Deck 2: Early Behaviorism: Pavlov, Watson, and Guthrie

Question 1

With regard to Pavlov's experiment with conditioning, which of the following is false?

A) Classical conditioning may also be used with humans.
B) Deaf animals may also be classically conditioned.
C) The unconditioned response is a muscular-glandular response to the environment.
D) Unconditioned responses are unpredictable.

Answer 1

Unconditioned responses are unpredictable.

Question 2

Reflexes are defined as

A) non-intentional unlearned behaviors.
B) voluntary and controlled behaviors.
C) complex unlearned behaviors.
D) responses that cannot be conditioned.

Answer 2

non-intentional unlearned behaviors.

Question 3

In classical conditioning which of the following is true of an unconditioned stimulus?

A) The nature of the response to the unconditioned stimulus will vary with the presentation.
B) The conditioned stimulus will eventually substitute for the unconditioned stimulus.
C) The unconditioned stimulus is a new behavior.
D) The unconditioned stimulus is an internal state of the subject.

Answer 3

The conditioned stimulus will eventually substitute for the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 4

With regard to delayed pairing and contiguity, which of the following is true?

A) Contiguity applies to delayed pairing.
B) Contiguity does not apply to delayed pairing.
C) Contiguity applies to simultaneous pairing only.
D) Contiguity applies to backward pairing only.

Question 5

Trace conditioning involves

A) CS beginning and ending before US.
B) US beginning and ending before CS.
C) US and CS overlap.
D) CS and US are presented at the same time.

Question 6

Variations in contiguity and presentation include

A) backtracking conditioning.
B) forward conditioning.
C) delayed conditioning.
D) operant conditioning.

Question 7

The conditioning of actions involving glands or involuntary muscles is called

A) interoceptive conditioning.
B) elimination of bed-wetting.
C) habit formation.
D) stimulative conditioning.

Question 8

According to Pavlov, repeated pairing of CS and US

A) is necessary only with animals.
B) is a normal part of acquisition.
C) indicates mental impairment.
D) is necessary due to forgetting.

Question 9

Presenting the CS repeatedly without the US will result in

A) a stronger association between the two stimuli.
B) no effect on acquisition
C) an unknown effect.
D) the elimination of the conditioned response.

Question 10

The following characterizes spontaneous recovery:

A) The CR returns at the former intensity.
B) The CR returns at a lesser intensity.
C) The CR returns at a higher intensity.
D) The subject behaves as before the conditioning occurred.

Question 11

Contiguity may be described as

A) that which is ongoing, a process.
B) the effect of a stimulus.
C) that which occurs after a response.
D) simultaneous, or near occurrence of an event.

Question 12

Watson described consciousness as

A) the effect of a stimulus.
B) important and relevant to learning.
C) neither definite nor useable.
D) the source of responses.

Question 13

Which of the following is a learned response?

A) blinking in response to a burst of air
B) raising one's hand in response to a question
C) salivating in response to the sight of food
D) fear in response to a loud noise

Question 14

The Little Albert demonstration illustrated

A) the effects of emotional conditioning.
B) children are poor research subjects.
C) reinforcement delays learning.
D) children have a natural fear of rodents.

Question 15

Which of the following describes John Watson?

A) He was concerned with the relationship of behavior to mental concepts.
B) He used the concept of introspection to explain behavior.
C) He was concerned with observable behavior as it relates to observable events in the environment.
D) He believed that a wide range of genetically transmitted emotions accounted for behavior.

Question 16

Ninety percent of students fail a math test for three days in a row. The teacher introduces another math test on a fourth day and the students moan in dismay. This occurs because of

A) stimulus generalization.
B) stimulus discrimination.
C) a conditioned response.
D) a conditioned stimulus.

Question 17

According to behaviorists, discrimination involves

A) responding to those of a different gender differently.
B) responding to each stimulus separately, depending on the stimulus characteristics.
C) responding to each person differently despite obvious differences.
D) responding positively only to those similar to oneself.

Question 18

Watson might give advice to first-time parents in which of the following ways?

A) Get to know your child's inherent personality.
B) Both genetics and environment affect personality. Change what you can and accept the rest.
C) Your child's personality will depend upon your influence.
D) Your child can become whatever he/she chooses to be.

Question 19

Watson's hospital experiment with Little Albert resulted in a conditioned fear response to the presence of a rat. The unconditioned fear response, according to Watson, was

A) a result of the child's temperament.
B) emotional dysfunction of the child.
C) a random emotional response that continued due to reinforcement.
D) an emotional reflex.

Question 20

Backward pairing

A) though generally ineffective, has been shown to occur in instances involving preparedness to learn by the organism.
B) according to research, is only theoretically possible since learning has yet been empirically proven to occur by this method.
C) is an approach to the building of relationships among those who possess the character trait of shyness.
D) despite claims to the contrary, has proven to be the most effective method of pairing in terms of longevity of learning.

Question 21

In response to a craving for chocolate, a young student purchased a large number of candy bars, and throughout a single evening ate all of them. The evening resulted in nausea to the point that he stayed in bed the entire next day. He has not liked chocolate since. Guthrie's technique that would explain the response is called

A) the Threshold Method.
B) the Fatigue Method.
C) the Extinction Method.
D) the Method of Incompatible Stimuli.

Question 22

With regard to learning theory, behaviorism should be viewed as

A) a comprehensive, objective view of human learning.
B) an oversimplified explanation failing to address symbolic functioning.
C) contradictory to the claims of cognitivism.
D) foundational in its assertions, a necessary step in moving from the simple to the complex.

Question 23

A mathematics teacher comes to school in a bad mood and introduces fractions that day. Students seem unmotivated to learn. This can be attributed to

A) the pairing of the teacher's attitude with the content.
B) the negative environment in the room.
C) most students dislike fractions.
D) the teacher utilizing ineffective teaching strategies.

Question 24

Given a tabula rasa assumption, the following is true.

A) Each individual chooses who he may become.
B) Little can be known about learning.
C) Animals and humans may be made into anything a controller so chooses.
D) Animals may be shaped by a controller, but humans resist control and must cooperate.

Question 25

According to Guthrie, when an S-R connection is made, learning has taken place. Which of the following is true of this connection?

A) Repeating the pairing will strengthen the connection.
B) The connection is as strong as it will ever be.
C) The connection between S and R is an illusion.
D) Reinforcement of the R will strengthen the connection.

Question 26

William James' approach to understanding human behavior involved

A) controlled experiments, contiguity, and reinforcement.
B) objectivity, control, and measurement.
C) stream of consciousness, wholeness, and introspection.
D) stimuli, responses, and observation.

Question 27

An absolute threshold involves

A) the most stimulation before an organism shuts down.
B) the point beyond which response may not be objectively measured.
C) the least amount of stimulation required for sensation.
D) the least amount of response which may be observed.

Question 28

Selective breeding of racehorses may be described as

A) capitalism.
B) eugenics.
C) stimulus discrimination.
D) transfer.

Question 29

Nature is to nurture as

A) stimulus is to response.
B) contiguity is to reinforcement.
C) stimulus generalization is to stimulus discrimination.
D) biology is to the environment.

Question 30

According to Guthrie, One-Shot Learning applies to

A) the intellectually gifted.
B) all learners.
C) laboratory animals.
D) those who receive a particular type of instruction.

Question 31

Guthrie attributes forgetting to

A) the aging process.
B) a failure to reinforce.
C) an inadequate pairing process.
D) new learning replacing old.

Question 32

Making a smoker chain smoke multiple packs of cigarettes may break the habit according to Guthrie because

A) nicotine is stored for an indefinite period.
B) the requirement acts as a punishment.
C) the smoker recognizes this as an excess.
D) fatigue interrupts the response.

Question 33

The Threshold Method of breaking a habit involves

A) superstition.
B) resolutions made prior to marriage.
C) faint stimuli which fail to elicit a response.
D) lack of opportunity to engage in the habit.

Question 34

Contiguity is

A) when the occurrence of one event depends on the occurrence of another.
B) simultaneous pairing of stimulus and response.
C) selling the soap to win the car.
D) trace conditioning.

Question 35

Systematic Desensitization is most similar to

A) the Fatigue Method.
B) Movement Produced Stimuli.
C) the Incompatible Stimuli Method.
D) the Threshold Method.

Question 36

The best explanation for Movement Produced Stimuli is

A) habitual response.
B) reinforcement.
C) contiguity.
D) One Shot Learning.

Question 37

Guthrie believed that punishment changes habits due to

A) interruption of the habit.
B) behavior modification.
C) contiguity.
D) Movement Produced Stimuli.

Question 38

Conditioned responses

A) can never be eliminated.
B) only persist with repeated pairing.
C) must be periodically counterconditioned.
D) are remarkably durable.