Deck 3: Classical Conditioning

Question 1

Classical conditioning has been referred to as a:

A) simple form of learning
B) cognitive type of learning
C) reflexive form of learning
D) all of the above

Answer 1

all of the above

Question 2

Classical conditioning was replaced by operant conditioning because:

A) classical conditioning relied too heavily on rewards
B) classical conditioning was focusing on punishment, and not reinforcement
C) operant conditioning illustrated how voluntary behavior could be modified via reinforcement
D) operant conditioning illustrated how voluntary behavior was really reflexive behavior

Answer 2

operant conditioning illustrated how voluntary behavior could be modified via reinforcement

Question 3

Classical conditioning measures:

A) the amount of change in responding to the presentation of a single stimulus
B) the amount of change in responding to the presentation of a two or more stimuli
C) the degree to which associations are formed between stimuli and their reinforcers
D) the degree to which associations are formed between reinforcers and punishers

Answer 3

the amount of change in responding to the presentation of a two or more stimuli

Question 4

Which of the following illustrates the learning that occurs in classical conditioning?

A) the connections between several neurons get stronger as a result of training
B) subjects in an experimental situation learn that certain stimuli occur before/after other stimuli
C) an animal behaves in a new manner to a presented stimulus
D) all of the above

Question 5

Susan wants to use classical conditioning to teach her cat to come to her whenever she calls him. In this case, Susan's voice would be the:

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

Question 6

In question 3.5, if, on the very first training trial, Susan's cat walks toward her, the animal's behavior would best be described as a:

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

Question 7

Referring to questions 3.5 and 3.6, the US is:

A) Susan's voice
B) the animal's reaction to Susan's voice
C) both a and b could be the US
D) unknown

Question 8

In a classical conditioning setting, the element that requires no previous training in order to elicit a response is the:

A) CS
B) US
C) CR
D) none of the above

Question 9

Which of the following is the temporal order of stimuli in a classical conditioning experiment that will most likely lead to conditioning:

A) CS+UR
B) CS+US
C) US+CS
D) US+UR

Question 10

Which of the following could serve as a CS?

A) the passage of time since the most recent US
B) a tone
C) one's external environment
D) all of the above

Question 11

Why is a CR sometimes called an anticipatory response?

A) because a subject anticipates that making a CR will lead to some type of reward
B) because a subject makes a CR during the presentation of the US
C) because a subject makes a CR during the presentation of the CS
D) none of the above

Question 12

Which of the following methods of classical conditioning is focused on the survival value of conditioned associations?

A) eyeblink conditioning
B) SCR measurement
C) conditioned taste aversion
D) all of the above

Question 13

Williams is interested in studying classical conditioning, but she feels that manipulating reflex-evoking USs in unethical. To work around Dr. Williams's ethical standards, she should use:

A) evaluative conditioning
B) eyeblink conditioning
C) SCR measurement
D) none of the above

Question 14

One possible drawback to evaluative conditioning is:

A) the reflexes studied are difficult to observe
B) the SCRs that are to be evaluated can be painful to subjects
C) the traditional CRs used with the procedure are too intense
D) none of the above

Question 15

Questions about evaluative conditioning have addressed

A) whether or not this process is truly classical conditioning
B) the consciousness status of preference changes
C) researchers should utilize verbal data during this procedure
D) all of the above

Question 16

Unconditioned Stimuli:

A) have no biological significance to an organism
B) are neutral stimuli
C) cannot have their significance acquired
D) none of the above

Question 17

Unconditioned Stimuli:

A) can have a sensory element to them
B) are devoid of emotional significance
C) do not typically elicit specific reactions
D) are unidimensional

Question 18

Unconditioned Stimuli:

A) have no biological significance to an organism
B) are neutral stimuli
C) cannot have their significance acquired
D) none of the above

Question 19

In a classical conditioning experiment, an experimenter declares a flash of light to be the CS, an electric shock as the US, and a fear reaction as the UR (as well as, eventually, the CR). The acquisition phase of this experiment would involve presenting:

A) the shock by itself
B) the light by itself
C) the light with the shock
D) the shock with the fear

Question 20

Using the situation described in 3.19, an unpaired control condition would involve:

A) having the light presented after the shock
B) always presenting the light and shock in distant temporal orders
C) presenting the light and shock in an completely non-correlated manner
D) presenting the light by itself

Question 21

Using the situation described in 3.19, a truly random control condition would involve:

A) having the light presented after the shock
B) always presenting the light and shock in distant temporal orders
C) presenting the light and shock in an completely non-correlated manner
D) presenting the light by itself

Question 22

Using the situation described in 3.19, after conditioning has been completed, the occurrence of spontaneous recovery suggests that:

A) presenting the shock by itself suppresses the CS-US association
B) presenting the light by itself causes the CS-US association to be unlearned
C) presenting the light by itself causes the CS-US association to be suppressed
D) none of the above

Question 23

After using classical conditioning to train a child to stand whenever a teacher calls their name, the child begins to stand whenever any adults refer to them. What has occurred?

A) generalization
B) spontaneous recovery
C) extinction
D) discrimination

Question 24

A dog is trained to salivate in the presence of a blue light, but not in the presence of a green light. What has occurred?

A) generalization
B) spontaneous recovery
C) extinction
D) discrimination

Question 25

Research on people with PTSD shows that when attempting to classically condition a response in these individuals, their anxiety:

A) inhibits learning
B) heightens a learning response
C) has no effect on learning ability
D) only inhibits learning after prolonged exposure to CSs

Question 26

Once extinction has occurred, previously-learned Pavlovian associations can:

A) never be recovered
B) only be recovered if the CS and US are presented in close temporal order
C) be recovered by reexposure to the US alone, in the absence of the CS
D) only be recovered if the CS is presented without additional exposure to the US

Question 27

In a Pavlovian conditioning experiment, a CS+ is a tone, a CS- is a flash of light, a US is an electric shock, and the UR/CR is a fear response. If the experimental subject is learning the proper associations in this experiment, they should learn that the CS-indicates that:

A) a shock will be delivered soon
B) the tone will be presented soon
C) they will not be shocked in their immediate future
D) none of the above

Question 28

Using the situation described in 3.24, the blue light is the:

A) CS+
B) CS-
C) US+
D) US-

Question 29

Using the situation described in 3.24, the green light is the:

A) CS+
B) CS-
C) US+
D) US-

Question 30

The process of stimulus selection can be said to be closely related to:

A) generalization
B) discrimination
C) forward conditioning
D) all of the above

Question 31

Which of the following is most likely to lead to the strongest Conditioned Responses?

A) simultaneous conditioning
B) backward conditioning
C) forward conditioning
D) all of the above lead to equally strong CRs

Question 32

In a classical conditioning experiment, an experimenter declares a flash of light to be the CS, an electric shock as the US, and a fear reaction as the UR (as well as, eventually, the CR). Forward conditioning involves:

A) presenting the shock first, followed by the light
B) presenting the light first, followed by the shock (
C) having the light and shock occur in no specific temporal relationship to one another
D) presenting the light and shock at the same time

Question 33

Using the situation described in 3.32, the procedure that would best establish an adaptive response would involve:

A) presenting the shock first, followed by the light
B) presenting the light first, followed by the shock
C) having the light and shock occur in no specific temporal relationship to one another
D) presenting the light and shock at the same time

Question 34

Using the situation described in 3.32, backward conditioning involves:

A) presenting the shock first, followed by the light
B) presenting the light first, followed by the shock
C) having the light and shock occur in no specific temporal relationship to one another
D) presenting the light and shock at the same time

Question 35

Overshadowing can be influenced by:

A) a large time interval between the presentation of the 2 stimuli making up a compound stimulus
B) forward conditioning
C) the amount of time passing between presentation of the CSs and the US
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 36

An experimenter wants to test the level of Pavlovian conditioning that can be obtained via pairing a tone (the CS) with an electric shock (the US). If, before beginning the actual CS-US pairings, the experimenter presents the tone by itself for several trials, what is likely to occur later during the actual CS-US pairings?

A) the learning of the association between the CS and US will occur as if CS-only presentations never happened
B) the learning of the association between the CS and US will be inhibited
C) the learning of the association between the CS and US will occur at a much faster rate than if CS-only presentations never happened
D) none of the above

Question 37

An experimenter wants to test the level of Pavlovian conditioning that can be obtained via pairing a tone (the CS) with an electric shock (the US). Before beginning the actual CS-US pairings, the experimenter presents the tone by itself for several trials. The resulting consequence of this CS-only presentation on later CS-US associative learning is referred to as:

A) latent inhibition
B) priming
C) forward conditioning
D) overshadowing

Question 38

An experimenter wants to investigate the effect of compound stimuli on Pavlovian conditioning. This is studied by pairing two CSs (a loud, high-pitched tone, and an almost silent, low -pitched tone). During the testing portion of the experiment, it is found that CRs occur to the loud, but not almost silent, tone. What has happened?

A) latent inhibition
B) priming
C) forward conditioning
D) overshadowing

Question 39

A critical difference between blocking and overshadowing is that:

A) blocking deals with stimulus intensity, whereas overshadowing deals with prior exposure
B) blocking deals with prior exposure, whereas overshadowing deals with stimulus intensity
C) blocking deals with inhibiting learning, whereas overshadowing is always beneficial to learning
D) there are no differences between blocking and overshadowing

Question 40

A given US will only allow conditioning to occur up to a specific point, after which no additional learning occurs. In the Rescorla-Wagner model of learning, this limit is represented as:

A) V
B) ΔV
C) β
D) λ

Question 41

As CS-US pairing trials increase, the value of ΔV in the Rescorla-Wagner model of learning should:

A) increase
B) decrease
C) remain the same
D) the answer cannot be determined from the information provided here

Question 42

The concept of prepared learning is central to explaining:

A) CS-US relevance
B) the relationship between ΔV and λ in the Rescorla-Wagner model
C) blocking
D) overshadowing

Question 43

Susan believes that the headaches she experiences every morning in Professor Jones's Art class are due to the food she eats for breakfast, and not the presence of Professor Jones. This type of associative process illustrates:

A) the delta rule
B) prepared learning
C) blocking
D) overshadowing

Question 44

The first step in sensory preconditioning involves the pairing of:

A) two CS+s
B) a CS and a US
C) a CS+ and a CS-
D) a CS- and a US

Question 45

The first step in second order conditioning involves the pairing of:

A) two CS+s
B) a CS and a US
C) a CS+ and a CS-
D) a CS- and a US

Question 46

The type of learning that occurs during Classical Conditioning is characterized by:

A) S-R associations
B) S-S associations
C) preparatory responses
D) all of the above

Question 47

The cerebellum is the only brain circuit that mediates the conditioning process.

Question 48

The idea that a CR and UR, in the same experiment, can be different responses is:

A) wrong
B) a critical element of prepared learning
C) a hallmark feature of opponent-process theory
D) none of the above

Question 49

The cause-and-effect relationship that exists between a CS and US in a classical conditioning situation has a historical precedent in the work of:

A) Rationalist philosophers
B) Nativist philosophers
C) the British Empiricists
D) all of the above

Question 50

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the nature of phobia acquisition described by Watson & Raynor?

A) a young child becomes afraid of dogs after watching his brother get bitten by a dog
B) a woman fails to develop a fear of heights after falling down a flight of stairs
C) a dog becomes fearful of newspapers as a result of its owner hitting it with a paper every day at 4 pm
D) none of the above

Question 51

Assuming Ohman & Mineka's "prepared fear module" theory is accurate, one can reduce or eliminate a fear by simply realizing, consciously, that the feared object cannot really be harmful.

Question 52

Assume that a CS-US pairing has led to the establishment of a CR, and this CR is then extinguished. The subsequent presentation of a US by itself will most likely lead to:

A) reinstatement
B) renewal
C) spontaneous recovery
D) continued extinction

Question 53

Systematic desensitization supports the notion of:

A) preparedness
B) learned associative bias
C) prepared associative bias
D) all of the above