Deck 9: Learning and Conditioning

Question 1

A psychologist would call Fido's salivating when eating food the

A) unconditioned response.
B) unconditioned stimulus.
C) conditioned stimulus.
D) shaped response.

Answer 1

unconditioned response.

Question 2

The primary danger in within-subjects designs is in the presence of

A) the effects that testing subjects in one condition might have on their later behavior.
B) the failure to establish a baseline of behavior.
C) the minimization of the amount of variability caused by differences among subjects.
D) The employment of few subjects, which leads to skewed results.

Answer 2

the effects that testing subjects in one condition might have on their later behavior.

Question 3

The appropriate control for pseudoconditioning is to employ a conditioning group and a control group. The animals in the control group are exposed to the same number of CS and US presentations as the animals in the experimental group, but in the control group

A) the CS never precedes the US.
B) the CS is different than the CS in the conditioning group.
C) the CS and US presentations are unpaired and presented randomly.
D) the US is different than the US in the conditioning group.

Answer 3

the CS and US presentations are unpaired and presented randomly.

Question 4

A researcher wants to conduct an animal learning experiment using 40 participants in a between-subjects design. The researcher decides to randomly assign the participants to the four different conditions so that

A) participants from the same litter will not be tested together.
B) the data will be easier to analyze than if participants were assigned on any other basis.
C) the results will be more generalizable.
D) the groups will be equivalent prior to the manipulation of the independent variable.

Question 5

In the ABA design, the B is the

A) discriminative stimulus.
B) matched group.
C) baseline.
D) condition after therapy.

Question 6

After Fido started to salivate when he heard the electric can opener, the sound of the can opener would be classified as a(n)

A) unconditioned stimulus.
B) conditioned stimulus.
C) neutral stimulus.
D) discriminative stimulus.

Question 7

A psychologist would call the food that was poured into Fido's food dish the

A) unconditioned stimulus.
B) conditioned stimulus.
C) positive reinforcer.
D) primary reinforcer.

Question 8

For classical conditioning to occur, it is important for the CS _______ the US.

A) to coincide with
B) to predict
C) to be similar to
D) to be presented after

Question 9

In the multiple-baseline design, different behaviors or different people receive baseline periods of varying length

A) after the independent variable.
B) before the independent variable.
C) concurrently with the independent variable.
D) in a random fashion.

Question 10

In Pavlovian conditioning, a light or tune is a/n _________ when first introduced.

A) conditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) neutral stimulus
D) conditioned response

Question 11

When Fido was being fed the dry dog food, the sound of the electric can opener was a(n)

A) conditioned stimulus.
B) unconditioned stimulus.
C) discriminative stimulus.
D) neutral stimulus.

Question 12

Which of the following independent variables would NOT be used in instrumental conditioning?

A) reinforcement schedules
B) delay of time between response and reinforcement
C) magnitude of the reinforcement
D) interval of time between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus

Question 13

In operant conditioning, a familiar reward

A) increases the frequency of the response that removes it.
B) decreases the frequency of the response that removes it.
C) increases the frequency of the response that produces it.
D) decreases the frequency of the response that produces it.

Question 14

"If an operant response is made and followed by a reinforcing stimulus, the probability that the response will occur again is increased." This statement defines (the)

A) Law of Parsimony.
B) Law of Effect.
C) Thorndike's Law.
D) Pavlov's reinforcement principle.

Question 15

Which of the following is not a basic measure of animal learning but rather is caused by the general excitement of the experimental situation for the animal?

A) pseudoconditioning
B) resistance of extinction
C) frequency of responding
D) magnitude of the response

Question 16

A matched?groups design differs from a between-subjects design in that in the matched-group design,

A) participants are assigned randomly to conditions of the experiment.
B) participants are matched across groups on their scores on the dependent variable.
C) participants in each condition of the experiment are matched on one or more characteristics to reduce the variability between groups.
D) participants are tested in more than one condition of the experiment.

Question 17

Skinner called Pavlovian conditioning

A) classical conditioning.
B) instrumental conditioning.
C) operant conditioning.
D) respondent conditioning.

Question 18

If there is in fact a small, but real, difference between treatment conditions, which design is the most likely to detect that difference?

A) within-subjects design
B) random-groups design
C) between-groups design
D) split-litter design

Question 19

Fido's salivation when he heard the electric can opener is called a(n)

A) unconditioned response.
B) conditioned response.
C) Pavlovian response.
D) latent anticipatory response.

Question 20

Language processes such as learning a foreign language are labeled

A) verbal learning.
B) social learning.
C) instrumental conditioning.
D) animal learning.

Question 21

A researcher wants to know whether she can encourage adults to participate in a beneficial amount of aerobic exercise using operant conditioning. She establishes a minimum and a maximum amount of exercise for each participant for each week and the participants are rewarded for each week in which their exercise falls within the desired range. The minimum and maximum amounts are increased gradually over time until the participants are engaged in the desired amount of exercise. This is an example of

A) classical conditioning.
B) an ABA design.
C) a range-bound changing criterion design.
D) a multiple-baseline design.

Question 22

Melton's work on the Lag Effect demonstrated that

A) learning increases when a greater number of words separates the presentation of two words to be remembered.
B) learning decreases when a greater number of words separates the presentation of two words to be remembered.
C) massed practice improves recall of new words.
D) distributed practice improves recall of new words.

Question 23

When a behavior is punished, it increases in frequency.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT used as a measure of learning in an animal conditioning procedure?

A) rate of responding
B) amplitude of a response
C) response latency
D) baseline responding

Question 25

An important dependent variable commonly used in Pavlovian conditioning is the amplitude of the response.

Question 26

In the ABA design, B refers to the treatment phase.

Question 27

Kamin's work on classical conditioning has demonstrated

A) that an unconditioned stimulus (US) and a conditioned stimulus (CS) must only occur together often in order for a conditioned response to the CS to occur.
B) that the CS must predict the US reliably in order for conditioning to occur.
C) that the CS must follow the US reliably in order for conditioning to occur.
D) that the US must precede the CS repeatedly in order for conditioning to occur.

Question 28

An alternating-treatments is designed is used

A) when several samples of the subjects' behavior in different conditions of the experiment are desired in a small-n design that precludes counterbalancing.
B) when there is no danger of a carryover effect.
C) when the experimenter has matched the experimental and control groups.
D) when there is no baseline measure of the dependent variable.

Question 29

In operant conditioning the response comes before the reinforcer.

Question 30

The AB design is a powerful alternative to the ABA design.

Question 31

The split-litter technique can be used in animal learning research for which experimental design?

A) matched-groups design
B) between-subjects design
C) within-subjects design
D) random-groups design

Question 32

Which of the following is a good reason to choose a between-subjects design for an experiment?

A) the researcher is able to recruit only a few participants for the experiment
B) the researcher knows that there may be a practice effect as a result of repeated testing of the participants on the dependent variable
C) the researcher expects the independent variable to have only a small effect on the dependent variable
D) it is easier to do a between-subjects experiment

Question 33

The primary reason why within-subjects designs are preferred over between-subjects designs is that

A) fewer participants are required.
B) there are no treatment order effects.
C) error variability is reduced.
D) the participants are less likely to figure out the purpose of the experiment.

Question 34

Which of the following is an advantage of using a between-subjects design?

A) the variability due to participants can be estimated statistically
B) there can be no treatment order effects
C) a small number of participants is required
D) participants serve as their own controls

Question 35

Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

A) whenever an undesired behavior occurs, an unpleasant stimulus is administered
B) whenever a desired behavior occurs, a pleasant stimulus is administered
C) whenever a desired behavior occurs, an unpleasant stimulus is removed
D) whenever an undesired behavior occurs, a pleasant stimulus in removed

Question 36

In a changing-criterion design

A) changes in behavior are measured at different points in time.
B) changes in behavior cannot be attributed to the reinforcement contingency.
C) the criterion for reinforcement remains constant over the course of the experiment.
D) the criterion for reinforcement is changed over the course of the experiment.

Question 37

In a multiple-baseline design

A) the length of the baseline period is the same for all of the subjects in the experiment.
B) the behavior of the subjects is expected to revert to baseline levels after the removal of the independent variable.
C) the length of the baseline period is different for different subjects or different behaviors prior to the introduction of the independent variable.
D) the occurrence of carryover effects cannot be assessed.

Question 38

For which of the following situations would a within?subjects design be the more appropriate design?

A) we want to know whether training rats to learn one maze will aid learning a second, different maze
B) we want to know whether rats prefer a solution sweetened with sugar more than a solution sweetened with saccharin
C) we want to know whether a particular brain lesion will affect a rat's preference for a sweet solution
D) we want to know whether ingesting alcohol will increase rats' preference for an alcoholic drink over a non-alcoholic drink

Question 39

Negative reinforcement will

A) increase the probability that a desired behavior will occur.
B) decrease the probability that a desired behavior will occur.
C) increase the probability that an undesired behavior will occur.
D) have no effect on the probability that a desired behavior will occur.

Question 40

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using a within-subjects design?

A) the variability due to participants cannot be estimated statistically
B) treatment order may have an effect on the dependent variable
C) a large number of participants is required
D) the experimental and control groups may not be equivalent to one another

Question 41

The earliest examples of classical conditioning were experiments by Thorndike.

Question 42

The balanced Latin square design is the only counterbalancing scheme in which each condition precedes and follows every other condition equally often.

Question 43

In animal research, the split-litter technique is used for random-groups designs.

Question 44

Within-subjects designs are usually less sensitive than between-subjects designs in detecting small differences between conditions on the dependent variable.

Question 45

Dependent variables commonly used in animal learning research include frequency of responding, latency of responding, and amplitude of the response.

Question 46

Classical conditioning refers to an elevation in the amplitude of the conditioned response that is due to the association between the CS and US.

Question 47

A between-subjects design with human participants can be less sensitive than a between-subjects design with animals because it is easier to match animal participants on relevant variables than it is to match human participants.

Question 48

A balanced Latin square design ensures that each testing condition is followed and preceded equally often by every other condition.

Question 49

A random-groups design refers to the situation when participants are assigned randomly to between-subjects conditions.

Question 50

Applying a shock after an animal has produced an undesirable behavior is an example of negative reinforcement.

Question 51

Resistance to extinction is a basic measure of the effectiveness of some independent variable on learning.

Question 52

Classical and instrumental conditioning are usually seen as obeying the same principles.

Question 53

In a between-subjects design, each participant receives all levels of the independent
variable.

Question 54

Fatigue and practice effects are more serious for between-subjects designs than for within-subjects designs.

Question 55

Within-subjects designs are always preferable over between-subjects designs.

Question 56

In a smaller design, a few subjects are intensely analyzed.

Question 57

Applying a shock after an animal has produced an undesirable behavior is an example of punishment.

Question 58

Disadvantages of using a between-subjects design are treatment order effect cannot be controlled and more participants are usually required.

Question 59

The active retrieval that helps learning is called the testing effect.

Question 60

In respondent conditioning, the experimenter waits until the animal makes the desired response and then rewards it.

Question 61

Many reinforcements that humans receive come in the form of knowledge of results rather than arbitrary biological reward. Discuss this statement using specific examples.

Question 62

In simultaneous contrast, some participants receive two different magnitudes of reward.

Question 63

Conditioning research measures learning in a variety of ways. Among the most common measures are the rate of responding, latency of responding, amplitude of a response, and resistance to extinction. Explain and give an example of each measure.

Question 64

Pick a behavior you would like your dog to learn. Describe how you would go about shaping this behavior.

Question 65

Why is Skinner's use of the terms operant conditioning and respondent conditioning appropriate? Explain the difference between these two conditioning procedures.

Question 66

Describe how operant conditioning and classical conditioning could be useful in increasing worker productivity.

Question 67

A matched-groups design may be used to equate different groups of participants on certain variables.

Question 68

Practice effects and fatigue effects can offset one another.

Question 69

Counterbalancing can help to reduce practice effects and fatigue effects.

Question 70

Describe the AB, ABA, ABAB, and ABBA designs. What are the strengths and weaknesses of these designs?

Question 71

Roedige and Karpicke (2006) designed an experiment to examine the testing effect. Explain two or three possible problems with the way in which they reached their results.

Question 72

Grice and Hunter (1964) completed an experiment designed to resolve the issue of whether the intensity of the conditioned stimulus affects acquisition of the conditioned response. Briefly describe the rationale, design, procedure, results, and conclusions of their experiment.

Question 73

How does the intensity of the conditioned stimulus affect acquisition of a conditioned response? Describe experimental findings that support your answer.

Question 74

How does a matched-subjects design try to incorporate some of the advantages of the within-subjects design into a between-subjects design?

Question 75

The split-litter technique is used to alter the genetic makeup of laboratory animals.

Question 76

What are the primary advantages and disadvantages of within-subjects and between-subjects designs? What techniques are used to try to help solve some of the problems associated with within-subjects designs?

Question 77

Describe how principles of conditioning can explain the development of behavioral problems in children and how these same principles can be applied to the treatment of the problems.