Deck 13: Power and Politics

Question 1

An example of the role of physical characteristics in learning is provided by the difficulty apes had in learning________.

Answer 1

Physical characteristics play an important role in what an organism can learn. To illustrate, human beings cannot breathe under water like fish can do. Human beings can do things like jump over hurdles which fish cannot do. Therefore, the physical characteristics, including anatomical features come in the way of certain learning abilities of apes
Therefore, the blank space in the statement can be filled with " speech ".

Question 2

Roger McIntire (1973) recommends that people be required to undergo training in child rearing before being allowed to have children. What support for his position can you provide?

Answer 2

RM's recommendation is very logical and sound. In fact, most people stumble into the role of a parent without being fully ready emotionally and in terms of competency. An individual who does not know fully the responsibility of what it takes to be a parent should have appropriate training before becoming a parent for the following reasons:
• Parents become role models for the children right from infancy. Therefore, if parents want their children to conduct themselves in a particular way, the parents have to set examples of conduct and behavior. To illustrate, if parents do not want their children to take to tobacco and alcohol, they themselves should be non-smokers and teetotalers.
• Children also look at other close relatives and neighbors as role models. Parents should ensure that they live in an appropriate neighborhood. Relatives whose behavior may be obnoxious or who are likely to have a bad influence on children should be asked to keep away.
• Parents also should spend adequate time with their children to understand the hopes, dreams, aspirations, disappointments and fears of children. Children should find it easy to talk to parents on various issues without inhibition.
• Besides parents, children also learn good and bad behavior from their peer group and friends. The company children keep should be closely monitored. If possible change of school or neighborhood may be resorted to, if warranted.
• Praise and appreciation of good behavior should always be made so that they act as reinforcement for good behavior. Most parents only criticize and berate children.
• Parents want their children to excel in every field and set very high expectations. Parents can provide the enabling environment and also should realize that not every child would become as proficient as Albert Einstein, Beethoven, Thomas Alva Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Michelangelo, a Usain Bolt, and so on.
• Parents also should realize that experiential learning is as important to children as imparted knowledge. Children would make their own mistakes and learn from these mistakes.
Parents have an important role in child rearing. The environment may have a bigger role in how a child shapes up.

Question 3

Define the following terms:

Answer 3

The definition of various terms is given below.
Autoshaping
Shaping is a term used for a training procedure where there is reinforcement of successive approximations of a desired behavior. In other words, shaping is a process of reinforcement of steps taken by the subject which sequentially get closer to the desired behavior. In " autoshaping ", the behavior is shaped without any reinforcement.
Continuum of preparedness
Organisms learn some things with ease due to their being genetically inclined to learn these things and not others. Such tendencies can be characterized as a " continuum of preparedness ".
Critical period
Organisms, especially animals have a higher probability or tendency of learning a specific kind of behavior at a particular stage in their lives. In other words, optimal learning takes place during this stage for a particular behavior, than at any other stage. These are referred to as critical periods.
Imprinting
Normally, the young ones of animals would form an attachment with the mother as soon as they are born. In case the mother is not available due to some reason, they will become attached to any moving object or living organism, whether human or animal. Such a phenomenon is termed as i mprinting.
Instinctive drift
Studies showed that certain genetic or hereditary factors or innate tendencies interfered with the learning in animals. This is caused when the new behaviors are in conflict with fixed action patterns that are innate in the animal. The animal would have a tendency to go back to these innate fixed action patterns. This tendency is termed as instinctive drift.
Neurotoxins
Neurotoxins are substances which are capable of affecting the neural tissues which in turn impact the learning ability. Prenatal exposure to drugs, alcohol, tobacco and substance abuse during pregnancy are known to interfere with neurological development.

Question 4

Rhesus monkeys can acquire a fear by observing a fearful model, but Cook and Mineka found that they are more likely to acquire a fear of snakes than of_________.

Question 5

Harry and Martha Frank found that_________solved certain problems better than dogs

Question 6

Sally buys a high-frequency whistle at a discount store. She attempts to train her dog to come on command using the whistle as a signal. She follows the correct training procedures but is unsuccessful. What is the likely cause of the failure?

Question 7

William_________mistakenly believed that learned behavior could be inherited.

Question 8

Design a study to determine the effects of prenatal exposure to tobacco on subsequent learning ability.

Question 9

Substances that damage neural tissues are called _________

Question 10

Could variability in learning ability be useful to the survival of our species?

Question 11

A_________is a stage in development during which an animal is particularly likely to learn a particular behavior.

Question 12

Suppose you had inherited everything your parents and grandparents knew. How would you be different?

Question 13

Soon after hatching, ducklings become_________on an object that moves, usually their mother.

Question 14

_________drift is the tendency of an animal to revert to innate patterns of behavior.

Question 15

How would you go about creating a genius?

Question 16

Garcia and Koelling found that when rats became sick after drinking water that was tasty and noisy, they were more likely to drink water that was_________than water that was _________

Question 17

A visitor to New York complained about the noise of the city. Her host replied, "Oh, you get used to it." Does this demonstrate that learning is helpful or harmful?

Question 18

According to Martin Seligman, all behavior falls along a continuum of _________