Module 5

Question 1

How do psychologists describe learning?

Answer 1

As a relatively permanent change in behaviour, knowledge, capability or attitude that is acquired through experience and cannot be attributed to illness, injury or maturation

Question 2

What is a stimulus?

Answer 2

Any object or event in the environment to which an organism reponds.

Question 3

What is associative learning?

Answer 3

Learning by association. Associating one thing with another.

Question 4

What was Ivan Pavlov’s (1849-1936) contribution to psychology?

Answer 4

He conducted a study on the conditioned reflex in dogs through salivation.

Question 5

What are the 2 kinds of reflexes?

Answer 5

Conditionned and unconditionned

Question 6

John Watson believed that in humans…

Answer 6

All fears except those of loud noises and loss of support are classically conditionned.

Question 7

How did John Watson demonstrate that fear could be classically conditioned?

Answer 7

In 1919, John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner conducted a study on a 11-month old to see if they could condition the baby to fear a white rat by associating the rat with a loud noise.

Question 8

What are the four factors influencing classical conditioning?

Answer 8

1. The NUMBER of pairings of the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus.
2. The INTENSITY of the unconditioned stimulus.
3. How reliably the conditioned stimulus PREDICTS the unconditioned stimulus.
4. The TEMPORAL relationship between the conditioned and the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 9

What does Robert Rescorla demonstarte about the most important element in classical conditioning that contradicts Pavlov?

Answer 9

The important factor is whether the unconditioned stimulus provides enough information to enable the organism that predicts the occurence of the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 10

What are the contemporary views of classical conditioning?

Answer 10

cognitive perspective and biological predisposition

Question 11

What type of responses can be learned through classical conditioning?

Answer 11

1. Fear response
2. Drug use
3. Advertising
4. Sexual arousal

Question 12

The diminish ability to acquire classicaly conditioned reponses may be an early marker for what disease?

Answer 12

Alzheimer’s disease

Question 13

The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response is called…

Answer 13

Extinction

Question 14

Albert’s fear of the white rat transferred to the rabbit, dog, seal coat, and mask. What process did this demonstrate?

Answer 14

Generalization