Belovich- Brain and Behavior III: Learning theory

Question 1

Systematic desensitization is a type of :

Answer 1

classical conditioning

Question 2

aversive conditiioning is a type of :

Answer 2

classical conditioning

(drug rehab, Disulfiram makes alcoholics nauseated when they drink)

Question 3

flooding is a type of:

Answer 3

non-associative learning, habituation

get used to something

Question 4

token economy is a type of what learning theory?

Answer 4

operant conditioning

-reward the desired behavior

Question 5

biofeedback is part of which type of learning theory?

Answer 5

operant conditioning

see in real time how stress affects physiology

Question 6

cognitive/ behavioral theory is part of which types of learning theory?

Answer 6

employs multiple principles

Question 7

Habituation and sensitization are both forms of learning

Answer 7

Non-Associative

Question 8

• Repeated exposure to a mild stimulus reduces the response to mild stimulus • E.g., Desensitization to a stimulus through continuous exposure (underlying basis of “flooding” therapy)?

Answer 8

habituation

Question 9

Exposure to a strong stimulus increases response to mild stimulus • E.g., hearing a very loud noise reduces tolerance for other, quieter, noises like it • Different from a stimulus associated with trauma or negative experience?

Answer 9

sensitization

Question 10

a natural response to a rewarding stimulus can be associated with an unrelated stimulus or cue?

Answer 10

classical conditioning

Question 11

a stimulus that triggers a natural response without prior training (e.g., a hotdog)?

Answer 11

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

Question 12

the natural, reflexive response that occurs without prior training (e.g., salivation)

Answer 12

Unconditioned response (UR)

Question 13

a stimulus which, after training, becomes associated with another stimulus that triggers a natural response and triggers the response (e.g., a bell ringing instead of hotdog)?

Answer 13

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Question 14

a behavior which, after training, occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented (e.g., salivation occurs when the bell is rung)

Answer 14

Conditioned response (CR)

Question 15

An individual learns to associate a natural or reflexive response with an unrelated stimulus?

Answer 15

Acquisition:

Question 16

A new stimulus that resembles conditional stimulus elicits the conditional response

Answer 16

Stimulus Generalization

Question 17

Value is assigned to stimuli through learning

Answer 17

emotional ( the value is valence)

Question 18

What is assigned to a stimulus by integrating information from amygdala, stress system (HPA axis), and/or reward system?

Answer 18

valence

Question 19

Rewarding stimulus = positive/negative valence

Aversive stimulus= positive/negative valence

Answer 19

Rewarding stimulus = positive valence

• Aversive stimulus = negative valence

Question 20

Amygdala is associated with emotional learning and memory, fear and fear conditioning, and .

Answer 20

reward

Question 21

What is emotional competence as according to learning theory?

Answer 21

automatic response to stimulus that is not learned (running from a bear when you have never encountered a bear before).

Question 22

Stimuli (objects, animals, situations) with emotional can trigger emotions automatically without prior experience

• E.g., painful or rewarding

Answer 22

competence

Question 23

What is an example of Internal stimuli having an emotional value attached and trigger similar responses?

Answer 23

Panic Disorder: Internal stimuli associated with panic attack (increased heart rate, dizziness) may trigger fear of a panic attack

Question 24

What type of conditioning is paired with a negative event?

Answer 24

aversive conditioning (Disulfiram with alcoholics)

Question 25

Antother way to describe a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus, other than classical conditioning, is .

Answer 25

sign tracking

Question 26

Can classical conditioning occur with a positive and negative stimulus?

Answer 26

yes

Question 27

What process is described:

An individual learns that the conditional stimulus is not associated with the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned response ceases

Answer 27

Extinction

Question 28

Strength of conditioning and likelihood of extinction depends on and strength of the unconditional stimulus

Answer 28

duration

Question 29

What occurs when

an individual experiences an aversive stimulus or painful experience from which they cannot escape

• An individual learns that they cannot change their situation, since nothing they do can will alleviate the aversive/painful experience

Answer 29

learned helplessness

(common in cases of abuse)

Question 30

What type of medication has shown improvement in learned helplessness?

Answer 30

antidepressant treatment

Question 31

A grade school principal has 1 week to try out a new fire-alarm system for the school. He decides to test the system three times during the week. The first time the alarm is sounded, all of the students leave the school within 5 minutes. The second time, it takes the students 15 minutes to leave the school. The third time the alarm is sounded, the students ignore it. The students’ response to the fire alarm the third time it is sounded is most likely to have been learned by…

A) learned helplessness

B) habituation

C) sensitization

D) sign tracking

E) acquisition

Answer 31

B

The answer is B. The students’ response to the fire alarm is most likely to have been learned by habituation, that is, desensitization. In this form of learning, continued exposure to a stimulus (the fire alarm, in this example) results in a decreased response to the stimulus. Thus, while the students respond quickly to the fire alarm at first, with repeated soundings of the alarm, they ultimately fail to respond to it. If sensitization had occurred, the students would have responded more quickly with each exposure to the alarm. In classical conditioning, a natural response is elicited by a learned stimulus. In operant conditioning, reinforcement is a consequence of a behavior that alters the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. Punishment is the introduction of an aversive stimulus that reduces the rate of an unwanted behavior, while extinction is the disappearance of a learned behavior when reinforcement is withheld.

Question 32

Whenever a 46-year-old man visits his physician, his blood pressure is elevated. When the patient takes his own blood pressure at home, it is usually normal. The doctor says that while other tests need to be done, the patient is probably showing ‘white-coat hypertension.’ For this scenario, the patient’s blood pressure in the doctor’s office represents…

A) the unconditioned stimulus

B) the unconditioned response

C) the conditioned stimulus

D) the conditioned stimulus

Answer 32

2. The answer is D. The patient’s elevated blood pressure in the doctor’s office is the conditioned (learned) response. This response results from an association that has been made by classical conditioning between the doctor and/or his white coat (conditioned stimulus) and something negative in the patient’s past (unconditioned stimulus), a reaction commonly called “white-coat hypertension.” The cue that this response is learned is that the patient’s blood pressure is relatively normal when taken at home.

Question 33

In Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner), A rather than a stimulus is paired with a psychologically significant event

Answer 33

behavior

Question 34

When the behavior leads to a positive outcome, the action is strengthened

Answer 34

positive reinforcement, reward learning

Question 35

When an action terminates or prevents the occurrence of a negative event, the behavior will strengthen

Answer 35

Negative Reinforcement, Avoidance Escape

Question 36

When the behavior leads to a negative outcome, the action is weakened

Answer 36

punishment

Question 37

What is the difference between positive and negative punishment?

Answer 37

• Positive punishment = punishment by adding an adverse outcome ( adding spanking to reduce unwanted behavior)
• Negative punishment = punishment by removing or taking away (taking away toy to reduce unwanted behavior)

Question 38

reinforcement leads to continuation/reduction of behavior?

Answer 38

continuation

Question 39

Which schedule of reinforcement is described:

Answer 39

continuous

Question 40

Which schedule of reinforcement is described:

Answer 40

fixed ratio (if you want behavior acquired quickly)

Question 41

Which schedule of reinforcement is described:

Answer 41

fixed interval

Question 42

Which schedule of reinforcement is described:

Answer 42

variable ratio

Question 43

Which schedule of reinforcement is described:

Answer 43

variable interval (gambling)

Question 44

A father scolds his child when she hits the dog. The child stops hitting the dog. This change in the child’s behavior is most likely to be a result of…

A) punishment

B) negative reinforcement

C) positive reinforcement

D) classical conditioning

E) extinction

F) sensitization

G) habituation

Answer 44

The answer is A. Because the behavior (hitting the dog) decreased, the scolding that this child received is probably punishment. Both negative and positive reinforcement increase behavior. Shaping involves rewarding closer and closer approximations of the wanted behavior until the correct behavior is achieved. In classical conditioning, a natural or reflexive response (behavior) is elicited by a learned stimulus (a cue from an internal or external event). (See also answers to Questions 11-16).

Question 45

A father scolds his child when she hits the dog. The child hits the dog twice as frequently as before. This change in the child’s behavior is most likely to be a result of…

A) punishment

B) negative reinforcement

C) positive reinforcement

D) classical conditioning

E) extinction

F) sensitization

G) habituation

Answer 45

The answer is C. Because the behavior (hitting the dog) is increased, the scolding that this child received is probably positive reinforcement. Both negative and positive reinforcement increase behavior. The reward or reinforcement for this hitting behavior is most likely to be increased attention from the father. Punishment decreases behavior

Question 46

Remember that, in conditioning, “positive” and “negative” correlate with “addition” and “removal,” not “good” and “bad.”

Answer 46

operant

Question 47

A 44-year-old woman has undergone three sessions of chemotherapy in a hospital. Each session has resulted in nausea. Before the fourth session, the patient becomes nauseated when she enters the hospital lobby. This patient’s reaction is a result of the type of learning best described as…

A) punishment

B) negative reinforcement

C) classical conditioning

D) sensitization

E) habituation

Answer 47

The answer is C. This common clinical phenomenon is an example of classical conditioning. In this example, a woman comes into the hospital for an intravenous (IV) chemotherapy treatment (unconditioned stimulus). The chemotherapy drug is toxic and she becomes nauseated after the treatment (unconditioned response). The following month, when she enters the hospital lobby (conditioned stimulus), she becomes nauseated (conditioned response). Thus, the hospital where the treatments took place (conditioned stimulus) has become paired with chemotherapy (the unconditioned stimulus), which elicited nausea. Now, nausea (conditioned response) can be elicited by entering the hospital lobby (conditioned stimulus), even though she has not yet received the medication. In operant conditioning, behavior is learned by its consequences. Modeling is a type of observational learning. Shaping involves rewarding closer and closer approximations of the wanted behavior until the correct behavior is achieved. Extinction is the disappearance of a learned behavior when reinforcement is withheld.

Question 48

A patient with diabetes increases her time spent exercising in order to reduce the number of insulin injections she must receive. The increased exercising behavior is most likely to be a result of…

A) punishment

B) negative reinforcement

C) classical conditioning

D) sensitization

E) habituation

Answer 48

The answer is B. Because the behavior (exercise) is increased to avoid something negative (insulin injections), this is an example of negative reinforcement.

Question 49

A 43-year-old woman is having difficulty falling asleep. Her physician advises her to listen to a 30-minute tape of ocean sounds and then go through a series of relaxation exercises every night prior to going to sleep. Two weeks later, the patient reports that she falls asleep as soon as she hears the sounds on the tape, even without doing the relaxation exercises. Falling asleep when she hears the tape is most likely to be due to which of the following?

A) negative reinforcement

B) positive reinforcement

C) classical conditioning

D) extinction

E) sensitization

Answer 49

The answer is C. Via classical conditioning, the patient has made an association between the sounds on the tape and sleeping, so she now falls asleep as soon as she hears the sounds

Question 50

In the past, a child has on occasion received money for cleaning his room. Despite the fact that he has not received money for cleaning his room for the past month, the child’s room-cleaning behavior continues (is resistant to extinction). This child’s room-cleaning behavior was probably learned using which of the following methods?

A) continuous reinforcement B) fixed ratio reinforcement C) fixed interval reinforcement D) variable ratio reinforcement E) punishment

Answer 50

The answer is D. This child has received money on unpredictable occasions for cleaning his room. Behavior learned in this way (i.e., by variable ratio reinforcement) is very resistant to extinction and continues even when it is not rewarded. Behavior learned by fixed schedules of reinforcement (ratio or interval) is less resistant to extinction. Behavior learned by continuous reinforcement is least resistant to extinction. Punishment is aversive and is aimed at suppressing an undesirable behavior.

Question 51

Which type of behavioral theory would be applied:

Answer 51

systematic desensitization

Question 52

Which type of behavioral theory would be applied:

Answer 52

aversive conditioning

Question 53

Which type of behavioral theory would be applied:

Answer 53

flooding and implosion

Question 54

Which type of behavioral theory would be applied:

Answer 54

token economy

Question 55

Which type of behavioral theory would be applied:

Answer 55

biofeedback

Question 56

Which type of behavioral theory would be applied:

Answer 56

CBT

Question 57

A 30-year-old man who is afraid to ride in an elevator is put into a relaxed state and then shown a film of people entering elevators in a high-rise building. This method of management is based primarily on…

A) classical conditioning B) aversive conditioning C) operant conditioning D) stimulus generalization

Answer 57

The answer is A. This method of management, systematic desensitization, is based on classical conditioning. The film of people entering elevators in a high-rise building is paired with relaxation. After continued pairing of elevators and relaxation, elevators will no longer induce fear. Later on in treatment, the person will be encouraged to look into a real elevator and finally to ride in one