Deck 1: Introduction

Question 1

Which of the following movements is not considered to have fostered an early interest in the investigation of learning processes?

A) evolutionary theory
B) rationalism
C) empiricism
D) existentialism

Answer 1

existentialism

Question 2

In response to a student's question concerning the origin of knowledge, a professor responds that our genetic endowment has very little to do with the knowledge we attain; experience is the sole way of learning. Which of the following individuals would most likely disagree with the professor's response?

A) Aristotle
B) Descartes
C) Locke
D) all of the above

Answer 2

Descartes

Question 3

After eating a recent meal of steak and potatoes, Jill became nauseous and dizzy. As a result of this occurrence, Jill refuses to eat this combination of food, as she believes she will become sick, once again, if she consumes these things. Jill's attitude toward steak and potatoes is most similar to the associative principle of:

A) contiguity
B) frequency
C) similarity
D) contrast

Answer 3

contiguity

Question 4

Joe needs to take a course in American History in order to graduate from college, and the course is taught by Professor Smith. Joe has a problem, however, because in the past 4 courses he has had with Professor Smith, he has always done poorly on exams and papers. As a result of these experiences, Joe now has an intense amount of anxiety related to anything connected with Professor Smith. Joe's anxiety can be most directly connected to the associative principle of:

A) contiguity
B) frequency
C) similarity
D) contrast

Question 5

Locke's "Mental Chemistry" could best be defined as:

A) combining innate and experience-based knowledge to produce a new idea
B) combining the associative principles of contiguity, similarity, frequency, and contrast to produce a new idea
C) reflecting on previously acquired ideas to attain new knowledge
D) reflecting on the nature of old innate ideas to yield new innate ideas

Question 6

A central theme of Darwin's "The Origin of Species" is:

A) individual members of species are identical, with little room for variation in behavior
B) genetic inheritance plays little or no role in adapting to environmental conditions
C) learning is influenced by the degree to which ideas are different from one another
D) individuals change over time in order to adapt to environmental demands

Question 7

A common theme connecting Darwin's ideas on evolution to learning processes is that:

A) learning occurs via adaptation over the course of one's lifetime
B) there is a continuity of mental activity across different species
C) since different species are related via their evolutionary pasts, research on one species could be generalized to another species
D) all of the above

Question 8

Modern approaches to learning theory, in regard to whether nativism, empiricism, or evolution provides the best explanation for behavior, suggest that plausible explanations about for learning are provided by:

A) nativism and empiricism, but not evolution
B) nativism and evolution, but not empiricism
C) empiricism and evolution, but not nativism
D) nativism, empiricism, and evolution

Question 9

Learning can best be defined as:

A) a relatively permanent change in behavior, or behavioral repertoire, that occurs as a result of experience
B) a temporary change in behavior, or behavioral repertoire, that occurs as a result of experience
C) a relatively permanent change in behavior, or behavioral repertoire, that occurs as a result of genetic inheritance
D) a temporary change in behavior, or behavioral repertoire, that occurs as a result of one's physiological state

Question 10

The theory that evolution has produced several distinct memory systems best illustrates:

A)Descartes's nativism
B) the nature-nurture interaction
C) the exclusive effect of the environment on behavior
D) socially learned aggression

Question 11

The central question for the field of Learning is:

A) How do genetics influence behavior?
B) What role does the environment play in the development of mental processes?
C) How do we come to have knowledge?
D) Why do learning disabilities develop?

Question 12

Which of the following could be considered valid ways to measure learning?

A) the rate at which an animal presses a bar in an experimental chamber
B) the degree to which one's respiration rate changes from one situation to another
C) the ability of an individual to recall material while completing an exam
D) all of the above

Question 13

Which of the following is not demonstrative of learning?

A) possessing factual knowledge
B) the acquisition of a new skill
C) experiencing a surge in one's attentional ability following the consumption of a stimulant medication
D) feeling more competent after training, compared to before training

Question 14

One's potential for learning could be demonstrated if:

A) acquired knowledge is used after it is initially obtained
B) acquired knowledge is used as it is obtained
C) acquired knowledge is used before it is obtained
D) none of the above

Question 15

Which of the following changes in behavior are typically excluded from a formal definition of learning?

A) changes that are transient
B) permanent changes in behavior
C) changes in one's behavioral repertoire
D) none of the above

Question 16

Bandura's "BoBo doll" experiment illustrated the distinction between:

A) physiological and affective changes in behavior
B) potential and actual changes in behavior
C) potential and maturational changes in behavior
D) actual and physiological changes in behavior

Question 17

Attributing a change of behavior to either biology or the environment isn't a false dichotomy.

Question 18

Changes due to maturation are excluded from the definition of learning because:

A) they may arise from innate forces
B) they may involve neural growth that occurs at its own rate
C) they occur independent from one's experiences
D) all of the above

Question 19

Which of the following is a maturation-based, as opposed to experience-based, change in behavior?

A) a rat's faster pace through a maze after 10 attempts through the maze
B) a decrease in one's anxiety level towards horror films after viewing one horror film per day for an entire year
C) developing aggressive tendencies after viewing models acting in an aggressive manner
D) bone growth

Question 20

"Men can't cook." This is all that Jim heard for the week leading up to his first attempt at making Thanksgiving dinner for his family, despite the fact that he had plenty of experience cooking for these same people. When he finally attempted to cook the dinner, he panicked, and burnt the turkey. Such a result is a demonstration of:

A) latent learning
B) a forgetting curve
C) stereotype threat
D) performance dissociation

Question 21

Learning is said to occur in the mind, or brain, because:

A) behavioral measures always correspond in a direct manner to what one knows and does
B) the mind controls everything
C) behavioral measures do not always correspond in a direct manner to what one knows and does
D) learning can never be observed

Question 22

Latent learning occurs when a behavioral change:

A) is observed at the time of initial learning
B) is not observed until some time has passed between initial learning and demonstration of that learning
C) is never observed
D) none of the above

Question 23

In the past, the term "learning" has been used in reference to:

A) conditioning and reinforcement tasks
B) verbal recall tasks
C) the conscious recollection of past experiences
D) material presented for study on one occasion

Question 24

In the past, the term "memory" has been used in reference to:

A) conditioning and reinforcement tasks
B) skills requiring repeated trials for acquisition
C) the conscious recollection to past experiences
D) none of the above

Question 25

Professor Smith wants his graduate students to determine how young children retrieve information, and determine if such retrieval differs from retrieval methods used by adults. The students should focus on:

A) conditioning and reinforcement tasks
B) skills requiring repeated trials for acquisition
C) the conscious recollection of past experiences
D) the manner in which new information is encoded

Question 26

Schmidt and Bork argue that learning and memory

A) are entirely separate from one another and cannot be studied together
B) measure the same thing
C) cannot be studied because they cannot be observed
D) exist along a continuum where one's degree of memory depends on one's level of learning

Question 27

When one learns very quickly at the start of a training period, but the amount of learning slows sown during later trials, what type of learning curve is produced?

A) an "S" shaped curve
B) a positively accelerated curve
C) a power curve
D) a negatively accelerated curve

Question 28

The rats in Dr. Smith's experiment on maze running took a few trials before they started to show any learning ability, although this "slow" early period was followed by a dramatically quick improvement in performance, followed by a slowing down of learning. This data pattern suggests which of the following types of learning curves?

A) an "S" shaped curve
B) a positively accelerated curve
C) a power curve
D) a negatively accelerated curve

Question 29

If subjects in a learning experiment improved by the same amount over each of 20 trials, which of the following learning curves would best illustrate the nature of subjects' learning?

A) an "S" shaped curve
B) a positively accelerated curve
C) a power curve
D) a negatively accelerated curve

Question 30

John has just completed a statistics course at the college he attends. Assuming that a classic "forgetting curve" can predicts the rate at which John will lose the information he acquired during the course, the time period that would likely see the smallest degree of forgetting would be:

A) 1 day after the course has ended
B) 1 week after the course has ended
C) 1 month after the course has ended
D) 1 year after the course has ended

Question 31

Which of the following best illustrates "Basic Research"?

A) a telephone company decreases the number of digits in their phone numbers because research shows that people cannot retain the 7 numbers that are currently used
B) teachers are asked to punish one group of students when they behave poorly, and ignore a second group demonstrating the same behaviors, in order to determine which method is most effective at classroom management
C) a scientist measures the speed at which an individual responds to the question "Is 'kraght' a real word?"
D) a psychiatrist prescribes an antidepressant medication to one of her patients to determine if the patient's depression is biological in nature

Question 32

Which of the following fails to illustrate "Applied Research"?

A) a telephone company decreases the number of digits in their phone numbers because research shows that people cannot retain the 7 numbers that are currently used
B) teachers are asked to punish one group of students when they behave poorly, and ignore a second group demonstrating the same behaviors, in order to determine which method is most effective at classroom management
C) a scientist measures the speed at which an individual responds to the question "Is 'kraght' a real word?"
D) a psychiatrist prescribes an antidepressant medication to one of her patients to determine if the patient's depression is biological in nature

Question 33

Basic Research:

A) always has obvious connections to everyday behavior
B) is conducted without any regard for practical application
C) is directly related to answering specific, practical problems
D) is sometimes conducted without knowing its application

Question 34

Applied Research:

A) has connections to everyday behavior
B) is conducted without any regard for practical application
C) is sometimes conducted without knowing its application
D) none of the above

Question 35

In the 1970s, Ulric Neisser criticized psychology for its:

A) being too ecologically realistic
B) overemphasis of lab-based memory research
C) overemphasis on studying memory in naturalistic settings
D) failure to validate Banaji and Crowder's ecological realism

Question 36

Which of the following is considered a "memory myth"?

A) amnesia involves extensive forgetting of the past
B) eidetic imagery ability is more likely to be seen in children, as opposed to adults
C) having a strong memory for a particular skill does not guarantee having a strong memory for other skills
D) hypnosis is not a very effective memory enhancer

Question 37

Which of the following is not considered a "memory myth"?

A) amnesia involves extensive forgetting of the past
B) eidetic imagery ability is more likely to be seen in children, as opposed to adults
C) developing a strong memory for random number sequences enhances memory ability within other skill areas
D) hypnosis is a very effective memory enhancer

Question 38

Why is it argued that forgetting is NOT a weakness of memory?

A) Forgetting allows for the separation of new and outdated information
B) Forgetting promotes survival when useless information is discarded
C) A and B are both correct
D) neither A nor B are correct

Question 39

Animals are used as subjects in learning experiments because:

A) some procedures can be used with animals, but not humans, for ethical reasons
B) the genetic background of animals can't be controlled, which mimics human subjects
C) the experiences of animal subjects, during experiments, cannot be tightly controlled
D) all of the above

Question 40

Which of the following statements is false?

A) some procedures can be used with animals, but not humans, for ethical reasons
B) the genetic background of animals can be controlled, which deviates from human subjects
C) the experiences of animal subjects, during experiments, cannot be tightly controlled
D) humans and animals have a similar evolutionary history

Question 41

Animal research has contributed to the study of human behavior in the sense that animal research has allowed for insights into

A) the simulation of human depression
B) the development of biofeedback techniques
C) the identification of brain-based learning and memory pathways
D) all of the above

Question 42

Mary has learned, through her own experiences, as well as via conversations with other people, that travelling, late at night, through certain portions of her hometown, can be dangerous, as many crimes are committed in those areas. Therefore, to avoid being a victim of such crimes, she avoids those dangerous areas at all times. This approach can be seen as illustrating one of the core ideas of which approach to learning?

A) functional
B) behavioral
C) cognitive
D) neuroscience

Question 43

Smith is beginning an experiment that is designed to assess the degree to which grammar-school students understand the relationship between engaging in violent behavior and the consequences of such violence. Dr. Smith's approach seems most congruent with which approach to the study of learning?

A) behavioral
B) cognitive
C) neuropsychological
D) humanistic

Question 44

Smith wants to conduct an experiment that will study the degree to which a child's internal representation of an event is similar to an adult's representation of that same event. Dr. Smith's approach seems most congruent with which approach to the study of learning?

A) behavioral
B) cognitive
C) neuropsychological
D) humanistic

Question 45

Smith is studying which parts of the brain are essential for rats to learn how to run through a maze. A critical element of this research involves lesioning rats' brains before and after maze running to see if the lesion has any effect on behavior. Dr. Smith's approach seems most congruent with which approach to the study of learning?

A) behavioral
B) cognitive
C) neuropsychological
D) humanistic

Question 46

Which of the following is not a basic tenet of the behavioral approach to learning?

A) studying the relationship between observable behaviors
B) studying the environmental stimuli that produce behaviors
C) studying how information is encoded and retrieved
D) measuring the degree to which consequences shape behavior

Question 47

Jones argues that a rat's motivation to run through a maze is dependent upon the rat's expectancy of receiving a reward upon completion of the maze. Which of the following approaches would most likely dispute the inclusion of such an internal, motivational state of an organism?

A) cognitive
B) radical behaviorism
C) none of the above

Question 48

Which of the following best illustrates a functional explanation of behavior of the type advocated by radical behaviorists?

A) "Punishing a child in one context causes the child to expect punishment in many contexts."
B) "An organism's desire to escape an electric shock motivates bar-pressing behavior."
C) "Drinking alcohol causes one to lose the ability to think rationally."
D) none of the above

Question 49

"The goal of psychological research should be to predict and control behavior on the basis of knowledge of the antecedents of a behavior, the behavior itself, and the consequences of a behavior." A researcher adhering to which of the following approaches to learning would be most likely to make such a statement?

A) behavioral
B) cognitive
C) neuropsychological
D) humanistic

Question 50

The impact of the field of computer science can be seen most directly in which of the following approaches to learning?

A) humanistic
B) cognitive
C) neuropsychological
D) behavioral

Question 51

Smith is studying memory ability via observing the rate at which glucose is metabolized within different brain regions. Such a technique is central to the neuropsychological approach to learning dealing with:

A) lesions
B) RNA levels
C) PET scans
D) brain stimulation

Question 52

The Mozart Effect claims to:

A) boost overall intelligence throughout a person's lifetime
B) cause male brains to become specialized for musical skills
C) temporarily boost language skills
D) temporarily boost spatial skills