Deck 4: Classical Conditioning: Learning to Predict Significant Events

Question 1

In eyeblink conditioning the puff of air is the:

A) CS.
B) US.
C) CR.
D) UR.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Recordings of activity in the _____ during eyeblink conditioning in rabbits show activity that occurs _____ the response is made.

A) cerebellar cortex; a few milliseconds before
B) cerebellar cortex; at the same time as
C) interpositus nucleus; a few milliseconds before
D) interpositus nucleus; at the same time as

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A theory of learning in which all of the cues that occur during a trial and all of the changes that result are considered a single event is known as:

A) interstimulus interval.
B) trial-level model.
C) delay conditioning.
D) trace conditioning.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The mechanisms for classical conditioning in Aplysia involve _____ changes in the neural circuits that connect the _____.

A) presynaptic; CS and UR
B) postsynaptic; CS and UR
C) presynaptic and postsynaptic; CS and UR
D) presynaptic and postsynaptic; CS and CR

Question 5

Some pet owners use a "clicker" device to train their pets. For example, if a cat owner wants her cat to stay off the bed, she might make a "click" sound with a clicker whenever the cat gets on the bed, and follow it shortly by a squirt of water to the cat. In this example, identify the CS, US, CR, and UR.

Question 6

In Garcia and Koelling's taste-aversion studies, which was an unconditioned stimulus?

A) a tone
B) an unfamiliar taste
C) a shock
D) feeling sick

Question 7

In trace conditioning, the:

A) CS begins before the US and ends before the onset of the US.
B) US begins before the CS and ends before the onset of the CS.
C) CS begins before the US and stays on until the US has occurred.
D) US begins before the CS and stays on until the CS has occurred.

Question 8

Explain why the Rescorla-Wagner model is considered to be one of the most influential models of learning.

Question 9

What is a conditioned compensatory response? Explain what purpose it serves.

Question 10

Suppose a parent loves jazz music. Describe how she could use classical conditioning principles to increase the likelihood that her child will also like jazz music. Be sure to identify the CS, US, CR, and UR in the description.

Question 11

According to the Rescorla-Wagner model, an increase in the association between the CS and US occurs when:

A) the prediction error is zero.
B) an unexpected US follows a CS.
C) the prediction error is negative.
D) a predicted US follows a CS.

Question 12

Because Carrie's friend Emily often brings home-baked goodies when she visits, Carrie feels her mouth water at the sight of Emily. For one week Emily, brought her cousin Michelle with her whenever she visited Carrie. A few weeks later, Carrie bumped into Michelle at the store. In this scenario, blocking would be demonstrated if Carrie:

A) no longer feels her mouth water when she sees Emily.
B) still feels her mouth water when she sees Emily.
C) does not feel her mouth water when she sees Michelle at the store.
D) feels her mouth water when she sees Michelle at the store.

Question 13

If a US occurs just as often without the tone as it does in the presence of the tone, then little or no conditioning will accrue to the tone. This would suggest that animals are sensitive to _____ of the potential CS and US.

A) causality
B) contingency
C) cue-outcome
D) frequency

Question 14

Suppose a child acquired a fear of the doctor's office because the office came to be associated with getting shots. To remove this fear, the child's parents decide to bring the child to the doctor's office several times each week without the child getting a shot. What technique are the parents using to eliminate the child's fear?

A) extinction
B) blocking
C) trace conditioning
D) latent inhibition

Question 15

The US first activates which brain area?

A) inferior olive
B) pontine nuclei
C) cerebellar cortex
D) interpositus nucleus

Question 16

It has been suggested that drug addicts should use small amounts of their drug during therapy to extinguish their habit. This is because:

A) the addict will experience less withdrawal.
B) drug use is part of the context.
C) drug use has become a US.
D) the addict will experience fewer cravings.

Question 17

Describe an experimental procedure one could use to study blocking in humans (other than the category-learning procedure discussed in the text). Be sure to indicate what outcome would signal that blocking had occurred.

Question 18

The hippocampus:

A) must be intact for normal eyeblink conditioning to occur.
B) is especially active during the early phases of classical conditioning.
C) is important in mediating response timing.
D) computes the degree to which the US is unexpected.

Question 19

Removing the interpositus nucleus results in:

A) small, poorly timed conditioned responses.
B) complete loss of conditioned responses.
C) small, poorly timed unconditioned responses.
D) complete loss of unconditioned responses.

Question 20

Every day when Isabelle returns home from work, her son gives her a big hug as soon as she walks through the front door. Now, the sight of the front door makes Isabelle feel happy. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is:

A) Isabelle's son.
B) the front door.
C) a big hug.
D) Isabelle.

Question 21

Describe the Siegel et al. study (1982) of heroin tolerance in rats. How are the findings explained by classical conditioning?

Question 22

Describe the contribution of the hippocampus to CS modulation.

Question 23

If someone blows a puff of air into one's eyes, the person automatically blinks. In this example, the puff of air is a(n):

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

Question 24

Jeff's dog salivates when he goes to the cupboard to get a dog biscuit. What is the unconditioned stimulus?

A) the cupboard
B) Jeff
C) the dog biscuit
D) salivation

Question 25

Lightning is usually followed by thunder. Eventually, one can be startled just by the lightning alone. What is the unconditioned response?

A) being startled by thunder
B) being startled by lightning
C) being scared of thunder
D) being scared of lightning

Question 26

What is the role of the Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex? Discuss the evidence that suggests this.

Question 27

The conditioned stimulus elicits the:

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

Question 28

Classical conditioning involves learning:

A) that a particular behavior leads to a reward.
B) about a stimulus by being repeatedly exposed to it.
C) that one stimulus predicts an important event.
D) by observing another person perform a behavior.

Question 29

Describe and define an example of spontaneous recovery using Pavlov's conditioning model.

Question 30

What is latent inhibition and why is it a problem for the Rescorla-Wagner model of learning?

Question 31

Explain how a specific phobia could be acquired through classical conditioning, being sure to identify the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response in the example. Also, indicate how the phobia could be extinguished using classical conditioning.

Question 32

Describe what happens in the interpositus nucleus as a rabbit is exposed to eyeblink conditioning.

Question 33

Every day when Jessica returns home from work, her daughter gives her a big hug as soon as she walks through the front door. Now, the sight of the front door makes Jessica feel happy. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is:

A) the front door.
B) a big hug.
C) Jessica's daughter.
D) Jessica.

Question 34

Describe the neuronal changes that occur during classical conditioning of the gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia.

Question 35

Which statement demonstrates classical conditioning?

A) A child reads more books because her parents praised her for reading.
B) A toddler copies the behavior of his older brother.
C) A dog learns that the sound of the treat container being opened indicates a treat for him.
D) A man gets used to the sound of traffic and eventually learns to sleep through it.

Question 36

The unconditioned response occurs:

A) in response to a neutral stimulus.
B) after repeated pairings of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli.
C) with training or conditioning.
D) without any training or conditioning.

Question 37

Explain how a child might develop a conditioned taste aversion to pizza. Be sure to identify the CS, US, CR, and UR.

Question 38

Define each of the components of classical conditioning. And provide an example applying it to one's daily life. Explain the answer in detail using each of the components.

Question 39

Something that naturally elicits a reflexive response is called a(n):

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

Question 40

Suppose a child grows up hearing his parents making derogatory comments about African Americans, and eventually the child comes to have negative feelings about African Americans. What is the conditioned stimulus?

A) the derogatory comments
B) the negative feelings
C) the African Americans
D) the parents

Question 41

When a previously acquired association is diminished through repeated presentation of the CS in the absence of the US, it is known as:

A) aversive conditioning.
B) appetitive conditioning.
C) extinction.
D) homeostasis.

Question 42

The spontaneous recovery of a CR suggests that:

A) the body tends to gravitate toward a state of equilibrium.
B) any stimulus can be a CS.
C) any stimulus can be a US.
D) the CR is not gone after extinction.

Question 43

When the eyeblink reflex is conditioned using a tone, the conditioned response is:

A) blinking in response to a puff of air.
B) blinking in response to the tone.
C) the puff of air.
D) the tone.

Question 44

With repeated administration of a drug, an organism will require larger and larger doses of the drug in order to achieve the same effect. This is known as:

A) homeostasis.
B) blocking.
C) extinction.
D) tolerance.

Question 45

The Conditioned Emotional Response was a technique developed to study:

A) emotional response.
B) learned fear.
C) sound response.
D) influence of surroundings.

Question 46

Suppose a child in the hospital gets injections from the nurses, and the child eventually learns to cry as soon as a nurse walks into her room. What is the conditioned response?

A) crying when getting a shot
B) crying when the nurse comes in
C) fear of the nurse
D) fear of the shot

Question 47

Studies of _____ have been enormously important for understanding the biology.

A) Drosophila (fruit flies)
B) ornithology (birds)
C) ctenocephalides (fleas)
D) apiology (bees)

Question 48

The tendency of the body to gravitate toward a state of equilibrium or balance is known as:

A) association.
B) compensatory response.
C) tolerance.
D) homeostasis.

Question 49

Which is an example of appetitive conditioning?

A) flies being shocked in the presence of a particular odor
B) rats freezing in response to a tone that predicts a shock
C) Pavlov's conditioning of salivation in dogs
D) eyeblink conditioning

Question 50

Frank once ate an orange and shortly afterwards he got the flu. Although the orange did not cause Frank to become ill, he no longer likes to eat oranges. What is the conditioned stimulus?

A) feeling ill from the flu
B) feeling ill from the orange
C) the virus that caused the flu
D) oranges

Question 51

While driving to work one day, Jennifer heard her favorite song on the radio. Soon after the song started playing, she was rear-ended by another car. Now, her favorite song causes her to feel nervous and tense. If she wishes to use extinction to stop these unpleasant feelings from occurring when her favorite song comes on, she should:

A) play the song in a safe and pleasant environment such as her room.
B) listen to music other than her favorite song whenever she drives.
C) play her favorite song whenever she drives anywhere without getting in an accident.
D) try to get in an accident while a different song is playing on the radio.

Question 52

Dionne competes on her high school's track team. She always feels naturally nervous right before a race. She also noticed that, on days when she is not racing, just seeing the track still made her feel nervous. Her nervousness at seeing the track on non-race days is a(n):

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

Question 53

The conditioned compensatory response occurs in response to the _____ in order to prepare the organism for the _____.

A) CS; CR
B) US; UR
C) CS; UR
D) US; CR

Question 54

When the eyeblink reflex is conditioned using a tone, the puff of air is the:

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

Question 55

The eyeblink CR seems to:

A) gradually increase in strength over several trials.
B) gradually decrease in strength over several trials.
C) start out strong on the first trial and remain strong.
D) remain about the same strength across trials.

Question 56

In order to get Pavlov's dog to experience extinction, one would:

A) give the dog a little extra food on each trial.
B) play the tone more loudly on each trial.
C) present the food repeatedly without playing the tone.
D) play the tone repeatedly without any food.

Question 57

The _____ prepares the organism for the expected _____.

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

Question 58

When the US is an unpleasant event such as shock, the conditioning is called _____ conditioning.

A) aversive
B) appetitive
C) delay
D) trace

Question 59

When a conditioned compensatory response occurs, the:

A) CR is the opposite of the UR.
B) CR is the same as the UR.
C) US is the same as the CS.
D) US is the same as the CR.

Question 60

According to the phenomenon of conditioned compensatory response, drug addicts develop a tolerance to their drug because:

A) the drug elicits a UR that becomes weaker over time.
B) environmental cues elicit URs that enhance the effect of the drug.
C) the drug elicits a CR that enhances the effect of the drug.
D) environmental cues elicit CRs that counteract the effect of the drug.

Question 61

Suppose a rat has been conditioned by presenting a loud buzzing sound followed by shock. According to the Rescorla-Wagner model, if one then presents several trials of the buzzing sound alone, without any shock, the association between the buzzing sound and the shock will:

A) stay the same.
B) increase.
C) decrease.
D) increase and then decrease.

Question 62

If a US occurs just as often without the tone as it does in the presence of the tone, then little or no conditioning will accrue to the tone. This would suggest that animals are sensitive to _____ of the potential CS and the US.

A) causality
B) contingency
C) cue-outcome
D) frequency

Question 63

In a latent-inhibition paradigm, the animals in the experimental group:

A) sit in the chamber quietly.
B) are pre-exposed to the CS.
C) are pre-exposed to the US.
D) are pre-exposed to a compound CS.

Question 64

The simultaneous conditioning of two cues, usually presented at the same time, is referred to as _____ conditioning.

A) classical
B) compound
C) aversive
D) appetitive

Question 65

In the Rescorla-Wagner model, if a novel CS is followed by an unexpected US, the prediction error is:

A) positive.
B) negative.
C) zero.
D) either positive or negative.

Question 66

In Bower and Trabasso's study of blocking in humans, students were trained to categorize geometric figures based on shape. Blocking was demonstrated when the students could:

A) not use a redundant cue to classify a new figure.
B) not learn to categorize the figures based on shape.
C) use a redundant cue to classify a new figure.
D) learn to categorize the figures based on shape.

Question 67

The phenomenon of blocking demonstrates that:

A) a compound CS cannot be learned.
B) a compound US cannot be learned.
C) the US must provide nonredundant information.
D) the CS must provide nonredundant information.

Question 68

When Gluck and Bower applied their neural network model of learning to study how humans learn to form categories, they treated:

A) the input nodes as CSs and the output nodes as USs.
B) the input nodes as USs and the output nodes as CSs.
C) both the input and output nodes as CSs.
D) both the input and output nodes as USs.

Question 69

In the Rescorla-Wagner model, the expectation of the US is described by the:

A) association weight for the CS-US association at the end of training.
B) association weight for the CS-US association at the start of training.
C) sum of the association weights of all the cues in a trial.
D) difference of the association weights of all the cues in a trial.

Question 70

The difference between whether an animal expects the US and whether the US actually occurs is known as:

A) homeostasis.
B) a prediction error.
C) an error-correction rule.
D) latent inhibition.

Question 71

A reduction in learning about a CS to which there has been prior exposure without any US is called:

A) blocking.
B) prediction error.
C) extinction.
D) latent inhibition.

Question 72

Which statement is TRUE about the Rescorla-Wagner model?

A) It is considered the most influential formal model of learning.
B) It explains only a small handful of experimental findings.
C) It explains existing findings but does not make any predictions.
D) Its complexity is a primary reason for its attractiveness.

Question 73

Suppose one conditions a rabbit to give an eyeblink response to a tone. If one then presents both a tone and a light together followed by a puff of air to the eyes, the rabbit will not blink in response to the light. This demonstrates:

A) homeostasis.
B) extinction.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) blocking.

Question 74

According to the Rescorla-Wagner model, blocking occurs because:

A) both conditioned stimuli perfectly predict the unconditioned stimulus.
B) neither CS perfectly predicts the unconditioned stimulus.
C) the CS that is trained in the first phase does not provide any new or predictive information.
D) the CS that is added in the second phase does not provide any new or predictive information.

Question 75

Suppose one conditions a dog to salivate in response to a tone (by pairing the tone with food). Then, the person presents both the tone and a light together, followed by the food. The dog will:

A) salivate only in response to the tone.
B) salivate only in response to the light.
C) salivate in response to both the tone and light.
D) not salivate to the tone or the light.

Question 76

If one pairs a tone with a shock, a rat can learn that the tone predicts the shock. If one then pairs a tone and light with a shock, the person finds that the rat gives a:

A) CR only to the tone.
B) CR only to the light.
C) UR only to the tone.
D) CR to the tone and light together.

Question 77

Which statement is considered to be TRUE about a successful model?

A) The predictions made by the model should be able to be tested and provide new data.
B) It should be applicable to every possible situation.
C) It should illustrate data that has already been presented before.
D) All of the statements are true.

Question 78

Which statement is suggested by the Rescorla-Wagner model?

A) When the CS predicts the US and the expected US occurs, the association between the CS and the US is increased.
B) When the CS predicts nothing and an unexpected US occurs, no learning occurs.
C) When the CS predicts the US and the expected US does not occur, no learning occurs.
D) When the CS predicts the US and the expected US does not occur, the association between the CS and the US is decreased.

Question 79

When a more salient cue within a compound acquires more of the share of the attention and learning than the less salient cue, it is known as:

A) compound conditioning
B) classical conditioning.
C) overshadowing.
D) aversive conditioning.

Question 80

For humans performing a category-learning task, Gluck and Bower's neural network model can:

A) account for people's ability to actively focus attention on one feature.
B) account for people's ability to shift their attention to different features.
C) predict how the timing of presentation of the CS and the US will affect learning.
D) predict how often a particular categorization will be made.