Deck 22: Effects of Biology and Cognition

Question 1

Cognitive processes are

A) unimportant in classical and operant conditioning.
B) important in both classical and operant conditioning.
C) more important in classical than in operant conditioning.
D) more important in operant than in classical conditioning.

Answer 1

important in both classical and operant conditioning.

Question 2

Children often imitate behaviors seen on television. This best illustrates the impact of

A) modeling.
B) respondent behavior.
C) immediate reinforcement.
D) spontaneous recovery.

Answer 2

modeling.

Question 3

In Garcia and Koelling's studies of taste-aversion learning, rats learned to associate

A) taste with electric shock.
B) sights and sounds with sickness.
C) taste with sickness.
D) taste and sounds with electric shock.

Answer 3

taste with sickness.

Question 4

Research participants formed more gut-level liking for Pokémon characters associated with positive rather than negative images. This best illustrates the impact of

A) classical conditioning.
B) the law of effect.
C) negative reinforcers.
D) intrinsic motivation.

Question 5

Learning is best defined as

A) any behavior produced by an organism without being provoked.
B) a change in the behavior of an organism.
C) a relatively permanent change in the behavior of an organism due to experience.
D) behavior based on operant rather than respondent conditioning.

Question 6

Children who are promised a payoff for playing with an interesting toy have later been observed to play with the toy less than those who are not promised the reward. This provides evidence for the role of ________ in operant behavior.

A) spontaneous recovery
B) primary reinforcers
C) cognitive processes
D) negative reinforcers

Question 7

Rats easily learn to associate nausea-producing radiation treatments with

A) loud sounds.
B) bright lights.
C) novel tastes.
D) high-pitched sounds.

Question 8

An organism's ability to mentally anticipate that a US will follow a CS is most likely to be highlighted by a(n) ________ perspective.

A) evolutionary
B) behaviorist
C) cognitive
D) neuroscience

Question 9

After exploring a complicated maze for several days, a rat subsequently ran the maze with very few errors when food was placed in the goal box for the first time. This performance illustrates

A) classical conditioning.
B) discrimination learning.
C) observational learning.
D) latent learning.

Question 10

If you get violently ill a couple of hours after eating contaminated food, you will probably develop an aversion to the taste of that food but not to the sight of the restaurant where you ate or to the sound of music you heard there. This best illustrates that associative learning is constrained by

A) intrinsic motivation.
B) biological predispositions.
C) conditioned reinforcers.
D) the law of effect.

Question 11

Which pioneering learning researcher highlighted the antisocial effects of aggressive models on children's behavior?

A) John B. Watson
B) Albert Bandura
C) Ivan Pavlov
D) B. F. Skinner

Question 12

A cognitive map is a

A) mental representation of one's environment.
B) sequence of thought processes leading from one idea to another.
C) set of instructions detailing the most effective means of teaching a particular concept.
D) biological predisposition to learn a particular skill.

Question 13

An empathic husband who sees his wife in pain will exhibit some of the same brain activity she is showing. According to many researchers, this best illustrates the functioning of

A) cognitive maps.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) mirror neurons.
D) extrinsic motivation.

Question 14

Experiments on taste-aversion learning demonstrate that

A) for the conditioning of certain stimuli, the US need not immediately follow the CS.
B) any perceivable stimulus can become a CS.
C) all animals are biologically primed to associate illness with the taste of a tainted food.
D) all of these statements are true.

Question 15

In promoting observational learning, the most effective models are those that we perceive as

A) similar to ourselves.
B) respected and admired.
C) successful.
D) having any of these characteristics.

Question 16

Mirror neurons are found in the brain's ________ and are believed by some scientists to be the neural basis for ________.

A) frontal lobe; observational learning
B) frontal lobe; classical conditioning
C) temporal lobe; operant conditioning
D) temporal lobe; observational learning

Question 17

Caroline loves to read and enjoys looking up the meanings of words she does not know. In school, her teacher promises a gold star to students each time they learn a new word. The teacher's behavior is most likely to undermine

A) latent learning.
B) intrinsic motivation.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) generalization.

Question 18

Classical conditioning experiments by Rescorla and Wagner demonstrate that an important factor in conditioning is

A) the research participant's age.
B) the strength of the stimuli.
C) the predictability of an association.
D) the similarity of stimuli.

Question 19

If one chimpanzee watches a second chimp solve a puzzle for a food reward, the first chimp may thereby learn how to solve the puzzle. According to many researchers, this best illustrates

A) operant conditioning.
B) observational learning.
C) respondent behavior.
D) spontaneous recovery.

Question 20

Learning by imitating others' behaviors is called ________ learning. The researcher best known for studying this type of learning is ________.

A) secondary; Skinner
B) observational; Bandura
C) secondary; Pavlov
D) observational; Watson

Question 21

The idea that any perceivable neutral stimulus can serve as a CS was challenged by

A) Garcia and Koelling's findings on taste aversion in rats.
B) Pavlov's findings on the conditioned salivary response.
C) Watson and Rayner's findings on fear conditioning in infants.
D) Bandura's findings on observational learning and aggression in children.

Question 22

Garcia and Koelling's studies of taste aversion in rats demonstrated that classical conditioning is constrained by

A) cognitive processes.
B) biological predispositions.
C) continuous reinforcement.
D) latent learning.

Question 23

The fact that learning can occur without reinforcement is most clearly demonstrated by studies of

A) shaping.
B) latent learning.
C) extrinsic motivation.
D) online testing.

Question 24

Using rewards to bribe people to engage in an activity they already enjoy is most likely to inhibit

A) respondent behavior.
B) latent learning.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) intrinsic motivation.

Question 25

Studies of latent learning highlight the importance of

A) respondent behavior.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) cognitive processes.
D) conditioned reinforcers.

Question 26

The predictability rather than the frequency of CS-US associations appears to be crucial for classical conditioning. This highlights the importance of ________ in conditioning.

A) shaping
B) discrimination
C) generalization
D) cognitive processes

Question 27

In a series of experiments, men found women more attractive and sexually desirable when their photos were framed in

A) black.
B) yellow.
C) violet.
D) red.

Question 28

After a week at college, Su-Chuan has formed a mental representation of the layout of the campus and no longer gets lost. Su-Chuan has developed a

A) cognitive map.
B) discriminative stimulus.
C) law of effect.
D) fixed-interval schedule.

Question 29

Nikki has learned to expect the sound of thunder whenever she sees a flash of lightning. This suggests that associative learning involves

A) negative reinforcement.
B) cognitive processes.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) shaping.

Question 30

Operant response rates remain highest when individuals anticipate that their behavior will actually lead to further reinforcement. This best illustrates the importance of ________ in operant conditioning.

A) secondary reinforcers
B) cognitive processes
C) biological predispositions
D) intrinsic motivation

Question 31

The desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment involves

A) latent learning.
B) extrinsic motivation.
C) partial reinforcement.
D) delayed reinforcers.

Question 32

Megan fails to see any connection between how hard she works and the size of her annual pay raises. Consequently, she puts little effort into her job, even though she really wants a big raise. This best illustrates the importance of ________ in the operant conditioning of work habits.

A) primary reinforcers
B) biological predispositions
C) spontaneous recovery
D) cognitive processes

Question 33

Animals tend to revert from newly learned habits to their biologically predisposed behaviors. This is an example of

A) latent learning.
B) instinctive drift.
C) the law of effect.
D) spontaneous recovery.

Question 34

The views of learning advanced by Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson underestimated the importance of

A) spontaneous recovery.
B) cognitive processes.
C) associative learning.
D) discrimination.

Question 35

Regarding the impact of watching television violence on children, most researchers believe that

A) aggressive children simply prefer violent programs.
B) television simply reflects, rather than contributes to, violent social trends.
C) watching violence on television leads to aggressive behavior.
D) there is only a weak correlation between exposure to violence and aggressive behavior.

Question 36

A psychologist who emphasizes cognitive processes would be likely to suggest that classical conditioning depends on

A) an organism's behavior in response to environmental stimulation.
B) the amount of time between the presentation of the CS and the US.
C) how frequently an organism is exposed to an association of a CS and a US.
D) an organism's expectation that a US will follow a CS.

Question 37

An integrated understanding of associative learning in terms of genetic predispositions, culturally learned preferences, and the predictability of certain associations is most clearly provided by

A) Pavlov's experiments.
B) Watson's behaviorism.
C) a biopsychosocial approach.
D) the law of effect.

Question 38

After pigs learned to pick up and deposit wooden coins in a piggy bank, the pigs subsequently dropped the coins repeatedly and pushed them with their snouts. This best illustrates the importance of ________ in operant conditioning.

A) conditioned reinforcement
B) latent learning
C) generalization
D) biological predispositions

Question 39

If rats are allowed to wander through a complicated maze, they will subsequently run the maze with few errors when a food reward is placed at the end. Their good performance demonstrates

A) shaping.
B) latent learning.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) modeling.

Question 40

It's easier to train a pigeon to peck a disk for a food reward than to flap its wings for a food reward. This illustrates the importance of ________ in learning.

A) primary reinforcers
B) generalization
C) spontaneous recovery
D) biological predispositions

Question 41

Recognizing that one of your friends is feeling angry and that another friend is feeling sad illustrates an ability known as

A) modeling.
B) latent learning.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) theory of mind.

Question 42

Alex learned to babysit and care for young children effectively by observing the many ways his mother carefully nurtured his own younger siblings. This best illustrates the value of observational learning for promoting

A) conditioned responses.
B) prosocial behavior.
C) extrinsic motivation.
D) spontaneous recovery.

Question 43

In a well-known experiment, preschool children pounded and kicked a large inflated Bobo doll that an adult had just beaten on. This experiment served to illustrate the importance of

A) operant conditioning.
B) respondent behavior.
C) observational learning.
D) spontaneous recovery.

Question 44

Because Yuri was curious about human behavior, he enrolled in an introductory psychology course. George registered because he heard it was an easy course that would boost his grade-point average. In this instance, Yuri's behavior was a reflection of ________, whereas George's behavior was a reflection of ________.

A) operant conditioning; classical conditioning
B) intrinsic motivation; extrinsic motivation
C) an unconditioned response; a conditioned response
D) a fixed-interval schedule; a variable-interval schedule

Question 45

Socially responsive toddlers who readily imitate their parents tend to become preschoolers with a strong internalized conscience. This best illustrates the impact of

A) operant conditioning.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) observational learning.
D) respondent behavior.

Question 46

Mirror neurons are believed by some scientists to provide a biological basis for

A) the law of effect.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) observational learning.
D) extrinsic motivation.

Question 47

Dan and Joel, both 4-year-olds, have been watching reruns of "Superman" on television. Joel's mother recently found the boys standing on the garage roof, ready to try flying. What best accounts for the boys' behavior?

A) delayed reinforcement
B) observational learning
C) immediate reinforcement
D) classical conditioning

Question 48

The acquisition of mental information by observing events, watching others, or through language is called

A) classical conditioning.
B) cognitive learning.
C) partial reinforcement.
D) shaping.

Question 49

We are most likely to imitate the behavior of models if we observe that their actions are

A) conditioned responses.
B) extrinsically motivated.
C) followed by reinforcement.
D) violent or antisocial.

Question 50

Without conscious reflection, people often yawn when they observe others yawning. Researchers are now considering whether this can be attributed to

A) mirror neuron activity.
B) higher-order conditioning.
C) latent learning.
D) spontaneous recovery.

Question 51

Sandy finds it harder to frown when watching her brother smile than when seeing him frown. Scientists are currently debating whether this can be attributed to the activation of

A) instinctive drift.
B) extrinsic motives.
C) mirror neurons.
D) cognitive maps.

Question 52

Five-year-olds copy senseless and irrelevant adult actions such as stroking a plastic jar with a feather before reaching inside the jar for a toy. This best illustrates

A) spontaneous recovery.
B) instinctive drift.
C) negative reinforcement.
D) overimitation.

Question 53

Our ability to learn by witnessing the behavior of others best illustrates

A) respondent behavior.
B) prosocial behavior.
C) operant conditioning.
D) observational learning.

Question 54

Psychologists are currently debating whether our physical capacity for mentally simulating the observed behavior of others is due to specialized

A) intrinsic motives.
B) cognitive maps.
C) operant chambers.
D) mirror neurons.

Question 55

It has been suggested that ________ are activated when a monkey moves a peanut into its own mouth and when a monkey simply observes other monkeys move a peanut into their mouths.

A) prosocial behaviors
B) intrinsic motives
C) cognitive maps
D) mirror neurons

Question 56

Skinner is to shaping as Bandura is to

A) punishing.
B) discriminating.
C) modeling.
D) generalizing.

Question 57

Rhesus macaque monkeys are more likely to reconcile after a fight if they grow up with forgiving older macaque monkeys. This best illustrates the impact of

A) immediate reinforcement.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) observational learning.
D) shaping.

Question 58

The tendency to engage in behaviors that we observe others rewarded for performing best illustrates the influence of

A) prosocial behavior.
B) partial reinforcement.
C) intrinsic motivation.
D) vicarious reinforcement.

Question 59

Jeremy wears his baseball cap backward because he noticed that his older brother does so. This illustrates the importance of

A) respondent behavior.
B) immediate reinforcement.
C) modeling.
D) shaping.

Question 60

When Adam observed his sister being scolded after she hit another child, Adam also discontinued hitting other children. This best illustrates the impact of

A) spontaneous recovery.
B) vicarious punishment.
C) instinctive drift.
D) intrinsic motivation.

Question 61

Mr. Angelou believes that movies and televised news reports should portray only justifiable acts of violence and should never focus on the physical injury and suffering caused by these acts. Use your understanding of observational learning to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with Mr. Angelou.

Question 62

Mr. Schneider frequently tells his children that it is important to wash their hands before meals, but he rarely does so himself. Experiments suggest that his children will learn to

A) practice and preach the virtues of cleanliness.
B) practice cleanliness but not preach its virtues.
C) neither practice nor preach the virtues of cleanliness.
D) preach the virtues of cleanliness but not practice cleanliness.

Question 63

Children of abusive parents often learn to be aggressive by imitating their parents. This illustrates the importance of

A) delayed reinforcement.
B) observational learning.
C) respondent behavior.
D) shaping.

Question 64

Children are especially likely to behave aggressively after viewing TV violence in which an attractive person commits

A) justified violence that causes no visible pain or harm.
B) unjustified violence that causes no visible pain or harm.
C) justified violence that causes a lot of visible pain or harm.
D) unjustified violence that causes a lot of visible pain or harm.

Question 65

Correlational studies show that prolonged viewing of televised violence ________ increased rates of violent behavior.

A) inhibits
B) causes
C) is unrelated to
D) predicts

Question 66

(a) Several days after drinking an excessive amount of alcohol, Kendra becomes nauseated simply by the smell of liquor. The sight of the half-empty liquor bottle from which she drank does not, however, upset her. What does Kendra's pattern of response indicate about the limits of associative learning?
(b) If George is spanked immediately after his baby sister cries, he is likely to become fearful every time she cries. If Ken is spanked immediately before his baby sister cries, he is not likely to become fearful when she cries. What do the different reactions of George and Ken suggest about the role of cognitive processes in associative learning?

Question 67

Desensitization and imitation are two factors that contribute to

A) the law of effect.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) the violence-viewing effect.
D) instinctive drift.

Question 68

Most of the TV shows that 9-year-old Fred watches involve violence. This is most likely to lead Fred to

A) react with a sense of distress at the sight of two children fighting on the school playground.
B) perceive the injuries of victims of violence as less severe.
C) be more inhibited about personally starting a fight on the school playground.
D) overestimate the pain and injury experienced by victims of violent crime.