(Minor) Learning & Memory Flashcards
Ella took Spanish classes in her last two years of high school but decided to learn French in college instead of continuing with Spanish. She found that, even after studying French for two semesters, whenever she tried to recall the French equivalent for an English word, she’d recall the Spanish word instead. Ella’s experience illustrates which of the following? A. retroactive interference B. proactive interference C. the serial position effect D. the recency effect
B. proactive interference
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P1-LEA-Memory and Forgetting-136 Answer B is correct. Proactive interference occurs when prior learning (e.g., Spanish) interferes with the ability to learn or recall new information (e.g., French).
To teach a young child with autism spectrum disorder to wave good-bye, his mother first reinforces him with a small cookie when he moves his arm when a family member is leaving. Then, when he does that consistently, she reinforces him with a cookie only when he raises his arm when a family member is leaving. Then, she reinforces him with a cookie only when he raises his arm and moves his hand in any way when a family member is leaving. And, finally, the boy’s mother reinforces him only when he raises his arm and moves his hand in the correct way when a family member is leaving. The technique used by the mother is known as: A. shaping. B. chaining. C. higher-order conditioning. D. prompting.
A. shaping.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P1-LEA-Interventions Based on Operant Conditioning-075 Answer A is correct. Shaping is also known as successive approximation conditioning and involves reinforcing successive approximations to the desired behavior until the desired behavior is established.
Restitution and positive practice are components of which of the following? A. response cost B. Premack principle C. overcorrection D. differential reinforcement
C. overcorrection
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P1-LEA-Interventions Based on Operant Conditioning-086 Answer C is correct. Overcorrection is used to reduce or eliminate an undesirable behavior and is classified as a type of positive punishment. It consists of two components: Restitution requires the individual to fix any negative consequences of the behavior (e.g., having a child clean up the food he threw on the floor while the family ate dinner). Positive practice involves practicing more appropriate behaviors (e.g., having the child scrape the uneaten food off the plates of other family members into the garbage can).
Miller’s (1956) “magical number seven, plus or minus two” refers to:
A. the capacity of sensory memory.
B. the capacity of short-term memory.
C. the duration (in milliseconds) of information in sensory memory.
D. the duration (in seconds) of information in working memory.
B. the capacity of short-term memory.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P1-LEA-Memory and Forgetting-114 Answer B is correct. Miller found that the capacity of short-term memory is limited to between five and nine (seven plus and minus two) chunks of information.
Mowrer’s (1960) two-factor theory of learning is most useful for understanding which of the following? A. avoidance conditioning B. escape conditioning C. spontaneous recovery D. operant extinction
A. avoidance conditioning
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P1-LEA-Operant Conditioning-053 Answer A is correct. Mowrer’s two-factor theory of learning proposes that some behaviors are the result of a combination of classical and operant conditioning. Avoidance conditioning is an example of two-factor learning because it combines classical conditioning and negative reinforcement (operant conditioning). For example, a rat may learn that it can escape (stop) an electric shock by pressing a bar, which is the negative reinforcement component. Then, if a flashing light signals that the shock is about to occur, the light becomes paired with the shock so that the light elicits anticipatory fear, which is the classical conditioning component. The rat then avoids the shock by pressing the bar as soon as the light starts flashing.
