Chapter 7 - Learning

Question 1

Pavlov’s success suggested a scientific model for how the young discipline of psychology might proceed: by isolating the basic building blocks of complex behaviors and studying them with _____ laboratory procedures.

Answer 1

objective

Question 1

Janine’s uncle comes to visit for a few days. He is a yoga instructor and practices yoga in Janine’s living room on a daily basis. Near the end of his visit, Janine suddenly flops to the ground and does her best imitation of one of her uncle’s poses. Thus she has learned via _____.

Answer 1

observation

Question 1

Irene is having trouble convincing her husband that spanking isn’t necessarily the best way to control their child’s behavior. Which of the following arguments should she use to support her position?

1. All of these arguments support her position to avoid spanking.
2. Spanking can create fear in children.
3. Spanking provides a model of aggressive behavior as a tool for problem solving.
4. When spanked, children do not forget the punished behavior. They simply suppress it, and are not taught what behavior to exhibit in its place.

Answer 1

• All of these arguments support her position to avoid spanking.

Question 3

John has been a coffee drinker since he started college three years ago. He finds that anytime he smells coffee when he enters a nearby Starbucks he starts to feel more alert and awake even before he takes his first sip of coffee. This is an example of:

1. spontaneous recovery.
2. operant conditioning.
3. classical conditioning.
4. law of effect.

Answer 3

classical conditioning.

Question 3

A variable-ratio schedule reinforces behavior after a:

a. certain amount of time.
b. varying amount of time.
c. set number of responses.
d. varying number of responses.

Answer 3

d

Question 3

Punishment _____ the rate of operant responding, and negative reinforcement _____ the rate of operant responding.

1. decreases; decreases
2. has no effect on; has no effect on
3. decreases; increases
4. increases; decreases

Answer 3

decreases; increases

Question 4

In classical conditioning, the _____ is a stimulus that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers a response.

Answer 4

unconditioned stimulus

Question 4

_____ involves any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

Answer 4

Positive reinforcement

Question 5

Researchers conditioned a flatworm to contract when exposed to light by repeatedly pairing the light with an electric shock. The electric shock is a(n) _____.

Answer 5

unconditioned stimulus

Question 5

In _____ conditioning an organism’s biological predispositions determine that organisms best learn behaviors similar to their natural behaviors; unnatural behaviors instinctively drift back toward natural ones.

Answer 5

operant

Question 5

Parents who model reading, helpful behavior, and nonviolent responses are likely to increase _____ behavior in their children.

Answer 5

prosocial

Question 6

An experimenter sounds a tone just before delivering an air puff to your blinking eye. After several repetitions, you blink to the tone alone. What is the NS? The US? The UR? The CS? The CR?

Answer 6

• NS = tone before procedure;
• US = air puff;
• UR = blink to air puff;
• CS = tone after procedure;
• CR = blink to tone

Question 7

Because she has oversight responsibility for the servicing and repair of her company’s fleet of cars, Rhonda frequently calls the garage mechanic to inquire whether service on various cars has been completed. Because service completion times are unpredictable, she is likely to be reinforced with positive responses to her inquiries on a ______________ schedule.

1. fixed-ratio
2. variable-interval
3. variable-ratio
4. fixed-interval

Answer 7

• variable-interval

Question 8

Why are habits, such as having something sweet with that cup of coffee, so hard to break?

Answer 8

Habits form when we repeat behaviors in a given context and, as a result, learn associations–often without our awareness. For example, we may have eaten a sweet pastry with a cup of coffee often enough to associate the flavor of the coffee with the treat, so that the cup of coffee alone just doesn’t seem right anymore!

Question 9

In Watson and Rayner’s experiments, “Little Albert” learned to fear a white rat after repeatedly experiencing a loud noise as the rat was presented. In this experiment, what was the US? The UR? The NS? The CS? The CR?

Answer 9

The US was the loud noise; the UR was the fear response; the NS was the rat before it was paired with the noise; the CS was the rat after pairing; the CR was fear.

Question 9

With _______ conditioning, we learn associations between events we do not control. With _________ conditioning, we learn associations between our behavior and resulting events.

Answer 9

classical, operant

Question 9

Three-year-old Kirsten was playing with a balloon she was given by her father. While playing with the balloon it popped in her face, which frightened her and caused her to cry loudly. That weekend she was attending a birthday party, saw some balloons, began to cry, and ran out of the room. This is an example of:

1. classical conditioning.
2. operant conditioning.
3. observational learning.
4. the law of effect.

Answer 9

classical conditioning

Question 10

Jane had leukemia as a child and had to undergo numerous bouts of chemotherapy. She had associated the waiting room with nausea. Now 35 years old, she had to take her mother to the same hospital for breast cancer treatment. She became nauseous while in the waiting room with her mother. Her nausea best illustrates:

1. spontaneous recovery.
2. latent learning.
3. shaping.
4. delayed reinforcement.

Answer 10

spontaneous recovery.

Question 11

Whenever Tamika tries to talk on the telephone, her 10-year-old son Jamal repeatedly interrupts her. If Tamika wanted to use operant conditioning principles to successfully alleviate the behavior, the most efficient response would be to:

1. ignore Jamal’s attempts to talk to her while she is on the phone.
2. send Jamal to his room every time he interrupts Tamika while she is on the phone.
3. reward Jamal for not interrupting her during a phone call.
4. tell her friend that she will call her back and immediately attend to whatever it was that Jamal wanted.

Answer 11

• reward Jamal for not interrupting her during a phone call.

Question 11

_______________ occurs when something you learned before interferes with your recall of something you learn later.

1. Proactive interference
2. A flashbulb memory
3. Retroactive interference
4. Relearning

Answer 11

• Proactive interference

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the significant findings of Pavlov’s research in classical conditioning?

1. Many other responses to many other stimuli can be classically conditioned in many other organisms.
2. Pavlov showed us how a process such as learning can be studied objectively.
3. Classical conditioning is one way that virtually all organisms learn to adapt to their environment.
4. Almost all human and animal behaviors, including voluntary behaviors, can be shaped through classical conditioning.

Answer 12

Almost all human and animal behaviors, including voluntary behaviors, can be shaped through classical conditioning.

Question 13

What conditioning principle is affecting the snail’s affections?

``I dont care if shes a tape dispenser, I love her

Answer 13

Generalization

Question 13

The reason why abusive parents raise aggressive children and why wife-beating husbands had wife-beating fathers is because of the _____ effects of this sort of modeling.

Answer 13

antisocial

Question 15

In Bandura’s experiment, compared to children not exposed to the adult model, those who observed the model’s aggressive outburst were ________________ to lash out at the doll.

1. unable
2. equally
3. much more likely
4. much less likely

Answer 15

• much more likely

Question 16

Pauline is learning how to play tennis. For her first lesson, her instructor models serving and backhand returns while Pauline patiently watches. Pauline then tries to imitate the sequence of swings and motions made by her instructor. This is an example of _____ learning.

Answer 16

observational

Question 17

Which pioneering learning researcher highlighted the antisocial effects of aggressive models on children’s behavior?

1. Skinner
2. Watson
3. Bandura
4. Pavlov

Answer 17

Bandura

Question 18

Researchers have found that classical conditioning can be used to produce an immune response in patients. Of the following pairings, which would be the most likely to produce this response?

1. lemonade with the immune-enhancing drug
2. minor electric shock with the immune-enhancing drug
3. the immune-enhancing drug followed by a tone
4. the immune-enhancing drug followed by a puff of air into the eye

Answer 18

1. lemonade with the immune-enhancing drug

Question 18

Leonard is a heroin addict. He is very careful about overdosing. He typically shoots up in his basement apartment, but is now at a friend’s house and needs a fix really badly. He’s never done drugs at his friend’s house before, but he’s desperate. He injects his normal “safe” dosage of heroin but almost dies of an overdose. According to the principles of classical conditioning, what happened?

1. Leonard’s friend switched his drugs in order to teach him not to use drugs by switching his US with his CS.
2. Leonard took his dose too soon and his body already had too much.
3. The effect of the heroin was increased because Leonard injected it in a strange environment and his body could not use the stimuli in his basement to prepare for it.
4. Leonard’s drug tolerance had reached its limits thus his US was confounded with his CS and UR.

Answer 18

The effect of the heroin was increased because Leonard injected it in a strange environment and his body could not use the stimuli in his basement to prepare for it.

Question 19

Marlee was raped at gunpoint in a parking garage. Her attacker was wearing strong cologne, and she now refuses to go through the male fragrance department at the department store, will not be alone by herself with any man, and will not park in any garages. This reaction best illustrates:

1. an unconditioned response (UR).
2. generalization.
3. operant conditioning.
4. discrimination.

Answer 19

2

Question 21

Classical conditioning focuses on ________________ behavior, whereas operant conditioning focuses on ________________ behavior.

1. respondent; operant
2. hidden; observable
3. controllable; uncontrollable
4. voluntary; involuntary

Answer 21

respondent; operant

Question 23

In his experiments, Pavlov found that spontaneous recovery often occurred after a conditioned response was extinguished if:

1. after a few hours without the CS or the US, the tone was presented again.
2. the neutral stimulus was presented before the conditioned response.
3. the tone was sounded again and again without presenting food to the dogs.
4. the tone was sounded again and again while presenting food to the dogs.

Answer 23

• after a few hours without the CS or the US, the tone was presented again.

Question 24

Salivating in response to a tone paired with food is a(n) _______ behavior; pressing a bar to obtain food is a(n) _______ behavior.

Answer 24

respondent; operant

Question 26

In classical conditioning situations, the connection between the unconditioned stimulus and the _____ is unlearned.

Answer 26

unconditioned response

Question 27

Wanda is a mildly autistic adult who has difficulty empathizing with the feelings of others and inferring what emotions another person might be experiencing. The ability in which Wanda seems to have reduced function is called:

1. classical conditioning.
2. operant conditioning.
3. observational learning.
4. theory of mind.

Answer 27

• theory of mind.

Question 28

The law of effect most clearly influenced:

1. Skinner’s experiments on reinforcement.
2. Pavlov’s studies of conditioned salivation.
3. Garcia and Koelling’s research on taste aversion.
4. Watson and Rayner’s findings on fear conditioning.

Answer 28

Skinner’s experiments on reinforcement.

Question 28

Researchers conditioned a flatworm to contract when exposed to light by repeatedly pairing the light with electric shock. The electric shock is a(n):

1. conditioned stimulus (CS).
2. unconditioned stimulus (US).
3. conditioned reinforcer (CR).
4. negative reinforcer.

Answer 28

• unconditioned stimulus (US).

Question 29

Which of the following measures of retention is the LEAST sensitive in triggering retrieval?

1. recognition
2. They are all equally sensitive.
3. recall
4. relearning

Answer 29

• They are all equally sensitive.

Question 30

Critics of _____ were concerned that he dehumanized people because he ignored the existence of personal freedom and dignity.

Answer 30

Skinner

Question 32

Money is to extrinsic reward as enjoyment of an activity is to _____ reward.

Answer 32

intrinsic

Question 33

The first step of classical conditioning, when an NS becomes a CS, is called ________. When a US no longer follows the CS, and the CR becomes weakened, this is ________.

Answer 33

acquisition, extinction

Question 34

Which of the following factors would be important in the acquisition of aggressive behaviors through observational learning?

1. models who commit violent acts but go unpunished
2. the socioeconomic status of the observer
3. models perceived as somehow different from the observer
4. models who are not respected by the observer

Answer 34

• models who commit violent acts but go unpunished

Question 36

Critics of B. F. Skinner were concerned that:

1. he ignored the influence of stimulus-response associations.
2. he relied too heavily on animals to explain general learning principles.
3. his research methods were flawed.
4. he dehumanized people because he ignored the existence of personal freedom and dignity.

Answer 36

• he dehumanized people because he ignored the existence of personal freedom and dignity.

Question 37

In classical conditioning _____, while in operant conditioning _____.

1. we learn to associate a response (our behavior) and its consequence; we learn to associate two stimuli and thus to anticipate events
2. we learn to associate two stimuli and thus to anticipate events; we learn to associate a response (our behavior) and its consequence
3. we learn through observation; we learn through imitation
4. we learn by avoiding punishment; we learn to associate a response (our behavior) and its consequence

Answer 37

2

Question 38

John B. Watson believed that psychology should be the science of:

1. observable behavior.
2. cognitive processes.
3. emotional outcomes.
4. genetic predispositions.

Answer 38

1

Question 39

When a 4-year-old girl suddenly picks up her toy ironing board and plays it like it is an electric guitar, it is likely that she has seen someone playing a real electric guitar in the same manner. Thus she has learned via:

1. neural networks.
2. classical conditioning.
3. observation.
4. operant conditioning.

Answer 39

observation

Question 40

Studies using fMRI showed brain activity related to actual pain is mirrored in the brain of a subject observing a loved one’s suffering. Empathy in the brain shows up in the _____ areas of the brain, but not in the somatosensory cortex, which receives the physical pain input.

Answer 40

emotional

Question 42

Although Skinner and other behaviorists did not think that it was necessary to refer to thoughts or expectations when explaining human learning, findings from experiments with rats suggest otherwise. The fact that rats seem to experience latent learning suggest that _____ processes are involved in operant learning.

Answer 42

cognitive

Question 42

Blinking in response to a puff of air directed into your eye is a(n):

1. conditioned stimulus (CS).
2. conditioned response (CR).
3. unconditioned response (UR).
4. unconditioned stimulus (US).

Answer 42

• unconditioned response (UR).

Question 45

Taste aversion is a real-life example of which of the following types of learning?

1. insight conditioning
2. observational learning
3. classical conditioning
4. latent learning

Answer 45

• classical conditioning

Question 46

Watson and Rayner taught “Little Albert” to fear white rats by:

1. showing Albert movies of children being bitten by rats.
2. showing Albert a white rat and then punishing him when he touched it.
3. negatively reinforcing Albert when he approached a rat.
4. repeatedly pairing a loud noise with the presentation of a white rat.

Answer 46

4

Question 48

In observational learning, the most effective models are those:

1. who use inconsistent actions and words.
2. who are respected only a little by the general population.
3. likely to imitate people we perceive as similar to ourselves, as successful, or as admirable.
4. who are perceived as different from the observer.

Answer 48

• likely to imitate people we perceive as similar to ourselves, as successful, or as admirable.

Question 51

Billy is “hammering” a nail with his toy hammer as his father is hammering the deck boards. His behavior is a clear example of _____.

Answer 51

modeling

Question 52

Animals and humans learn about the consequences of behavior through:

1. instinctual learning.
2. classical conditioning.
3. observational learning.
4. operant conditioning.

Answer 52

4

Question 54

Conditioned taste aversions demonstrate:

1. that certain stimuli are easier to associate than others because of biological preparedness.
2. that the interval between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus must be only a few seconds, or classical conditioning will not occur.
3. that any neutral stimulus is capable of becoming a conditioned stimulus.
4. the power of punishment to suppress behavior.

Answer 54

Conditioned taste aversions demonstrate that certain stimuli are easier to associate than others because of biological preparedness.

Question 55

__________________ behavior operates on the environment, whereas, ________________ behavior occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

1. Involuntary; voluntary
2. Operant; respondent
3. Respondent; operant
4. Uncontrollable; controllable

Answer 55

• Involuntary; voluntary

Question 56

B.F. Skinner believed that external influences, not _____, shape animal and human behavior.

1. positive reinforcement
2. negative reinforcement
3. thoughts and feelings
4. unconscious influences

Answer 56

thoughts and feelings

Question 57

In a famous experiment, John Garcia gave novel food to one group of rats and familiar food to another group of rats. Both groups of rats were made to vomit. According to Garcia’s work, the rats given the _____ food would develop an aversion to their food.

Answer 57

novel

Question 58

Mirror neurons are found in the brain’s ______________ and are believed to be the neural basis for ______________.

1. temporal lobe; observational learning
2. temporal lobe; operant conditioning
3. frontal lobe; classical conditioning
4. frontal lobe; observational learning

Answer 58

• frontal lobe; observational learning

Question 59

Four-year-old Tommy developed a fear of going down steps after falling down the steps in his house several times. When he was at his grandmother’s house he demonstrated no fear of climbing the steps to her front door. Unlike Little Albert’s fear of white rats and other white items, Tommy was demonstrating _____.

Answer 59

discrimination

Question 60

Jamal wanted to train his dog to sit and lay down when he commanded the behavior. Jamal should use _____ conditioning to train his dog.

Answer 60

operant

Question 62

Match the examples (1–5) to the appropriate underlying learning principle (a-e):

a. Classical conditioning
b. Operant conditioning
c. Latent learning
d. Observational learning
e. Biological predispositions

1. Knowing the way from your bed to the bathroom in the dark
2. Your little brothers getting in a fight after watching a violent action
   movie
3. Salivating when you smell brownies in the oven
4. Disliking the taste of chili after being violently sick a few hours after
   eating chili

Answer 62

1. c,
2. d,
3. a,
4. e,
5. b

Question 63

In slasher movies, sexually arousing images of women are sometimes paired with violence against women. Based on classical conditioning principles, what might be an effect of this pairing?

Answer 63

If viewing an attractive nude or semi-nude woman (a US) elicits sexual arousal (a UR), then pairing the US with a new stimulus (violence) could turn the violence into a conditioned stimulus (CS) that also becomes sexually arousing, a conditioned response (CR).

Question 64

Operant conditioning strengthens behavior through the:

a. repetition of an action.
b. consequences that occur.
c. conditioned stimulus.
d. neutral stimulus.

Answer 64

b

Question 65

The law of effect states that rewarded behavior is likely to recur and is this psychologist’s principle.

1. Pavlov
2. Skinner
3. Thorndike
4. Garcia

Answer 65

Thorndike

Question 66

e of Pavlov’s major contributions to the field of psychology was to show how:

1. the discipline of psychology could be based on objective laboratory methods.
2. classical conditioning can be used to explain learning in canines, but not other organisms.
3. an organisms’ behavior can be shaped by rewards and reinforcement.
4. dogs anticipate and expect events.

Answer 66

1. the discipline of psychology could be based on objective laboratory methods.

Question 67

_____ behavior operates on the environment, whereas respondent behavior occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

Answer 67

Operant

Question 68

You have been working nights and weekends to get a project completed at work. You are successful, and a couple of weeks later you come into work and your boss presents you with a bonus check. This best illustrates the value of:

1. positive reinforcement.
2. secondary reinforcement.
3. negative reinforcement.
4. erratic behavior.

Answer 68

• positive reinforcement.

Question 69

Jane had Leukemia as a child and had to undergo numerous bouts of chemotherapy. The chemotherapy always made her nauseous. As she underwent a year of treatment, the waiting room started to make her nauseous. The chemotherapy is:

1. the unconditioned response.
2. the neutral stimulus.
3. the conditioned stimulus.
4. the conditioned response.

Answer 69

• the unconditioned response.

Question 70

If the aroma of cake baking sets your mouth to watering, what is the US? The CS? The CR?

Answer 70

The cake (and its taste) are the US. The associated aroma is the CS. Salivation to the aroma is the CR.

Question 71

In classical conditioning, biological predispositions _____ what stimuli and responses can be easily associated.

Answer 71

constrain

Question 72

Irene is having trouble convincing her husband that spanking isn’t necessarily the best way to control their child’s behavior. Which of the following arguments should she use to support her position?

1. Parents who spank are more effective parents.
2. When spanked, children do not forget the punished behavior. They simply suppress it, and are not taught what behavior to exhibit in its place.
3. Spanking will help the child reduce his or her own aggressive behavior in the future.
4. Spanking will teach a child how to behave appropriately.

Answer 72

When spanked, children do not forget the punished behavior. They simply suppress it, and are not taught what behavior to exhibit in its place.

Question 73

. Automatic processing is an unconscious, effortless encoding of information about:

1. time.
2. Automatic processing is the unconscious, effortless encoding of all of these things.
3. frequency.
4. space.

Answer 73

• Automatic processing is the unconscious, effortless encoding of all of these things.

Question 74

Most learning involves the process of association. With classical conditioning, an organism comes to associate:

1. a response and its consequences.
2. two stimuli.
3. something observed and its consequences.
4. a neutral stimulus and a reward.

Answer 74

• two stimuli

Question 75

Money is an example of a:

a. primary reinforcer.
b. secondary reinforcer.
c. positive punishment.
d. negative punishment.

Answer 75

b

Question 76

All of the following are major contributions of Pavlov’s to the field of psychology EXCEPT the idea that:

1. significant psychological phenomena can be studied objectively.
2. his methods demonstrated the importance of subjective judgments.
3. principles of learning apply across species.
4. the discipline of psychology could be based on objective laboratory methods.

Answer 76

2

Question 77

Telemarketers are reinforced by which schedule? People checking the oven to see if the cookies are done are on which schedule? Airline frequent-flyer programs that offer a free flight after every 25,000 miles of travel are using which reinforcement schedule?

Answer 77

Telemarketers are reinforced on a variable-ratio schedule (after varying number of calls). Cookie checkers are reinforced on a fixed-interval schedule. Frequent-flyer programs use a fixed-ratio schedule.

Question 78

Which of the following factors would be important in the acquisition of aggressive behaviors through observational learning?

1. models who are not respected by the observer
2. models who commit violent acts but go unpunished
3. models perceived as somehow different from the observer
4. the socioeconomic status of the observer

Answer 78

• models who commit violent acts but go unpunished

Question 79

Every time Martin opens the cabinet where he stores his dog’s treats, his dog begins to bark in anticipation. This is an example of _____ learning.

Answer 79

associative