Question 1

Laura commands her new puppy to "Shake!" lifts his paw, and then reinforces him. After several repetitions, she merely touches the dogs paw and says "Shake!" and then reinforces the dog. Later on, she merely extends her hand near the dog's paw and says "Shake!" The dog now raises his paw to shake. In training her dog Laura has used the technique called

Accepted Answer

A)  shaping. 
B)  stimulus generalization. 
C)  extinction. 
D)  stimulus discrimination.

Question 2

Bart used to go to his health club every day after work because he almost always saw Abigail there. For two full weeks Abigail wasn't at the club when Bart went there for his workout, and now Bart has stopped going to his health club. This example illustrates the operant conditioning process of

Accepted Answer

A)  extinction. 
B)  punishment. 
C)  avoidance. 
D)  resistance.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 4

Compensatory CRs tend to

Accepted Answer

A)  amplify some of the actual effects of psychoactive drugs. 
B)  cancel out some of the anticipated effects of psychoactive drugs. 
C)  become weaker over time and eventually disappear. 
D)  disrupt homeostasis.

Question 5

Assuming the reinforcer is the sound of the rattle, a baby's response of shaking a rattle is reinforced according to which type of schedule?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

In the cumulative record, a rapid response rate is indicated by ____; a slow response rate is indicated by ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  a shallow slope; a steep slope 
B)  a steep slope; a shallow slope 
C)  an upward slope; a downward slope 
D)  a downward slope; an upward slope

Question 7

You are watching a rat pressing a lever in a Skinner box to obtain food pellets. The rat is pressing the lever at a very high rate, and does not stop, even when a food pellet is delivered. In this example, the reinforcement schedule that is in place is MOST likely

Accepted Answer

A)  a fixed-interval schedule. 
B)  a variable-ratio schedule. 
C)  a fixed-ratio schedule. 
D)  a variable-interval schedule.

Question 8

Behaviors that are acquired through intermittent, or partial, reinforcement instead of continuous reinforcement are

Accepted Answer

A)  slower to be established, but more resistant to extinction. 
B)  faster to be established and more resistant to extinction. 
C)  slower to be established, but less resistant to extinction. 
D)  faster to be established, but less resistant to extinction.

Question 9

A woman reported feeling "weak in the knees" whenever she smelled cigarette smoke and Beemans gum because of the association of these smells with her first love. The positive emotional response that this woman experienced developed through

Accepted Answer

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

Question 10

The law of effect states that ____ lead to ____ of the association between the stimulus and a response.

Accepted Answer

A)  reinforcers; weakening 
B)  punishers; strengthening 
C)  strong unconditioned stimuli; quickening 
D)  satisfying events; strengthening

Question 11

When a researcher reinforces every instance of a designated response, it is referred to as

Accepted Answer

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

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of a primary reinforcer?

Accepted Answer

A)  approval 
B)  food 
C)  a toy for a child 
D)  money

Question 13

The continued presentation of the CS without the US will result in the gradual disappearance of the CR. This phenomenon is known as

Accepted Answer

A)  extinction. 
B)  inhibition. 
C)  suppression. 
D)  conditioned forgetting.

Question 14

Mary takes a course in which she is tested every two weeks. Her studying falls off right after a test, followed by a gradual increase to a rapid rate of studying as the next test approaches. Her studying conforms to the typical pattern of responding maintained on

Accepted Answer

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

Question 15

In a Skinner box, the cumulative recorder

Accepted Answer

A)  permits the experimenter to control the reinforcement contingencies. 
B)  provides a complete record of everything the animal does. 
C)  delivers the reinforcers. 
D)  creates a graphic record of operant responding as a function of time.

Question 16

The gradual weakening and disappearance of a tendency to make a conditioned response is termed

Accepted Answer

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

Question 17

While out trick-or-treating for Halloween, at first Billy's neighbors 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 neighborhood, soon Billy would say "trick or treat" as soon as the neighbors answered the door. The treats he received were the ____ for his saying "trick or treat".

Accepted Answer

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

Question 18

When Skyler was first training his dog, Smooches, to heel he would give Smooches a treat when she stayed close during walks. Now Smooches stays right by Skyler's side, even when she is not on her leash. In this case,

Accepted Answer

A)  the dog treats were negative reinforcers for staying close. 
B)  the staying close was a positive reinforcer for receiving dog treats. 
C)  the staying close was a negative reinforcer for receiving dog treats. 
D)  the dog treats were positive reinforcers for staying close.

Question 19

Nancy has a headache; she takes some aspirin and the headache goes away. Nancy is more likely to take aspirin again. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  negative reinforcement. 
B)  classical conditioning. 
C)  positive reinforcement. 
D)  punishers.

Question 20

A salesperson earns a commission for each item of clothing she sells. Commission on the clothing sales is an example of which type of reinforcement schedule?

Accepted Answer

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

Exam 11: Learning Part 1