feels fine when enters the classroom,but as soon as the teacher announces a surprise quiz she immediately feels her pulse quicken and her stomach churn.Which term best describes Colleen's reaction to the teacher's announcement?

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

Question 5

What did John Watson believe that psychologists should study?

A)observable behaviour.
B)participants' verbal reports of sensations,images,and feelings.
C)learning rather than performance.
D)states of consciousness.

Question 6

In classical conditioning trials,which term characterizes the behaviour that is naturally elicited by the stimulus?

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

Question 7

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,what does the nurse represent?

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

Question 8

Cory deprives her dog of food just before she begins training him to sit down on command.Cory gives her dog food only when he sits on the floor after she presses on his back.Pretty soon the dog is sitting on the floor consistently.According to Skinner,what has caused the dog's sitting behaviour?

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

Question 9

In a classical conditioning experiment,which term characterizes the food?

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

Question 10

Why do researchers study an organism's performance if they are really interested in whether or not the organism has learned?

A)Performance and learning are equivalent.
B)Only performance involves a change in behaviour or behaviour potential.
C)Performance changes before learning has occurred.
D)Learning cannot ordinarily be directly observed.

Question 11

A researcher considers herself to be a behaviour analyst.She does research on the psychology of learning,using both human and animal participants.What does this researcher most likely believe?

A)there are few consistent regularities underlying the behaviour of animals.
B)the laws of learning are universal,occurring in all types of animal species,including humans.
C)humans are different from other animal species and are governed by a unique set of learning laws.
D)there is a small overlap in the laws of learning that applies to both humans and nonhuman animals.

Question 12

What did B.F.Skinner argue about all behaviours?

A)They are a function of an organism's internal mental states.
B)They are genetically predetermined.
C)They are simply forms of learning in response to environmental stimuli.
D)They are the result of an interaction between motivation and personality.

Question 13

In classical conditioning,which connection does the conditioning provide?

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

Question 14

Which of the following behaviours is most likely to have been acquired through the process of classical conditioning?

A)blinking when a light strikes the eyes
B)falling off a bicycle after hitting a bump
C)wincing upon hearing the dentist's drill
D)sneezing when an irritant enters the nasal cavity

Question 15

During classical conditioning,where is an association made?

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

Question 16

In a typical classical conditioning experiment,which statement about a neutral stimulus is accurate?

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

Question 17

A research assistant is 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 18

What position was formulated by B.F.Skinner?

A)functionalism
B)determinism
C)behaviourism
D)radical behaviourism

Question 19

Which statement about classical conditioning is accurate?

A)The CR cannot be similar to the UCR.
B)The CS is the response the CR elicits as a product of learning.
C)The UCS naturally elicits a reflexive behaviour.
D)The stimulus paired with the UCS must bring about a CR prior to the beginning of conditioning trials.

Question 20

Which school of psychology was founded by John Watson?

A)structuralism
B)functionalism
C)behaviourism
D)determinism

Question 21

Once a CR has been conditioned to a particular CS,similar stimuli may also elicit the response.Which term best reflects this phenomenon?

A)instinctual drift.
B)spontaneous recovery.
C)stimulus discrimination.
D)stimulus generalization.

Question 22

A friend has taught her dog to bark whenever she says "Speak." Now,she wants to teach him a new trick by saying "Sit," but he barks whenever she says "Sit." Which term best captures the dog's behaviour?

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

Question 23

Conditioning is usually most effective in which type of paradigm?

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

Question 24

Which term characterizes the most widely used type of conditioning wherein the CS comes on prior to and stays on at least until the UCS is presented?

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

Question 25

A new dog owner is trying to use classical conditioning to train her dog to blink whenever she says "Blink." She blows into his eyes,then says "Blink," but the dog is not learning to blink at her command.What should she do to improve her training technique?

A)not say "Blink" until after the dog has blinked.
B)say "Blink" before blowing into the dog's eyes.
C)say "Blink" without blowing into the dog's eyes.
D)give the dog a treat whenever he blinks.

Question 26

A girl classically conditions her dog to blink by blowing into her dog's eyes just after saying "Blink." Unfortunately,her parrot overhears the procedure,and says "Blink" all day long when the girl is out.When she returns,the girl says "Blink" to her dog,but he does not blink.What is the most likely explanation for the dog's behaviour?

A)shaping has occurred.
B)spontaneous recovery has occurred.
C)the dog's behaviour has generalized.
D)extinction has taken place.

Question 27

What occurs during simultaneous conditioning?

A)both the CS and the UCS are presented at the same time.
B)the CS is turned off before the UCS is presented.
C)both the CS and the CR are presented at the same time.
D)the UCS is turned off before the CS is presented.

Question 28

Which CS-UCS time interval is most effective?

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

Question 29

In which form of conditioning is the CS presented after the UCS?

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

Question 30

Which process increases the range of stimuli to which a CR will be made?

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

Question 31

A pigeon is in a box pecking different coloured keys.When the red key lights up,food is delivered shortly after,but when the green key lights up,no food is delivered.After a while,the pigeon starts pecking the red key but not the green key.What is this experiment most likely examining?

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

Question 32

In classical conditioning,what happens following extinction if the original CS-UCS pairing is renewed?

A)More time will be necessary to reacquire the CR than it took to acquire it originally.
B)Less time will be necessary to reacquire the CR than it took to acquire it originally.
C)The behaviour will be less likely to generalize in the future.
D)The UCS will no longer be an effective stimulus and another UCS must be chosen.

Question 33

What do stimulus generalization gradients demonstrate?

A)human behaviour is relatively slow to adapt.
B)the most important attribute of a CS is its intensity.
C)less time is necessary to reacquire a response than to acquire it originally.
D)the more similar a stimulus is to the original CS,the stronger a CR will be.

Question 34

A child is bitten by a dog while delivering a newspaper to a house.The next day when he sees the house he feels anxious,even though the dog is nowhere in sight.What is the CS?

A)The barking dog.
B)The pain the child feels when bitten by the dog.
C)The pain the child feels when remembering being bitten by the dog.
D)The sight of the house.

Question 35

A researcher pairs a tone of 1200 Hz with an electric shock in a conditioning experiment.On some trials,tones of 1000 Hz or 1500 Hz are presented without the shock.What is this experiment most likely to illustrate?

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

Question 36

What occurs during trace conditioning?

A)the CS is turned off before the UCS is presented.
B)both the CS and the UCS are presented at the same time.
C)the UCS is turned off before the CS is presented.
D)both the CS and the CR are presented at the same time.

Question 37

"In classical conditioning,as in telling a good joke,timing is critical." What did the authors of the textbook mean?

A)The CR and the UCR must be presented closely enough in time to be perceived as related.
B)The CR and the UCR must be presented far enough apart in time to be perceived as unrelated.
C)The CS and the UCS must be presented far enough apart in time to be perceived as unrelated.
D)The CS and the UCS must be presented closely enough in time to be perceived as related.

Question 38

Mary has a phobia of spiders and received treatment with a therapist.The therapy worked,because at the end of the sessions,she was able to hold a spider in her hands.However,she finished her therapy in the winter,so she went many months without seeing any spiders.The following spring when the spiders were out again,she found her fear was back as well.Which term best captures this scenario?

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

Question 39

A girl has been hit by the school bully and is afraid to go to school.During summer break her fear of going to school decreases and she is eager to go back.However,the first day back to school her fear returns once again.Which term best reflects the reappearance of her fear?

A)savings.
B)extinction.
C)stimulus generalization.
D)spontaneous recovery.

Question 40

In general,for a conditioned response to be acquired,what must be paired several times?

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

Question 41

Nick experiences nausea immediately upon entering the clinic where his chemotherapy sessions take place.In the context of classical conditioning,which term best characterizes the clinic setting?

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

Question 42

Which statement 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,one must should knock before entering.
C)Hot dogs and peanuts are related,because both are sold at baseball games.
D)A piece of food is delivered to a rat 2 seconds after a tone is presented.

Question 43

B.F.Skinner is most closely associated with which aspect of learning?

A)connectionist models of learning.
B)cognitive influences on learning.
C)observational learning.
D)operant conditioning.

Question 44

Laurel covers her ears when she finds herself in a room that is too noisy.What type of conditioning is being described?

A)escape
B)avoidance
C)aversive
D)classical

Question 45

To condition fear in Little Albert,what did Watson and Rayner use as a UCS?

A)A white rat
B)A dog
C)A loud noise
D)A pin prick

Question 46

A research assistant proposes to replicate Watson and Rayner's study.How would an ethics review board likely respond?

A)A replication has been needed for some time.
B)The study must include debriefing on how to extinguish phobias.
C)The study is unnecessary as there are sufficient data from the original study.
D)This study would cause too much harm to the participant.

Question 47

In Robert Rescorla's experiment,how did the dogs exposed to contingency training behave?

A)They jumped more frequently in the presence of the tone than the dogs in the contiguous condition.
B)They jumped less frequently in the presence of the tone than the dogs in the contiguous condition.
C)They jumped in the presence of the tone at similar levels to the dogs in the contiguous condition.
D)They were more traumatized by the shock of the tone than were the dogs in the contiguous condition.

Question 48

A drug addict always "shoots up" at his girlfriend's house.On the day that they break up,he injects himself with his usual dose of heroin,but this time it is in his own home.Based on the research findings of Shepard Siegel,what will most likely happen to the addict?

A)He is more likely to overdose.
B)He is less likely to overdose.
C)His psychological response to the drug will be similar.
D)His physiological response to the drug will be similar.

Question 49

According to Thorndike's law of effect,which two variables are related?

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

Question 50

What must a neutral stimulus be to become an effective CS?

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

Question 51

After Watson and Rayner established conditioned fear in Little Albert,what did they find?

A)Albert's fear generalized to other furry objects.
B)stimulus discrimination occurred
C)it was fairly easy to extinguish the experimentally conditioned fear.
D)Albert experienced no long-term effects from the experiment.

Question 52

In a study quoted in the text,what did the women who attended the clinic for breast cancer treatment report?

A)higher levels of preinfusion fatigue.
B)lower levels of postinfusion fatigue.
C)higher levels of postinfusion fatigue.
D)lower levels of depression.

Question 53

A young man does not enjoy the feeling of being drunk,so when he drinks alcohol he attempts to drink in moderation.Based on the research findings of Shepard Siegel,what else should this individual do?

A)avoid drinking outdoors.
B)drink only with good friends.
C)avoid smoking while drinking.
D)avoid drinking in unfamiliar places.

Question 54

What did Pavlov believe to be fundamental to the success of classical conditioning?

A)The informativeness of the CS.
B)The law of effect.
C)The mere pairing of the CS and UCS.
D)The contingent relationship between the CS and UCS.

Question 55

A researcher decides to replicate some of the work on operant conditioning carried out by B.F.Skinner.Which approach would the researcher most likely take?

A)Measure the time it takes a rat to run a maze.
B)Measure the number of drops of saliva that a dog secretes.
C)Determine the probability that a given response will occur.
D)Determine the changes in a research participant's thoughts.

Question 56

Which scenario best supports the results of Robert Rescorla's research on the importance of contingency in classical conditioning?

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

Question 57

When individuals take drugs repeatedly in the same setting,the body responds with countermeasures intended to reestablish homeostasis.In the language of classical conditioning,which term refers to these countermeasures to the drug?

A)conditioned responses
B)compensatory responses
C)unconditioned responses
D)contingent responses

Question 58

Laboratory animals are taught that a tone predicts food delivery.A light is then added as a second CS and they are given additional trials paired with food.If the animals now are tested with the light alone,what will they do?

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 59

To assist in his experimental analysis of behaviour,Skinner invented a device known as the "operant chamber." What did this apparatus allow researchers to manipulate?

A)an organism's level of motivation.
B)the amount of planning behaviour that was required of an organism.
C)an organism's state of mind.
D)the consequences of an organism's behaviour.

Question 60

What does negative reinforcement do to the probability of a behaviour over time?

A)Decreases it.
B)Increases it.
C)Eliminates it.
D)Generalizes it.

Question 61

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 that she still does not feel well.How would a behaviour analyst explain the child's current behaviour?

A)It is due to unresolved attachment issues.
B)It is due to irrational or inappropriate thought processes.
C)It is due to secondary gains.
D)It is due to instinctual drift.

Question 62

Which schedule of reinforcement generates the highest rate of responding and the greatest resistance to extinction?

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

Question 63

A woman is paid for every two bushels of fruit that she picks.What schedule of reinforcement is being applied?

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

Question 64

Under which schedule of reinforcement do response rates show a "scalloped" pattern?

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

Question 65

On average,a telemarketer makes a sale after every 72 calls.What schedule of reinforcement is being described?

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

Question 66

A boy is sent to his room and is not allowed to watch television with the rest of the family until he can do so without yelling and jumping in the living room.When he returns to the living room,he sits down quietly.What does the boy's change in behaviour illustrate?

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

Question 67

How does negative reinforcement increase the probability of a response?

A)By the presentation of an aversive stimulus.
B)By the removal of an aversive stimulus.
C)By the removal of an appetitive stimulus.
D)By the presentation of an appetitive stimulus.

Question 68

A youngster finds that whenever he cries,he receives attention from his mom.He,therefore,cries a lot more in order to receive attention.Which term best describes the attention received?

A)a negative reinforcer.
B)a positive reinforcer.
C)a positive punishment.
D)a negative punishment.

Question 69

Every morning Tiffany makes a list of what she is going to do that day.She then performs the tasks in order of their appeal to her,doing the least appealing thing first and the most appealing thing last.Which term best characterizes Tiffany's approach?

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

Question 70

According to Gerald Patterson's coercion model,what role do parents play in the development of their children's antisocial behaviour?

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

Question 71

In negative punishment,what happens to the probability of a response when the desired stimulus is initially removed?

A)It increases.
B)It decreases.
C)It generalizes.
D)It extinguishes.

Question 72

Which reinforcer is a conditioned reinforcer?

A)food.
B)water.
C)sleep.
D)money.

Question 73

A teacher sends a student out of the classroom because she is disturbing the other children.The teacher tells the student that she will be allowed to return to the classroom in fifteen minutes and that she is expected to be quiet when she returns.When the student returns,she is even more disruptive.What can be concluded?

A)The teacher has used punishment as a way to control the student's behaviour.
B)The student's behaviour is an example of positive punishment.
C)The student's behaviour is an example of negative punishment.
D)The student's misbehaviour was reinforced.

Question 74

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.What can be expected of the child's fussing behaviour?

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

Question 75

Which example illustrates the use of a primary reinforcer?

A)a twenty-dollar bill slipped to Gary by his dad.
B)a chuckle from a friend when Gary makes a joke.
C)a plate of spaghetti when Gary is hungry.
D)a trophy for Gary for winning a miniature golf tournament.

Question 76

In a study described in the textbook,what was discovered about the relationship between harsh punishments and aggression in children?

A)very few of the parents used physical punishment with their children.
B)nearly all of the parents hit their children with fists or closed hands.
C)the less intense the force used by the parents,the less cooperative the child.
D)the more children were spanked early in life,the more they showed an increase in aggressive behaviours as they grew older.

Question 77

A tennis player has learned that a "lob" shot is likely to be successful whenever her opponent runs up to the net.Which term best characterizes the sight of her opponent at the net?

A)three-term contingency
B)discriminative stimulus
C)conditioned response
D)secondary gain

Question 78

After engaging in more positive social interactions,psychiatric patients are given plastic chips that can be exchanged later for rewards and privileges.Which term best reflects this approach?

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

Question 79

According to Skinner,what is three-term contingency?

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

Question 80

A boy runs on an icy sidewalk,falls,and experiences pain.In the future,he no longer runs on icy sidewalks.In the context of operant conditioning,which term best characterizes the pain?

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