Question 1

The learning theory that is best able to explain why physical punishment tends to increase aggressive behaviour in children is

Accepted Answer

A)  Skinner's theory of operant conditioning. 
B)  Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning. 
C)  Bandura's theory of observational learning. 
D)  Rescorla's theory of signal relations.

Question 2

If you devise a self-modification programme in which you systematically reward yourself for studying, you are applying the principles of

Accepted Answer

A)  classical conditioning. 
B)  operant conditioning. 
C)  observational learning. 
D)  Pavlovian conditioning.

Question 3

Fana cringes every time he hears a dentist's drill, even when he is sitting in the waiting room of his dentist's office. In this example, the pain of dental drilling is

Accepted Answer

A)  a conditioned response. 
B)  an unconditioned stimulus. 
C)  an unconditioned response. 
D)  a conditioned stimulus.

Question 4

The difference between punishment and negative reinforcement is that

Accepted Answer

A)  punishment strengthens undesirable behaviours, and negative reinforcement weakens undesirable behaviours. 
B)  punishment weakens undesirable behaviours, while negative reinforcement weakens desirable behaviours. 
C)  punishment weakens behaviour, while negative reinforcement strengthens behaviour. 
D)  there is no difference between punishment and negative reinforcement in their effects on behaviour.

Question 5

When a neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus, the process is

Accepted Answer

A)  operant conditioning. 
B)  primary reinforcement. 
C)  Skinnerian conditioning. 
D)  classical conditioning.

Question 6

Tessa really likes to mow the lawn during the summer months, but her parents will only let her mow the lawn if all the dishes are washed. Consequently, every Saturday Tessa has the table cleared and all of the dishes washed as soon as everyone has finished breakfast. In this case,

Accepted Answer

A)  mowing the lawn is a negative reinforcer for doing the dishes. 
B)  doing the dishes is a positive reinforcer for mowing the lawn. 
C)  mowing the lawn is a positive reinforcer for doing the dishes. 
D)  doing the dishes is a negative reinforcer for mowing the lawn.

Question 7

In the Little Albert experiment on conditioned emotional responses, the unconditioned stimulus was

Accepted Answer

A)  the rabbit. 
B)  the rat. 
C)  the loud noise. 
D)  the fear reaction.

Question 8

People often incorrectly confuse punishment with ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of People often incorrectly confuse punishment with ____________________....

Question 9

A circus trainer wants to train a cat to pull a rope as part of an animal act. The probability that the cat will just pull a rope is very low. What technique would be the best choice to use to help the cat learn to emit the desired response?

Accepted Answer

A)  shaping 
B)  stimulus generalisation 
C)  extinction 
D)  stimulus discrimination

Question 10

Charity used to really enjoy potato salad, and at a family reunion she ate a large helping. Unfortunately, the potato salad had not been kept cold, and Charity became quite ill after eating it. Now she finds that even the sight of potatoes in the grocery store can make her feel sick to her stomach. In this example, the sick feeling Charity experiences when she sees potatoes in the grocery store is

Accepted Answer

A)  an unconditioned response. 
B)  a conditioned response. 
C)  an unconditioned stimulus. 
D)  a conditioned stimulus.

Question 11

Researchers have found that animals show evidence of classical conditioning if they are injected with a drug that chemically causes immunosuppression, while they are simultaneously drinking an unusual-tasting liquid. In these studies, the conditioned response would be

Accepted Answer

A)  the immunosuppression. 
B)  the taste of the liquid that is used. 
C)  the injection of the drug. 
D)  fear of the injection process.

Question 12

On Thursday morning, Charles prepared his typical breakfast of cornflakes with milk and a cup of coffee. However, instead of having guava with his breakfast, he tried eating grapefruit for the first time. At lunchtime he ate his typical lunch of tuna salad and potato chips. However, instead of having a Coke to drink with his lunch, he drank a new fruit-flavoured soft drink for the first time. During the mid-afternoon he became extremely ill. If his illness causes him to develop a conditioned response to something, which stimulus is likely to be the conditioned stimulus?

Accepted Answer

A)  grapefruit, because it was a novel stimulus and was the first novel thing he ingested that day 
B)  tuna, because it is most likely have been sour and it was ingested closest in time to the onset of the illness 
C)  milk, because the milk may have been sour and it was ingested first thing in the morning 
D)  the new fruit-flavoured soft drink, because it was a novel stimulus and was ingested closest in time to the onset of the illness

Question 13

The principles of learning and conditioning have

Accepted Answer

A)  turned out to have little relevance to real-world concerns. 
B)  been widely applied in education, business, and industry. 
C)  attracted little interest outside of psychology. 
D)  proven worthless when applied to humans as opposed to animals.

Question 14

In Pavlov's principal experiment the conditioned stimulus was the

Accepted Answer

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

Question 15

Two processes involved in the acquisition of phobias and the tendency of phobias to show a high resistance to extinction are

Accepted Answer

A)  reinforcement and punishment. 
B)  positive and negative reinforcement. 
C)  classical and operant conditioning. 
D)  operant conditioning and observation learning.

Question 16

Shaquille is a professional basketball player. He never knows for sure which of his shots will result in a basket, but the more shots he takes the more baskets he makes. In this example, Shaquille's shooting is being reinforced on

Accepted Answer

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

Question 17

In classical conditioning a conditioned association is formed between a previously neutral, conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT an example of punishment?

Accepted Answer

A)  laughing at a classmate when he asks a "dumb question" in class 
B)  nagging a child until she pick up her toys 
C)  taking away a child's TV privileges for one week for a bad report card 
D)  making a child sit in the corner for ten minutes for back-talk

Question 19

Which of the following statements about punishment is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)  Punishment may generalise to other behaviours. 
B)  Punishment increases the frequency of undesired behaviour. 
C)  Punishment triggers strong emotional responses. 
D)  Punishment may be modelled by children as a way of solving problems.

Question 20

In the Little Albert experiment on conditioned emotional responses, the conditioned stimulus was

Accepted Answer