Chapter 5 Psych

__________ is any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice.
a) Learning
b) Adaptation
c) Memory enhancement
d) Muscle memory

Ans: learning Expln: This is the definition of learning given in the textbook and restated in the summary

The researcher responsible for discovering classical conditioning was
a) Skinner.
b) Tolman.
c) Kohler.
d) Pavlov.

Ans: Pavlov Expln: Skinner developed the theory of operant conditioning, and both Kohler and Tolman focused on cognitive learning

Which of the following correctly describes the process of classical conditioning?
a) pairing a stimulus that naturally causes a certain response with a second stimulus that
naturally causes the same response
b) pairing a stimulus that naturally causes a certain response with a second stimulus that does
not naturally cause that response
c) presenting a pleasurable stimulus after the occurrence of a specific response
d) presenting an unpleasant stimulus after the occurrence of a specific response

Ans: pairing a stimulus that naturally causes a certain response with a second stimulus that does not naturally cause that response Expln: Classical conditioning occurs when you pair a neutral stimulus (NS) with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS). After repeated pairings, the NS now causes a response similar to the naturally occurring response. The stimulus is now called a conditioned stimulus and the response is the conditioned response.

When Pavlov placed meat powder or other food in the mouths of canine subjects, they began to
salivate. The salivation was a(n)
a) unconditioned response.
b) unconditioned stimulus.
c) conditioned response.
d) conditioned stimulus.

Ans: unconditioned response Expln: An unconditioned response is a response that occurs naturally and does not have to be learned. When food is placed in a dog’s mouth, the dog will naturally begin to salivate

Judy would sometimes discipline her puppy by swatting its nose with a rolled-up newspaper. One
day she brought the newspaper into the house still rolled up, and her puppy ran from her in fear. By
pairing the rolled paper with the swat, Judy’s puppy had developed a(n) ____________ response to
the rolled-up paper.
a) generalized
b) conditioned
c) unconditioned
d) discriminative

Ans: conditioned Expln: A conditioned response is a response that has been learned through association. Originally, the rolled-up newspaper did not cause a response of fear in the puppy, but after repeated pairings with a swat, it now causes the fear response

You decide you want to try to classically condition your pet dog. What is the correct order that you
should use to present the stimuli to your dog?
a) unconditioned stimulus – neutral stimulus
b) neutral stimulus – neutral stimulus
c) neutral stimulus – unconditioned stimulus
d) present the unconditioned stimulus only

Ans: neutral stimulus – unconditioned stimulus Expln: For classical conditioning to occur, the neutral stimulus must be repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus. In addition, the neutral stimulus must be presented before the unconditioned stimulus.

After you successfully classically conditioned your pet dog, you repeatedly presented the
conditioned stimulus without ever pairing it with the unconditioned stimulus. Over time, your dog
stops performing the conditioned response. What has happened?
a) extinction
b) spontaneous recovery
c) generalization
d) stimulus discrimination

Ans: extinction Expln: Extinction occurs when the CS is continuously presented without the UCS.

John Watson offered a live white rat to Little Albert and then made a loud noise behind his head by
striking a steel bar with a hammer. The white rat served as the ______________ in this study.
a) discriminative stimulus
b) counterconditioning stimulus
c) conditioned stimulus
d) unconditioned stimulus

Ans: conditioned stimulus Expln: First, decide whether the rat is a stimulus or a response. Obviously, the rat is a stimulus. Then figure out if the rat naturally, or instinctively, will cause the response of fear or if the response needs to be learned. If it needs to be learned, then the stimulus is a conditioned stimulus.

Pavlov discovered classical conditioning through his study of
a) cats escaping from a puzzle box.
b) primate research into problem solving.
c) digestive secretions in dogs.
d) lever-pressing responses of rats.

Ans: digestive secretions in dogs Expln: Pavlov was a Russian physiologist who won a Nobel prize for his study of the digestive system in dogs. It was during this research that he observed the phenomenon of classical conditioning and devoted the rest of his years in research to the study of classical conditioning

Television advertisers have taken advantage of the fact that most people experience positive
emotions when they see an attractive, smiling person. This association is an example of
a) operant conditioning.
b) a conditioned emotional response.
c) negative reinforcement.
d) punishment.

Ans: a conditioned emotional response Expln: The association between attractive people and feelings of happiness is learned through classical conditioning and is specifically referred to as a conditioned emotional response because it deals with a response of emotion. Notice that all the other choices were related to operant conditioning.

The current view of why classical conditioning works the way it does, by cognitive theorists such as
Rescorla, adds the concept of _____________ to the conditioning process.
a) generalization
b) habituation
c) memory loss
d) expectancy

Ans: expectancy Expln: Expectancy is the idea that the conditioned stimulus has to provide some information about the upcoming unconditioned stimulus, so that we are expecting the UCS to occur.

"If a response is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated. If a response is
followed by an unpleasant consequence, it will tend not to be repeated." This is a statement of
a) the law of positive reinforcement.
b) Rescorla’s cognitive perspective.
c) Thorndike’s law of effect.
d) Garcia’s conditional emotional response

Ans: Thorndike’s law of effect Expln: Thorndike developed this principle through his study of animals escaping from puzzle boxes

Kenra has a new pet cat and decides to modify her cat’s behavior by administering pleasant and
unpleasant consequences after her cat’s behaviors. Kenra is using the principles of
a) observational learning.
b) operant conditioning.
c) classical conditioning.
d) insight learning.

Ans: operant conditioning Expln: This is a modified form of the definition of operant conditioning

. A box used in operant conditioning of animals, which limits the available responses and thus
increases the likelihood that the desired response will occur, is called a
a) trial box.
b) response box.
c) Watson box.
d) Skinner box.

Ans: Skinner box Expln: The Skinner box was designed by B. F. Skinner and typically included an apparatus for the animal to move (such as a lever to press) and a mechanism for delivering a reward to the animal.

A negative reinforcer is a stimulus that is ___________ and thus ________ the probability of a
response.
a) removed; increases
b) removed; decreases
c) presented; increases
d) presented; decreases

Ans: removed; increases Expln: Always start with the fact that reinforcement always increases the response. Negative reinforcement occurs when an unpleasant stimulus is removed, making a the correct choice.

The partial reinforcement effect refers to a response that is reinforced after some, but not all, correct
responses will be
a) more resistant to extinction than a response receiving continuous reinforcement (a reinforcer for each and every correct response).
b) less resistant to extinction than a response receiving continuous reinforcement (a reinforcer for each and every correct response).
c) more variable in its resistance to extinction than a response receiving continuous reinforcement (a reinforcer for each and every correct response).
d) totally resistant to extinction unlike a response receiving continuous reinforcement (a reinforcer for each and every correct response).

Ans: more resistant to extinction than a response receiving continuous reinforcement (a reinforcer for each and every correct response). Expln: A response that is resistant to extinction that means that the person will continue making the response even when it is not followed by a reinforcer

Which example best describes the fixed interval schedule of reinforcement?
a) receiving a paycheck after two weeks of work
b) receiving a bonus after selling 20 cell phones
c) giving your dog a treat when he seems hungry
d) giving your dog a treat at least once a day when he comes when you call him

Ans: receiving a paycheck after 2 weeks of work Expln: Fixed means that the reinforcement will always be presented after the same period of time or number of responses. Interval means that you are dealing with the passage of time

Which schedule of reinforcement should you select if you would like to produce the highest number
of responses with the least number of pauses between the responses?
a) fixed ratio
b) variable ratio
c) fixed interval
d) variable interval

Ans: variable ratio Expln: The ratio schedule produces the most rapid responses because the reward depends on making a certain number of responses. The variable schedule reduces the pauses after receiving the reinforcer because the next reward could be given at any time.

When a stimulus is removed from a person or animal and decreases the probability of response, it is
known as
a) positive punishment.
b) punishment by removal.
c) negative reinforcement.
d) negative punishment.

Ans: punishment by removal Expln: Remember that punishment decreases behavior and reinforcement increases behavior. The question is asking about a behavior decrease, so it must be talking about punishment. Removing a stimulus is described as punishment by removal.

Your child has begun drawing on the walls of your house and you would like this activity to stop.
Which of the following actions would, at least temporarily, decrease the occurrence of the behavior
in your child?
a) use insight learning to get your child to stop drawing on the wall
b) use classical conditioning to create a positive association with drawing on the wall
c) negatively reinforce your child after she draws on the wall
d) punish your child after she draws on the wall

Ans: punish your child after she draws on the wall Expln: Once again, you would like the behavior to decrease so you should select punishment.

An example of a discriminative stimulus might be
a) a stop sign.
b) the stimulus that acts as a UCS in classical conditioning.
c) the white rat in Watson’s Little Albert study of producing phobias.
d) none of these.

Ans: a stop sign Expln: A discriminative stimulus is defined as a stimulus that provides a cue that a response might lead to reinforcement. It is a term used with operant conditioning.

In their 1961 paper on instinctive drift, the Brelands determined that three assumptions most
Skinnerian behaviorists believed in were not actually true. Which is one of the assumptions that
were NOT true?
a) The animal comes to the laboratory a tabula rasa, or "blank slate," and can therefore be
taught anything with the right conditioning.
b) Differences between species of animals are insignificant.
c) All responses are equally able to be conditioned to any stimulus.
d) All of these were not true

Ans: All of these were not true Expln: The Brelands questioned all three of these assumptions.

Applied behavior analysis or ABA has been used with autistic children. The basic principle of this
form of behavior modification is
a) partial reinforcement.
b) classical conditioning.
c) negative punishment.
d) shaping.

Ans: shaping Expln: ABA rewards closer and closer approximations to the desired behavior, which is the definition of shaping.

___________ is a type of operant conditioning that is used by humans to bring involuntary
responses, such as heart rate and blood pressure, under their voluntary control.
a) Biofeedback
b) Social learning
c) Preparedness
d) Instinct drift

Ans: Biofeedback Expln:Biofeedback uses feedback about biological conditions to bring involuntary responses under voluntary control. It is a type of operant conditioning. The change in physiological state is the response and the light or tone serves as the reinforcement

Cognition refers to
a) behavior that is observable and external.
b) behavior that is directly measurable.
c) the mental events that take place while a person is behaving.
d) memories.

Ans: the mental events that take place while a person is behaving Expln: Cognitive psychologists focus on our thought process and mental activities.

The idea that learning occurs, and is stored up, even when behaviors are not reinforced is called
a) insight.
b) latent learning.
c) placebo learning.
d) innate learning.

Ans: latent learning Expln: The word latent means something that’s present but not visible

A researcher places dogs in a cage with metal bars on the floor. The dogs are randomly given
electric shocks and can do nothing to prevent them or stop them. Later, the same dogs are placed in
a cage where they can escape the shocks by jumping over a low hurdle. When the shocks are given,
the dogs do not even try to escape. They just sit and cower. This is an example of
a) learned helplessness.
b) stimulus discrimination.
c) aversive conditioning.
d) vicarious learning.

Ans: learned helplessness Expln: Learned helplessness was studied by Seligman as a potential animal model of depression.

. The "aha!" experience is known as
a) latent learning.
b) insight learning.
c) thoughtful learning.
d) serial enumeration.

Ans: insight learning Expln: With this type of learning, you have a sudden realization or "insight."

If you learn how to fix your car by watching someone on TV demonstrate the technique, you are
acquiring that knowledge through
a) latent learning.
b) operant conditioning.
c) classical conditioning.
d) observational learning.

Ans: observational learning Expln: Observational learning occurs when you learn a new behavior or new knowledge through the observation of a model.

In Bandura’s study with the Bobo doll, the children in the group that saw the model punished did
not imitate the model at first. They would only imitate the model if given a reward for doing so. The
fact that these children had obviously learned the behavior without actually performing it is an
example of
a) latent learning.
b) operant conditioning.
c) classical conditioning.
d) insight learning.

Ans: latent learning Expln: Latent learning occurs when a new behavior has been acquired but the behavior is not performed, as the children in Bandura’s experiment did not imitate the model until they were encouraged and rewarded to do so.

In Bandura’s study of observational learning, the abbreviation AMIM stands for
a) attention, memory, imitation, motivation.
b) alertness, motivation, intent, monetary reward.
c) achievement, momentum, initiative, memory.
d) achievement, motivation, intellectual capacity, memory.

Ans: attention, memory, imitation, motivation Expln: All the selections match the abbreviation, so try to think about what skills would be needed to learn by observation. First of all, you need to watch the person you are trying to learn from, and you realize that observational learning can occur without any rewards being offered.

Which of the following real-world situations is using the principles of classical conditioning?
a) giving a child a star for completing her homework assignment
b) sending a child to time-out for stealing his friend’s toy truck
c) grounding a child until she gets her room cleaned
d) a hungry child smiling at the sight of the spoon her dad always uses to feed her lunch

Ans: a hungry child smiling at the sight of the spoon her dad always uses to feed her lunch Expln: Except for the hungry child, the examples are of operant conditioning, rather than classical conditioning.

applied behavior analysis (ABA)

modern term for a form of functional analysis and behavior modification that uses a variety of behavioral techniques to mold a desired behavior or response.

behavior modification

the use of operant conditioning techniques to bring about desired changes in behavior

biofeedback

using biofeedback about biological conditions to bring involuntary responses, such as blood pressure and relaxation, under voluntary control.

biological preparedness

referring to the tendency of animals to learn certain associations, such as taste and nausea, with only one or few pairings due to the survival value of the learning.

classical conditioning

learning to make an involuntary (reflex) response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that normally produces the reflex.

cognitive perspective

modern theory in which classical conditioning is seen to occur because the conditioned stimulus provides information or an expectancy about the coming of the unconditioned stimulus.

conditional emotional response (CER)

emotional response that has become classically conditioned to occur to learned stimuli, such as a fear of dogs or the emotional reaction that occurs when seeing an attractive person.

conditioned response (CR)

learned reflex response to a conditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus (CS)

stimulus that becomes able to produce a learned reflex response by being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus.

conditioned taste aversions

development of a nausea or aversive response to a particular taste because that taste was followed by a nausea reaction, occurring after only one association.

continuous reinforcement

the reinforcement of each and every correct response

discriminative stimulus

any stimulus, such as a stop sign or a doorknob, that provides the organism with a cue for making a certain response in order to obtain reinforcement.

extinction

the disappearance or weakening of a learned response following the removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus (in classical conditioning) or the removal of a reinforcer (in operant conditioning).

fixed interval schedule of reinforcement

schedule of reinforcement in which the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is always the same.

fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement

schedule of reinforcement in which the number of responses required for reinforcement is always the same

higher-order conditioning

occurs when a strong conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus, causing the neutral stimulus to become a second conditioned stimulus.

insight

the sudden perception of relationships among various parts of a problem, allowing the solution to the problem to come quickly.

instinctive drift

tendency for an animal’s behavior to revert to genetically controlled patterns.

latent learning

learning that remains hidden until its application becomes useful.

law of effect

law stating that if an action is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated, and if followed by an unpleasant consequence, it will tend to not be repeated

learned helplessness

the tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past.

learning/performance distinction

referring to the observation that learning can take place without actual performance of the learned behavior.

negative reinforcement

the reinforcement of a response by the removal, escape from, or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus

neurofeedback

form of biofeedback using brain-scanning devices to provide feedback about brain activity in an effort to modify behavior.

neutral stimulus (NS)

stimulus that has no effect on the desired response.

observational learning

learning new behavior by watching a model perform that behavior.

operant

any behavior that is voluntary.

operant conditioning

the learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses.

partial reinforcement

effect the tendency for a response that is reinforced after some, but not all, correct responses to be very resistant to extinction

positive reinforcement

the reinforcement of a response by the addition or experiencing of a pleasure stimulus

primary reinforcer

any reinforcer that is naturally reinforcing by meeting a basic biological need, such as hunger, thirst, or touch.

punishment

any event or object that, when following a response, makes that response less likely to happen again.

punishment by application

the punishment of a response by the addition or experiencing of an unpleasant stimulus

punishment by removal

the punishment of a response by the removal of a pleasurable stimulus

reflex

an involuntary response, one that is not under personal control or choice

reinforcement

any event or stimulus that, when following a response, increases the probability that the response will occur again.

reinforcers

any events or objects that, when following a response, increase the likelihood of that response occurring again

secondary reinforcer

any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars

shaping

the reinforcement of simple steps in behavior that lead to a desired, more complex behavior

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred

stimulus discrimination

the tendency to stop making a generalized response to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus because the similar stimulus is never paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

stimulus generalization

the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response.

stimulus substitution

original theory in which Pavlov stated that classical conditioning occurred because the conditioned stimulus became a substitute for the unconditioned stimulus by being paired closely together.

successive approximations

small steps in behavior, one after the other, that lead to a particular goal behavior

token economy

type of behavior modification in which desired behavior is rewarded with tokens.

unconditioned response (UCR)

an involuntary (reflex) response to a naturally occurring or unconditioned stimulus.

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

a naturally occurring stimulus that leads to an involuntary (reflex) response.

variable interval schedule of reinforcement

schedule of reinforcement in which the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is different for each trial or event.

variable ratio schedule of reinforcement

schedule of reinforcement in which the number of responses required for reinforcement is different for each trial or event.

vicarious conditioning

classical conditioning of a reflex response or emotion by watching the reaction of another person.