Deck 7: Learning and Conditioning

Question 1

When a dog has been classically conditioned to salivate in response to the sound of middle C on a piano, and then salivates when someone plays the D by mistake, ________ has occurred.

A) learning
B) extinction
C) spontaneous recovery
D) stimulus generalization

Answer 1

stimulus generalization

Question 2

One of the first psychologists to recognize the real-life implications of classical conditioning was ________, who founded North American behaviourism.

A) B. F. Skinner
B) John B. Watson
C) William James
D) Edward Tolman

Answer 2

John B. Watson

Question 3

Which of the following is a secondary reinforcer?

A) food
B) water
C) sex
D) money

Answer 3

money

Question 4

Which of the following would be most effective in eliminating a phobia in an adult?

A) behaviour modification
B) extinction
C) systematic desensitization
D) punishment

Question 5

Edward Tolman demonstrated ________ in his study of rats who initially received no reinforcement in a maze.

A) shaping
B) latent learning
C) aversive conditioning
D) instinctive drift

Question 6

In Pavlov's studies of classical conditioning in dogs, the meat powder was the:

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

Question 7

When the conditioned response reappears after extinction followed by a rest period, ________ has occurred.

A) learning
B) extinction
C) spontaneous recovery
D) stimulus generalization

Question 8

In the "Little Albert" study, what was the unconditioned stimulus?

A) a white rat
B) a loud noise
C) a Santa Claus mask
D) a neutral stimulus

Question 9

________ occurs when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented with the unconditioned stimulus.

A) Learning
B) Extinction
C) Spontaneous recovery
D) Stimulus generalization

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT true?

A) Skinner invented an Air-Crib for his daughter.
B) Skinner won the Humanitarian of the Year Award in 1972.
C) Skinner insisted that free will is an illusion.
D) Skinner denied the existence of human consciousness.

Question 11

In Pavlov's studies of classical conditioning in dogs, the food dish was the:

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

Question 12

Which of the following is a difference between classical and operant conditioning?

A) In classical conditioning the response is reflexive, but in operant conditioning it is more complex.
B) In classical conditioning spontaneous recovery can occur, but in operant conditioning it doesn't.
C) In classical conditioning the consequence of a response is important, but in operant conditioning it isn't.
D) In classical conditioning both stimulus generalization and discrimination occur, but in operant conditioning only stimulus discrimination occurs.

Question 13

What procedure would be used to teach pigeons to play Ping-Pong?

A) classical conditioning
B) observational learning
C) shaping
D) systematic desensitization

Question 14

________ occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

A) Learning
B) Extinction
C) Spontaneous recovery
D) Stimulus generalization

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a guideline for behaviour modification?

A) Accentuate the positive.
B) Reinforce small improvements.
C) Use intermittent reinforcement.
D) Set realistic goals.

Question 16

Albert Bandura is well known for his study of:

A) observational learning.
B) latent learning.
C) conditioned taste aversion.
D) punishment.

Question 17

Social-learning theory, developed initially by Dollard and Miller, proposes that most human learning is a result of:

A) classical conditioning.
B) operant conditioning.
C) observational learning.
D) latent learning.

Question 18

Keller and Marian Breland were unable to teach a pig to drop a "coin" in a box because of:

A) shaping.
B) intermittent reinforcement.
C) instinctive drift.
D) successive approximations.

Question 19

Which of the following is a primary reinforcer?

A) food
B) money
C) attention
D) gold stars

Question 20

What is the difference between punishment and negative reinforcement?

A) Nothing. They are two different terms for the same thing.
B) Punishment involves presentation of an aversive consequence, but negative reinforcement involves removal of a positive consequence.
C) Negative reinforcement is part of operant conditioning, but punishment is used in classical conditioning.
D) Negative reinforcement strengthens behaviour, but punishment weakens it.

Question 21

According to behaviourists, conditioning can explain:

A) a relatively small number of human behaviours.
B) the human capacity for free will.
C) how humans learn by the imitation of others.
D) much of human behaviour.

Question 22

The basic concept underlying classical conditioning is that:

A) nature provides the US-UR relationship, but the learning produced by conditioning creates the CS-CR relationship.
B) nature provides the CS-CR relationship, but the learning produced by conditioning creates the US-UR relationship.
C) the US acquires some of the power to influence behaviour that was originally limited to the CS.
D) the UR acquires some of the power to influence behaviour that was originally limited to the US.

Question 23

Behaviourists focus on a basic kind of learning called:

A) conditioning.
B) absolute threshold.
C) metacognition.
D) instinctive drift.

Question 24

Pavlov called the phenomenon that he had stumbled upon a "________," but an error in the translation of his writings was made.

A) discriminative stimulus
B) primary reinforcer
C) continuous reinforcer
D) conditional reflex

Question 25

In the initial salivary reflex studied by Pavlov, what was the unconditioned stimulus?

A) salivation
B) the sight and smell of food
C) food
D) thoughts of anticipation

Question 26

Which school of thought heavily influenced the study of learning in the twentieth century?

A) social-cognitive
B) behaviourism
C) social-learning
D) cognitive

Question 27

Before studying conditioning, Ivan Pavlov studied:

A) canine anatomy.
B) the endocrine system.
C) digestive processes.
D) cardiac physiology.

Question 28

At first, Pavlov treated the dogs' drooling as:

A) a breakthrough in understanding digestion.
B) a sign of illness in his research animals.
C) an important phenomenon in understanding learning.
D) an annoying secretion.

Question 29

A behaviourist is MOST likely to make which of the following statements:

A) "Your behaviour is whatever it is you do."
B) "Your behaviour is whatever it is you feel."
C) "Your behaviour is whatever it is you think."
D) "Your behaviour stems from the will of your mind."

Question 30

Learning refers to:

A) the knowledge learned in the classroom.
B) how behaviour is learned and maintained through observation and imitation.
C) a relatively permanent change in behaviour or behaviour potential due to experience.
D) the study of observable behaviour and the role of environment as a determinant of behaviour.

Question 31

When salivation occurs in response to a previously neutral stimulus, it is called a/an:

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

Question 32

In the initial salivary reflex studied by Pavlov, what was the unconditioned response?

A) thoughts of anticipation
B) food
C) the sight and smell of food
D) salivation

Question 33

Which of the following statements regarding Pavlov is accurate?

A) Pavlov was elated when his student noticed that the dogs were salivating before tasting the food.
B) Pavlov continued his Nobel Prize-winning research on digestion after documenting conditioning.
C) Pavlov was studying salivation in dogs as part of a research program on digestion.
D) Pavlov stressed the importance of speculating about the dogs' feelings toward the food.

Question 34

Any relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs because of experience is called:

A) learning.
B) instinctive drift.
C) free will.
D) determinism.

Question 35

A social-cognitive learning theorist would be more likely to argue that learning involves:

A) a change in behaviour due to fatigue, injury, or illness, in addition to experience.
B) a change in a person's knowledge, which may, in turn, affect behaviour.
C) the types of associations made in operant, but not classical, conditioning.
D) the connections made between stimuli and responses.

Question 36

The neutral stimulus becomes a/an ________ in classical conditioning.

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

Question 37

According to the behaviourists:

A) the predominant area of research should be free will and the mind.
B) observable events and acts are the focus of psychological research.
C) researchers should focus on the interaction between nature and nurture.
D) psychological research needs to emphasize the unconscious underpinnings of behaviour.

Question 38

When Pavlov first noticed that his dogs were salivating to things other than food, he called the phenomenon a:

A) conditional reflex.
B) conditioned reflex.
C) conditioned response.
D) conditional response.

Question 39

What does S-R stand for?

A) salivation-response
B) stimulus-response
C) social responsiveness
D) society-responsibility

Question 40

A behaviourist would agree that:

A) observable events and acts are the focus of psychological research.
B) omitting mental processes from learning is like omitting passion from descriptions of sex.
C) latent learning occurs without any direct reinforcement.
D) operant conditioning uses consequences that the organism thinks are annoying or satisfying.

Question 41

________ is the classical-conditioning term for an initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response.

A) Unconditioned stimulus
B) Conditioned stimulus
C) Unconditioned response
D) Conditioned response

Question 42

When Pavlov placed meat powder or other food in the mouths of canine subjects, they began to salivate. The salivation was a/an:

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

Question 43

Five-year-old Samantha is watching a storm from her window. A huge bolt of lightning is followed by a tremendous thunderclap. Startled, Samantha jumps at the noise. This happens several times. As the storm moves farther away, Samantha jumps at the sight of a lightening bolt but hears the thunder after her jump! In this example, the unconditioned stimulus is the ________ and the conditioned stimulus is the ________.

A) jumping; lightning
B) thunder; jumping
C) thunder; lightning
D) lightning; thunder

Question 44

When Alan feeds his fish, he notices that they swim to the top as soon as he turns on the aquarium light. In this example, the ________ is the unconditioned stimulus.

A) presence of Alan near the aquarium
B) fish food
C) fish swimming to the top
D) aquarium light

Question 45

Pavlov said that learning occurs when:

A) animals or humans think that a particular stimulus acts as a signal for a response.
B) animals or humans form an internal representation about a classically-conditioned behaviour.
C) a response is produced reflexively by the presence of an eliciting stimulus.
D) a neutral stimulus is regularly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 46

Harmony notices that her cat scurries into the kitchen as soon as Harmony opens a can of cat food with an electric can opener. In this example, the ________ is the conditioned stimulus.

A) cat scurrying into the kitchen
B) can of cat food
C) dish that Harmony puts the food in
D) sound of the electric can opener

Question 47

The process of ________ increases the range of stimuli to which a CR will be made, while ________ decreases or narrows the range of stimuli to which a CR will be made.

A) stimulus generalization; stimulus discrimination
B) extinction; spontaneous recovery
C) spontaneous recovery; extinction
D) stimulus discrimination; stimulus generalization

Question 48

The classical-conditioning term for a stimulus that elicits a reflexive response in the absence of learning is:

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

Question 49

Miranda notices that her cat scurries into the kitchen as soon as Miranda opens a can of cat food with an electric can opener. In this example, the ________ is the unconditioned stimulus.

A) cat scurrying into the kitchen
B) cat food
C) dish that Miranda puts the food in
D) sound of the electric can opener

Question 50

When Pavlov placed meat powder in the mouths of canine subjects, they began to salivate. The food acted as a/an:

A) unconditioned stimulus.
B) successive approximation.
C) extrinsic reinforcer.
D) secondary reinforcer.

Question 51

Which of the following would NOT result in classical conditioning?

A) Food is presented just after a pinprick to the skin.
B) An electric shock is followed by food in less than one second.
C) A triangle drawn on a large card is associated with food.
D) A lever happens to be pressed down and food is delivered.

Question 52

When Pavlov placed meat powder in the mouths of canine subjects, they began to salivate. His student noticed that after being brought to the laboratory a number of times, the dogs would begin to salivate at the sound of the person's footsteps. The footsteps acted as a/an:

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

Question 53

In classical conditioning, the US-UR connection is ________ and the CS-CR connection is ________.

A) automatic; instinctual
B) automatic; learned
C) learned; automatic
D) reflexive; automatic

Question 54

Which of the following is NOT one of the names for the procedure by which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus?

A) respondent conditioning
B) Pavlovian conditioning
C) classical conditioning
D) instrumental conditioning

Question 55

The classical-conditioning term for a reflexive response elicited by a stimulus in the absence of learning is:

A) shaping.
B) unconditioned response.
C) the Garcia effect.
D) successive approximations.

Question 56

According to Pavlov, learning occurs when:

A) something negative is removed after a particular response.
B) a response is followed by reinforcement.
C) reinforcers are given for successive approximations of the desired response.
D) a neutral stimulus is regularly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 57

When Danny feeds his fish, he notices that they swim to the top as soon as he turns on the aquarium light. In this example, the ________ is the conditioned stimulus.

A) fish swimming to the top
B) fish food
C) aquarium light
D) presence of Danny near the aquarium

Question 58

Pavlov placed meat powder in the mouths of canine subjects and they began to salivate. His student noticed that after being brought to the laboratory a number of times, the dogs would begin to salivate at the sound of the person's footsteps. The salivation to the sound of the footsteps was a/an:

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

Question 59

The classical-conditioning term for a response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus is:

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

Question 60

Every week, Jade spends her allowance on 500 grams of sour lemon gummy candies even though they always make her mouth water. One day, as she is walking down the street, Jade sees a girl carrying a little white bag that looks like a candy shop bag! Jade notices that her mouth is puckering and overflowing with saliva. In this example, the unconditioned stimulus is the:

A) allowance money
B) little white bag
C) puckering and saliva
D) sour lemon gummy candy

Question 61

Study of the principles of classical conditioning reveals that:

A) the mere pairing of an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus is enough to produce learning.
B) classical conditioning occurs in mammals, but not in lower species.
C) classically conditioned responses last for about two years.
D) completely eliminating a conditioned response usually requires more than one session.

Question 62

Higher-order conditioning involves using an already established ________ to establish a new conditioned stimulus.

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

Question 63

Higher-order conditioning may contribute to the formation of:

A) social values.
B) prejudice.
C) generalizations.
D) conditioned stimuli.

Question 64

Iris learns a positive response to the word Thanksgiving because of its association with lots of good food and visits from favourite relatives. This would be an example of:

A) continuous reinforcement.
B) extinction.
C) higher-order conditioning.
D) spontaneous recovery.

Question 65

________ is defined as a procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an already established conditioned stimulus.

A) Stimulus discrimination
B) Spontaneous recovery
C) Higher-order conditioning
D) Intermittent reinforcement

Question 66

The weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response is called:

A) instinctive drift.
B) discrimination.
C) extinction.
D) counterconditioning.

Question 67

In classical conditioning, when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus, ________ occurs.

A) extinction
B) discrimination
C) instinctive drift
D) counterconditioning

Question 68

A girl classically conditions her dog to blink by blowing into her dog's eyes just after saying "blink!" Unfortunately, her parrot overhears the procedure, and says "blink" all day long when the girl is out. When she returns, the girl says "blink" to her dog, but he does not blink. It appears as though:

A) the dog's behaviour has generalized.
B) the dog is now under the parrot's control.
C) spontaneous recovery has occurred.
D) extinction has taken place.

Question 69

Every week, Pearl spends her allowance on 500 grams of sour lemon gummy candies even though they always make her mouth water. One day, as she is walking down the street, Pearl notices a girl carrying a little white bag that looks like a candy shop bag! Pearl notices that her mouth is puckering and overflowing with saliva. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is the:

A) sour lemon gummy candy
B) puckering and saliva
C) allowance money
D) little white bag

Question 70

You classically condition your dog Milo to salivate when middle C is played on the piano. When you play D instead of C Milo doesn't receive food and eventually Milo is salivating for C but not for D! This phenomenon is known as:

A) instinctive drift.
B) extinction.
C) stimulus discrimination.
D) higher-order conditioning.

Question 71

When Arthur fed his fish, he used to switch on the light just before he gave them their food. He noticed that they would swim to the top as soon the aquarium light came on. He decided to see what would happen if he switched on the light but did not feed the fish. For one week he doesn't feed the fish after turning on the light. Arthur is trying to see if ________ will occur.

A) counterconditioning
B) extinction
C) discrimination
D) instinctive drift

Question 72

If a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus, then ________ will occur.

A) spontaneous recovery
B) acquisition
C) extinction
D) generalization

Question 73

The proverb "He who hath been bitten by a snake fears a rope" illustrates:

A) an intrinsic reinforcer.
B) higher-order conditioning.
C) stimulus generalization.
D) spontaneous recovery.

Question 74

When words are paired with objects or other words that already elicit some emotional response, they may come to elicit that response. This would be an example of:

A) spontaneous recovery.
B) an intrinsic reinforcer.
C) counterconditioning.
D) higher-order conditioning.

Question 75

Using Pavlov's procedure for classical conditioning you are able to condition your dog to salivate to middle C played on the piano. When you play the note above middle C, your pet still salivates, even though she never received food paired with this note! This phenomenon is known as:

A) spontaneous recovery.
B) higher-order conditioning.
C) stimulus discrimination.
D) stimulus generalization.

Question 76

You train your dog Milo to salivate to the sound of a bell. Then you ring the bell every five minutes and don't follow the ringing with food for Milo. He salivates less and less and finally stops salivating at all when the bell rings. But the next morning, when you ring the bell, Milo salivates! What term is used to explain the reappearance of this response?

A) stimulus discrimination
B) spontaneous recovery
C) instinctive drift
D) counterconditioning

Question 77

Mary found herself uncontrollably salivating at the sight of the Dairy Queen sign. Her behaviour is an example of:

A) behaviourism.
B) classical conditioning.
C) operant conditioning.
D) learning.

Question 78

Isabella learns a positive response to the word birthday because of its association with gifts and attention. This would be an example of:

A) counterconditioning.
B) higher-order conditioning.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) an intrinsic reinforcer.

Question 79

When an organism also responds to a stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus, ________ is said to have occurred.

A) acquisition
B) extinction
C) discrimination
D) generalization

Question 80

The reappearance of a learned response after its apparent extinction is called:

A) counterconditioning.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) instinctive drift.
D) stimulus discrimination.