Deck 5: Learning

Question 1

Changes controlled by a genetic blueprint, such as an increase in height or the size of the brain, are examples of __________.

A) maturation
B) learning
C) habituation
D) growth cycles

Answer 1

maturation

Question 2

Learning that occurs but is not immediately reflected in a behavior change is called __________.

A) insight
B) innate learning
C) vicarious learning
D) latent learning

Answer 2

latent learning

Question 3

Pavlov placed food in the mouths of dogs, and they began to salivate. The food acted as a(n) __________.

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

Answer 3

unconditioned stimulus

Question 4

Under what circumstances will a reinforcer make the target response more likely to occur again?

A) if it is a primary reinforcer
B) if it is a positive reinforcer
C) if it is a negative reinforcer
D) Regardless of whether it is a positive or negative reinforcer, a reinforcer makes a response more likely to occur.

Question 5

Sophia is trying to teach her son, Oliver, to do the laundry by having him watch her. According to observational learning theory, to be effective what must occur?

A) Oliver must always model the behavior immediately.
B) Oliver must be motivated to learn how to do the laundry.
C) Oliver must be able to complete other tasks while watching Sophia.
D) Sophia must show Oliver how to do the laundry while she is making dinner.

Question 6

The foremost proponent of observational learning theory is __________.

A) Watson
B) Thorndike
C) Skinner
D) Bandura

Question 7

For every five times that you go to the gym each week, you reward yourself with a treat. This best illustrates which of the following schedules of reinforcement?

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

Question 8

Rescorla's modern conceptualization of classical conditioning is based on the idea that __________.

A) the CS substitutes for the UCS
B) there is a biological readiness for conditioning to occur between the CS and UCS
C) the CS has to provide information about the coming of the UCS
D) reinforcement must occur by providing a pleasant event

Question 9

Neurofeedback, a newer type of biofeedback, involves trying to change __________.

A) brain wave activity
B) blood pressure
C) heart rate
D) body temperature

Question 10

An example of a discriminative stimulus is __________.

A) a stop sign
B) the stimulus that acts as a UCS in classical conditioning
C) the white rat in Watson's Little Albert study of producing phobias
D) a knee jerk

Question 11

The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus is called __________.

A) stimulus generalization
B) stimulus adaptation
C) response generalization
D) transfer of habit strength

Question 12

Learning that takes place without actual performance (a kind of latent learning) is called __________.

A) the learning/performance distinction
B) the innate performance preference
C) the delayed learning paradigm
D) the observational delay effect

Question 13

Ethan must build 25 radios before he receives $20. What schedule of reinforcement is being used?

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

Question 14

What has occurred when there is a decrease in the likelihood or rate of a target response?

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

Question 15

Learning to make a reflex response to a stimulus other than to the original, natural stimulus is called _________.

A) classical conditioning
B) operant conditioning
C) memory linkage
D) adaptation

Question 16

Thorndike was known for his work with __________.

A) a Skinner box
B) a puzzle box
C) modeling
D) monkeys

Question 17

A Skinner box is most likely to be used in research on __________.

A) classical conditioning
B) operant conditioning
C) vicarious learning
D) cognitive learning

Question 18

The "aha!" experience is known as __________.

A) latent learning
B) insight learning
C) thoughtful learning
D) serial enumeration

Question 19

What was the conditioned stimulus (CS) in the case of Little Albert?

A) a white rat
B) a loud noise
C) a high chair
D) a small enclosed space

Question 20

College students faced with unsolvable problems eventually give up and make only half-hearted attempts to solve new problems, even when the new problems can be solved easily. This behavior is probably due to __________.

A) learned helplessness
B) contingency blocking
C) latent learning
D) response generalization

Question 21

Normally, when food is placed in the mouth of any animal, the salivary glands start releasing saliva to help with chewing and digestion. In terms of Pavlov's analysis of learning, salivation would be referred to as a(n) __________.

A) unconditioned response
B) voluntary response
C) conditioned response
D) digestive reflux

Question 22

Which of the following events most intrigued Pavlov and led to his discoveries?

A) The dogs seemed to enjoy the food.
B) The assistant salivated along with the dogs when the dogs started to eat.
C) The dogs stopped salivating after seeing the assistant so many times.
D) The dogs started to salivate when they saw Pavlov's assistant and before they got the food.

Question 23

The abbreviation UCS stands for __________.

A) unconditional statement
B) uniform conditioned subject
C) unconditional sensation
D) unconditioned stimulus

Question 24

The abbreviation UCR stands for __________.

A) unconditional reinforcement
B) uniform conditioned rule
C) unconditional retention
D) unconditioned response

Question 25

Olivia noticed that whenever she opened the door to the pantry, her dog would come into the kitchen and act hungry, by drooling and whining. She thought that because the dog food was stored in the pantry, the sound of the door had become a(n) __________.

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

Question 26

Every time Jhumpa goes to work in the morning, she notices that her dog sulks in the corner of the room and looks very sad. Over several weeks, she notices that the dog gets unhappy when she picks up her car keys immediately before leaving the house. Which phenomenon of learning BEST describes the dog's behavior?

A) classical conditioning
B) innate learning
C) punishment by removal
D) instinctive drift

Question 27

Learning is said to be a relatively permanent change in behavior because __________.

A) it is thought that learning changes the nerve fiber patterns in your muscles
B) once you learn something, you will never fail to remember it or carry out the correct action
C) it is thought that when learning occurs, some part of the brain physically changes
D) memory processes, unlike learning processes, are not permanent

Question 28

One might expect that classical conditioning was discovered by a psychologist. However, it was discovered by a __________.

A) physician who was studying the age at which children start to walk
B) physiologist who was studying memory processes in monkeys
C) physiologist who was studying digestion
D) dog trainer who was trying to come up with the best way to reward animals for their performances in his shows

Question 29

When Pavlov placed food in the mouths of canine subjects, they began to salivate. The salivation was a(n) __________.

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

Question 30

As an infant, Isla received many penicillin injections from the doctor. When she later saw a photographer in a white coat that was similar to the doctor's coat, she started to cry. This is an example of __________.

A) instrumental learning
B) observational learning
C) classical conditioning
D) habituation

Question 31

Nigel always turns the aquarium light on before putting fish food into the tank. After a while, he notices that the fish swim to the top to look for the food as soon as he turns on the light. In this example, the __________ is the unconditioned stimulus.

A) presence of Nigel near the aquarium
B) fish swimming to the top
C) aquarium light
D) fish food

Question 32

Ivan Pavlov, who is credited with discovering classical conditioning, was a __________.

A) psychiatrist
B) psychologist
C) neurologist
D) physiologist

Question 33

In a conditioning experiment, a sound is paired with a brief puff of air to the eye of the rabbit. After several pairings, the rabbit ultimately blinks its eye when it hears the sound. Which of the following is TRUE?

A) The blinking of the eye serves as stimulus.
B) The puff of air serves as the unconditioned stimulus.
C) The puff of air serves as the conditioned stimulus.
D) The blinking of the eye serves as the conditioned stimulus.

Question 34

Changes controlled by a genetic blueprint, such as an increase in height or the size of the brain, are examples of __________.

A) maturation
B) learning
C) habituation
D) growth cycles

Question 35

The researcher responsible for discovering classical conditioning was __________.

A) Skinner
B) Tolman
C) Kohler
D) Pavlov

Question 36

In the context of classical conditioning, which of the following components "elicits" a response?

A) UCR
B) UCS
C) CER
D) CSR

Question 37

Learning to make a reflex response to a stimulus other than to the original, natural stimulus is called __________.

A) classical conditioning
B) operant conditioning
C) memory linkage
D) adaptation

Question 38

When Pavlov placed food in the mouths of dogs, they began to salivate. The food acted as a(n) __________.

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

Question 39

Which of the following statements regarding Pavlov is accurate?

A) Pavlov was studying salivation in dogs as part of a research program on digestion.
B) Pavlov was elated when his student first noticed that the dogs were salivating before tasting the food.
C) Pavlov continued his Nobel Prize-winning research on digestion after documenting conditioning.
D) Pavlov stressed the importance of speculating about the dog's feelings toward the food.

Question 40

__________ is any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice.

A) Learning
B) Adaptation
C) Memory enhancement
D) Muscle memory

Question 41

The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus is called __________.

A) stimulus generalization
B) stimulus adaptation
C) response generalization
D) transfer of habit strength

Question 42

The abbreviation CR stands for __________.

A) conditional reinforcement
B) contingent reflex
C) conditioned response
D) contingent reflection

Question 43

What could John Watson have done to eliminate Little Albert's conditioned fear?

A) Show Albert a toy dog instead of a live rat.
B) Let Albert touch a Santa Claus beard repeatedly.
C) Show Albert a rat many times without a loud noise following so that extinction would occur.
D) Have Albert hear a loud noise many times without a rat present.

Question 44

You train your dog, Atticus, to salivate at the sound of a bell. Then you ring the bell every 5 minutes and don't follow the ringing with food for Atticus. He salivates less and less and finally stops salivating at all when the bell rings. But the next morning, when you ring the bell, Atticus salivates! What term is used to explain the reappearance of this response?

A) counterconditioning
B) instinctive drift
C) spontaneous recovery
D) stimulus discrimination

Question 45

You decide that you are going to condition your dog, Neville, to salivate to the sound of a metronome. You give Neville a biscuit, and then a second later you sound the metronome. You do this several times, but no conditioning seems to occur. This is probably because __________.

A) the metronome was not a distinctive sound
B) the metronome should have been sounded before Neville ate the biscuit
C) you should have had a longer interval between the metronome and the biscuit
D) Pavlov found that the CS and UCS must be only seconds apart in order to condition salivation

Question 46

You decide that you are going to condition your dog, Bob, to salivate to the sound of a metronome. You sound the metronome and then several minutes later you give Bob a biscuit. You do this several times but no conditioning seems to occur. This is probably because __________.

A) the metronome was not a distinctive sound
B) the metronome should have been sounded after Bob ate the biscuit
C) you should have had an even longer interval between the metronome and the biscuit
D) the biscuit was given too long after the sound of the metronome

Question 47

The abbreviation CS stands for __________.

A) conditioned stimulus
B) correlated stimulus
C) conventional structure
D) conditional situation

Question 48

Joaquin flinches after seeing lightning because in previous instances the lightning was followed by thunder, which scared him. In this scenario, lightning can be interpreted as being a(n) __________.

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

Question 49

Pavlov placed food in the mouths of the dogs, and they began to salivate. Pavlov's student noticed that after a few days the dogs began to salivate at the sound of the student's footsteps. The salivation to the sound of the footsteps was a __________.

A) primary reinforcer
B) positive reinforcer
C) conditioned response
D) secondary reinforcer

Question 50

The reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred is called __________.

A) counterconditioning
B) instinctive drift
C) spontaneous recovery
D) stimulus discrimination

Question 51

After Little Albert acquired a conditioned fear of rats, Watson wanted to see how he would react to a white rabbit, cotton wool, and a Santa Claus mask. He was studying whether or not __________ had occurred.

A) behavior modification
B) stimulus discrimination
C) extinction
D) stimulus generalization

Question 52

Milo flinches after seeing lightning because in previous instances the lightning was followed by thunder, which scared him. In this scenario, flinching to the lightning can be interpreted as being a(n) __________.

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

Question 53

When the CS is repeatedly presented in the absence of the UCS, the CR will eventually "die out" in a process called __________.

A) CR fading
B) extinction
C) habituation
D) generalization fading

Question 54

Harmony notices that her cat salivates as soon as it hears the sound of Harmony opening a can with an electric can opener. In this example, the __________ is the conditioned stimulus.

A) can of cat food
B) sound of the electric can opener
C) dish that Harmony puts the food in
D) cat scurrying into the kitchen

Question 55

What would you predict about Little Albert based on the principle of spontaneous recovery?

A) Even after his fear of a rat was extinguished, the fear could come back.
B) After his fear of loud noises was extinguished, the fear could come back.
C) His fear of rats would disappear if he saw a rat without hearing a loud noise.
D) His fear of loud noises would disappear if he heard a loud noise without a rat present.

Question 56

In Pavlov's classic experiments, the repeated presentations of the metronome along with the food formed the __________ step of the classical conditioning process.

A) acquisition
B) testing
C) extinction
D) spontaneous recovery

Question 57

An animal is conditioned to salivate to a metronome using Pavlovian procedures. After the conditioning is established, the animal is then put through an extinction procedure and the conditioned salivation disappears. Then the animal is removed from the test situation for several days. When returned to the test situation, the conditioned response is seen again. The effect is known as __________.

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

Question 58

The fact that you now tend to prefer blondes because your last love interest had blonde hair BEST illustrates __________.

A) stimulus generalization
B) generalization gradient
C) stimulus discrimination
D) discrimination gradient

Question 59

After Pavlov's dogs became conditioned to salivate at the sound of the metronome, he experimented with sounding the metronome and then failing to present the dogs with any food right away. Soon they stopped salivating to the sound of the metronome. This represents the process called __________.

A) acquisition
B) testing
C) extinction
D) spontaneous recovery

Question 60

Imagine that you try to condition someone so that a particular sound elicits a literal "knee-jerk response." Which of the following is accurate?

A) The initial strike to the knee is the CS.
B) The initial knee-jerk response is the CR.
C) The sound is the CS.
D) The anticipation of being struck in the knee is the CSR.

Question 61

Little Albert was conditioned to fear a __________.

A) colorful clown
B) brown mouse
C) white rat
D) white puppy

Question 62

When a strongly conditioned CS is used to make another stimulus into a second CS, the effect is known as __________.

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

Question 63

Pavlov's model of classical conditioning was based on the idea that the conditioned stimulus, through its association close in time with the unconditioned stimulus, came to activate the same place in the animal's brain that was originally activated by the unconditioned stimulus. This was known as __________.

A) stimulus substitution
B) the cognitive perspective
C) the Skinner model
D) higher-order conditioning

Question 64

John Watson offered a live, white rat to Little Albert and then made a loud noise behind his head by striking a steel bar with a hammer. The white rat served as the __________ in his study.

A) discriminative stimulus
B) counterconditioning stimulus
C) conditioned stimulus
D) unconditioned stimulus

Question 65

The learning of phobias is a good example of which certain type of classical conditioning?

A) instinctive drift
B) innate learning
C) conditioned taste aversion
D) conditioned emotional response

Question 66

Pavlov conditioned a dog to salivate at a metronome sound that was paired with a meat stimulus. After the CS-UCS connection was strongly established, Pavlov then presented the dog with several flashes of a light followed by the metronome sound. After a few days, when the light flashes were presented by themselves, the dog salivated. This is an example of __________.

A) higher-order conditioning
B) neoclassical conditioning
C) generalization
D) operant conditioning

Question 67

It is possible to become classically conditioned by simply watching someone else respond to a stimulus in a process called __________.

A) vicarious conditioning
B) conditioned emotional responses
C) stimulus generalization
D) higher-order conditioning

Question 68

Rescorla's modern conceptualization of classical conditioning is based on the idea that __________.

A) the CS substitutes for the UCS
B) there is a biological readiness for conditioning to occur between the CS and UCS
C) the CS has to provide information about the coming of the UCS
D) reinforcement must occur by providing a pleasant event

Question 69

After a CS comes to elicit the CR, the CS now can be paired with a new neutral stimulus and this second neutral stimulus will start to elicit a CR. This process is called __________.

A) higher-order conditioning
B) neoclassical conditioning
C) generalization
D) operant conditioning

Question 70

In the "Little Albert" study, the fear-producing stimulus used as a UCS was the __________.

A) white rat
B) loud noise
C) fear of the rat
D) fear of the noise

Question 71

Which theorist proposed the cognitive perspective that explains that classical conditioning occurs because of expectancy?

A) Pavlov
B) Garcia
C) Rescorla
D) Skinner

Question 72

Some researchers believe that classical conditioning takes place only because the pairing of the __________.

A) CS and UCS does not provide useful information about the likelihood of occurrence of the UCS
B) CS and UCR provides useful information about the likelihood of occurrence of the CS
C) CS and UCS provides useful information about the likelihood of occurrence of the UCS
D) UCS and UCR provides information about the likelihood of occurrence of the UCS

Question 73

Watson's experiment with Little Albert demonstrated that fears might be __________.

A) based on classical conditioning
B) deeply rooted in the innate unconscious of infants
C) based on the principle of observational learning
D) based on Skinner's analysis of positive reinforcement

Question 74

Last month, Theo became sick after eating two chili dogs, so he no longer likes chili dogs. Theo has experienced __________.

A) blocking
B) conditioned taste aversion
C) operant taste conditioning
D) noncontingent conditioning

Question 75

While watching his older sister dive into a swimming pool, Jayden saw her slip, crack her head on the end of the diving board, and end up bleeding in the pool and crying hysterically. She required 12 stitches to close the cut on the back of her head. As a result, Jayden was highly afraid of both diving boards and the deep end of swimming pools. He did not overcome these fears until he was well into his early adult years. Jayden acquired his phobia as a result of __________ conditioning.

A) classical
B) operant
C) latent
D) vicarious

Question 76

Little Albert's acquired fear of a white rat was a classic example of a __________ response.

A) classical counterconditioned
B) conditioned emotional
C) positively reinforced
D) negatively reinforced

Question 77

The current view of why classical conditioning works the way it does, advanced by Rescorla and others, adds the concept of __________ to conditioning theory.

A) generalization
B) habituation
C) memory loss
D) expectancy

Question 78

What was the conditioned stimulus (CS) in the case of Little Albert?

A) a white rat
B) a loud noise
C) a high chair
D) a small enclosed space

Question 79

According to Rescorla's theory, the CS must ________ the UCS or conditioning does not occur.

A) replace
B) come after
C) appear simultaneously with
D) predict

Question 80

Which learning theorist is responsible for the discovery of conditioned taste aversions based on his work giving sweetened liquid to rats and then inducing nausea in them?

A) Seligman
B) Garcia
C) Skinner
D) Watson