Question 1

Manny has been unable to sleep for the past one week.His wife gives him a vitamin pill and tells him that it will help him sleep at night.The next morning,Manny is thrilled because he has slept better than ever before.In this scenario,Manny's response to the vitamin can be attributed to

Accepted Answer

Manny's response to the vitamin pill is likely due to the placebo effect. The placebo effect is the phenomenon in which a person's belief in a treatment's effectiveness causes them to experience an improvement in their condition even if the treatment has no active ingredient. In this case, Manny's belief that the vitamin pill will help him sleep likely caused him to relax and fall asleep more easily, leading to a better night's sleep.

Question 2

As the subject of an experiment for treating cigarette addiction,John is being given a chemical agent that makes him feel nauseated every time he smokes a cigarette.This experiment is most likely a(n)_____ experiment.

Accepted Answer

The experiment involves pairing smoking with the feeling of nausea, which is an example of aversive conditioning. This is because the goal is to create a negative association that eventually leads John to avoid smoking altogether. Positive reinforcement and habituation involve strengthening or weakening behaviors through rewards or repetition, respectively, whereas avoidance learning involves learning to avoid negative consequences.

Question 3

Aversive conditioning is

Accepted Answer

Aversive conditioning is a type of behavior modification that involves repeatedly pairing an unwanted behavior with an unpleasant stimulus in order to decrease the frequency of that behavior. This is often used in the treatment of addictive behaviors or phobias.

Question 4

_____ in classical conditioning is the process of learning to respond to certain stimuli and not others.

Accepted Answer

Discrimination is the process of learning to respond to certain stimuli and not others. During classical conditioning, an organism learns to associate a conditioned stimulus (CS) with an unconditioned stimulus (US) and elicits a conditioned response (CR). However, if a similar stimulus is presented, discrimination allows the organism to differentiate between the two stimuli and respond only to the actual CS, not the similar stimulus.

Question 5

Wendell always gets anxious before taking a math test because he is not good with numbers and formulae. When his science teacher announces a physics test that requires him to apply numerical formulae,Wendell begins to feel anxious,even though he enjoys physics.Which of the following is Wendell most likely demonstrating in this scenario?

Accepted Answer

Wendell is associating his anxiety with math tests with any test that requires numerical formulae, including physics. This is an example of generalization in classical conditioning, where a conditioned response is elicited by stimuli that are similar but not identical to the original conditioned stimulus.

Question 6

Marcia and John were married for eleven years before John passed away.Following his death,Marcia left her home and city because everything reminded her of John.Many years later,Marcia happened to meet a man,her new colleague,who smelled of the cologne that John always wore.Even after so many years,Marcia was drawn to this man because he reminded her of John.In this scenario,Marcia's reawakened feelings are an example of _____ in classical conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of time without exposure to the conditioned stimulus. In this scenario, Marcia had not been exposed to the smell of John's cologne for many years, but when she encountered someone who smelled like him, her conditioned response (attraction to John) spontaneously recovered.

Question 7

Grayson's dog salivates whenever he hears the refrigerator door open because he is accustomed to receiving food each time anyone opens it.Grayson tries an experiment with his dog.Over the next few days,Grayson does not give his dog any food when he opens the refrigerator door,even though he knows the dog expects it.As a result,the dog stops salivating when the refrigerator door is opened.Grayson's dog's behavior best illustrates _____ in classical conditioning.

Accepted Answer

The scenario described in the question best illustrates extinction in classical conditioning, which occurs when the conditioned response (salivation in this case) gradually disappears as a result of the conditioned stimulus (opening the refrigerator) being presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus (food) being presented.

Question 8

Which of the following is true of spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response. It occurs without further conditioning, so option D is correct. It does not result in the weakening of the unconditioned stimulus or the unconditioned response, nor does it occur whenever an unconditioned response causes a conditioned response, so options A, B, and C are incorrect.

Question 9

_____ in classical conditioning is the tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response.

Accepted Answer

Generalization refers to the tendency of a similar stimulus to elicit a response similar to the conditioned response. Acquisition is the initial learning phase of classical conditioning where the association between the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus is formed. Discrimination is the ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other irrelevant stimuli. Habituation refers to the decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated exposure. Among these, only generalization fits the given description.

Question 10

Yolanda dislikes going to the doctor for her illness because every time she does,she is prescribed medicines,which ruin her appetite and make her feel nauseated.She associates doctors with feelings of nausea.However,she is not afraid of visiting dentists.In this scenario,Yolanda's behavior best exemplifies _____ in classical conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Yolanda has learned to associate doctors with the negative experience of feeling nauseated after taking medicine. This is an example of discrimination, as she is able to differentiate between doctors (which elicit the negative response) and dentists (which do not elicit the negative response).

Question 11

In aversive conditioning experiments to treat alcohol addiction,every time a person drinks an alcoholic beverage,he or she also consumes a mixture that induces nausea.In classical conditioning terminology,the nausea-inducing agent is the

Accepted Answer

The nausea-inducing agent is the unconditioned stimulus because it naturally and instinctively produces nausea without any prior learning or conditioning. Therefore, the pairing of the alcoholic beverage with the unconditioned stimulus results in the alcoholic beverage becoming a conditioned stimulus that eventually elicits a conditioned response of nausea.

Question 12

Ronald was the subject of an experiment for alcoholics.Every time Ronald had a drink,it was mixed with a nausea-inducing agent,which made him sick.After experiencing this pattern for several weeks,Ronald started to dislike alcohol immensely.He did not drink for seven months.However,one day as he was walking past a new bar,Ronald experienced an overwhelming desire to drink.In this scenario,Ronald's sudden desire to drink best illustrates the concept of _____ in classical conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Renewal in classical conditioning refers to the sudden reappearance of a previously extinguished response when the individual is exposed to the original conditioned stimulus in a new context. In this scenario, Ronald had successfully undergone extinction of his desire to drink due to the nausea-inducing agent, but the new context of walking past a bar triggered a renewal of his desire to drink.

Question 13

In classical conditioning,the process by which a conditioned response can recur after a time delay,without further conditioning is known as

Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the process by which a previously extinguished conditioned response reemerges after the presentation of the conditioned stimulus following a rest period. This occurs without any further conditioning.

Question 14

Extinction in classical conditioning is

Accepted Answer

Extinction in classical conditioning refers to the weakening or disappearance of a conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented. This occurs because the association between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is no longer reinforced, and the conditioned response gradually decreases in strength until it disappears. Options A, C, and D do not accurately describe extinction in classical conditioning.

Question 15

Tyler's grandmother,Rose,has been receiving e-mails from Tyler every day for many years.In anticipation of his e-mails,she checks her inbox more than once in a day.However,since Tyler has started college,the emails have stopped.As a result,Rose checks her e-mail only every few days.If this pattern continues,Rose will completely stop checking her e-mail.In classical conditioning,this is known as

Accepted Answer

The scenario described in the question is an example of extinction in classical conditioning. Tyler's grandmother had been conditioned to check her email frequently due to the repeated pairing of receiving emails from Tyler with the behavior of checking her inbox. However, since Tyler has stopped sending emails, the behavior of checking her email is no longer reinforced and eventually fades away (or goes extinct).

Question 16

Jacob,a police officer,wants to train his new dog,Rover.Jacob buys a "zap collar" that delivers a low intensity shock to the neck of the dog whenever it pulls on the leash.After wearing the collar for a few days,Rover recognizes that the shock is an undesirable result of pulling on the leash.Consequently,Rover stops pulling on the leash.In this scenario,which of the following methods has most likely been used to discipline Rover?

Accepted Answer

The use of the "zap collar" to deliver a low intensity shock to the dog when it pulls on the leash is an example of aversive conditioning, which aims to associate an undesirable behavior with an unpleasant consequence. In this case, the shock serves as an aversive stimulus that reduces the likelihood of the dog pulling on the leash.

Question 17

_____,in classical conditioning,refers to the recovery of the conditioned response when an organism is placed in a novel context.

Accepted Answer

Renewal refers to the recovery of a conditioned response when an organism is placed in a context that is different from the one in which the conditioning took place. This highlights the importance of context in classical conditioning.

Question 18

Jim feeds his dog the Paws brand of dog food every day.When the dog sees Jim pouring the food into his bowl,he starts to salivate.When Jim switches to a new brand,the food does not suit the dog and makes him sick.The dog no longer salivates when he sees Jim pouring the food into his bowl.In this scenario,the dog's change in behavior can be best explained by learning through

Accepted Answer

The answer of Jim feeds his dog the Paws brand...

Question 19

Counterconditioning is a classical conditioning procedure for

Accepted Answer

Counterconditioning involves changing the relationship between a conditioned stimulus and its conditioned response. This is done by pairing the conditioned stimulus with a new unconditioned stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with the original conditioned response. For example, if a person is afraid of dogs (conditioned response) but likes ice cream (unrelated unconditioned response), counterconditioning would pair exposure to dogs with eating ice cream in order to change the conditioned response to one of positive feelings towards dogs.

Question 20

Watson,a research subject,is pricked with a needle every time he decides to have a sip of a soda.He is being conditioned to avoid drinking soda.In this scenario,the needle prick is the

Accepted Answer

The needle prick is the unconditioned stimulus because it automatically elicits a response (pain) without any previous learning. The goal of conditioning is to associate this unconditioned stimulus with the previously neutral stimulus (the decision to drink soda) so that eventually, the conditioned stimulus (the decision to drink soda) will elicit the same response (aversion to pain).

Quiz 6: Learning