Deck 3: Habituation, Sensitization, and Familiarization: Learning About Repeated Events

Question 1

Suppose we repeatedly play a low-pitched tone to a rat.Which of the following would demonstrate dishabituation in the rat?

A)After many trials,the rat no longer responds to the low-pitched tone.
B)The rat does not respond to a high-pitched tone.
C)The rat's response to the low-pitched tone increases over many trials.
D)A very loud tone is inserted into the trials,and the rat then responds to the low-pitched tone.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following would be the MOST difficult to habituate to?

A)the pressure of your chair against your back
B)the accent of a foreign friend whom you have known for many years
C)the smell of just-baked cookies
D)a loud,banging sound that occurs every five minutes

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following would produce the longest-lasting habituation (assuming all stimuli are habituated to)?

A)the constant hum of a fan
B)a light that blinks on and off every ½ second
C)a beeping sound that repeats itself every 15 seconds
D)Habituation would last equally long in all of these examples.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A decrease in the strength or occurrence of a behavior after repeated exposure to the stimulus that produces the behavior is called:

A)sensitization.
B)habituation.
C)perceptual learning.
D)priming.

Question 5

Since her grandmother's recent illness,,Sarah has a heightened awareness of her family's health,and gets overly worried anytime a family member appears the least bit unwell.This is an example of:

A)habituation.
B)sensitization.
C)dishabituation.
D)priming.

Question 6

The Milwaukee police noticed a putrid smell in Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment.But because they had experienced many smelly apartments in the past,they did not investigate the source of the smell.This is an example of:

A)sensitization.
B)habituation.
C)perceptual learning.
D)priming.

Question 7

Habituation to a stimulus:

A)can carry risks.
B)occurs only in animals that have brains.
C)usually involves an increase in the response to a stimulus.
D)lasts forever.

Question 8

If you are feeling bored with your romantic partner,which of the following would be expected to improve your feelings by bringing about dishabituation?

A)doing something new and exciting together
B)spending time together just relaxing
C)doing more of your favorite activities together
D)downplaying the importance of the problem

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of habituation?

A)If you have seen a particular person before,it is easier to remember that person's physical features.
B)On a long car trip,your brother keeps kicking the back of your seat.It becomes progressively more bothersome.
C)When you first enter a bakery,you notice all of the wonderful smells,but after a few minutes you don't notice them anymore.
D)At a scary movie,you scream as a monster jumps out suddenly.From then on,every little movement someone or something makes in the film frightens you.

Question 10

When experiences with an arousing stimulus lead to a stronger-than-normal response to a later stimulus,this is known as:

A)habituation.
B)sensitization.
C)dishabituation.
D)priming.

Question 11

Suppose you are a person who never buys eggs because you don't like them.One weekend you have guests that love eggs,and so you decide to buy some at the store.Even though you've never bought eggs at this store,you know exactly where they are in the store from all of the times you have shopped there before.The fact that you learned where the eggs are during those past trips is an example of:

A)sensitization.
B)habituation.
C)perceptual learning.
D)latent learning.

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of habituation?

A)As you go to bed,you hear the bathroom faucet dripping.The sound becomes more and more annoying as the night goes on.
B)Your car spins out on the ice in the winter.Afterwards,you are much more nervous while driving.
C)An experienced shepherd can quickly distinguish his sheep from one another.
D)On entering a room,you notice the soft hum of a fan,but after being there for a while,you no longer notice the sound.

Question 13

Which of the following has been found to be true regarding sexual arousal in humans?

A)Only males habituate to sexual arousal.
B)Only females habituate to sexual arousal.
C)Females habituate more strongly than males to sexual arousal.
D)Males habituate more strongly than females to sexual arousal.

Question 14

A child repeatedly complains about having her teeth brushed by her mother.After a while,the mother doesn't even notice the child's complaints.This is an example of:

A)sensitization.
B)habituation.
C)dishabituation.
D)priming.

Question 15

In which situation would you habituate the most?

A)when the event is not very arousing
B)when you are first becoming familiar with the stimulus
C)when the interval between repetitions of the event is long
D)when the event is unusual

Question 16

If a loud noise is presented repeatedly to a rat,the rat's acoustic startle reflex will:

A)increase.
B)decrease.
C)decrease and then increase.
D)stay the same.

Question 17

____ exposure produces the fastest habituation,and ____ exposure produces the longest-lasting habituation.

A)Massed;spaced
B)Spaced;massed
C)Massed;massed
D)Spaced;spaced

Question 18

An infant turning her head to look at a novel pattern is an example of:

A)an orienting response.
B)latent learning.
C)habituation.
D)Sensitization.

Question 19

Suppose a baby is presented repeatedly with the color yellow.Which of the following would demonstrate that habituation is stimulus specific in this case?

A)The baby's orienting response to yellow increases,and then the baby responds vigorously to the color red.
B)The baby's orienting response to yellow increases,and then the baby has no response to the color red.
C)The baby's orienting response to yellow decreases,and then the baby responds vigorously to the color red.
D)The baby's orienting response to yellow decreases,and then the baby has no response to the color red.

Question 20

Susan's daughter was constantly calling "Mommy" throughout the day,until Susan eventually barely noticed her daughter's calls.The next day,when Susan's daughter called "Mommy" for the first time,Susan did hear her.This is an example of:

A)sensitization.
B)associative learning.
C)spontaneous recovery.
D)dishabituation.

Question 21

Which of the following demonstrates perceptual learning?

A)People who live in a city have no trouble sleeping through all of the street noise.
B)Professional wine tasters can easily distinguish between subtly different wines.
C)A crying baby becomes increasingly more bothersome to her parents.
D)A phobic patient gets used to being around spiders during one therapy session,but is fearful again at the start of the next session.

Question 22

Which model suggests that stimulus representations are formed vaguely at first but develop specificity over time by incorporating more and more details as the stimulus is repeated?

A)dual-process theory
B)comparator theory
C)differentiation theory
D)priming theory

Question 23

According to dual-process theory,when stimuli are highly arousing:

A)habituation processes determine the response.
B)sensitization processes determine the response.
C)habituation processes dominate on the early trials.
D)habituation processes dominate on the later trials.

Question 24

Under which condition would we expect the skin conductance response to reveal sensitization?

A)playing a loud noise right before a neutral musical tone
B)playing a quiet noise right before a neutral musical tone
C)playing a neutral musical tone repeatedly
D)playing a loud noise repeatedly

Question 25

Sensitization:

A)occurs in humans but not in other animals.
B)requires fewer exposures than are necessary for habituation.
C)is stimulus-specific.
D)dissipates rapidly in all learning situations.

Question 26

The phenomenon of perceptual learning suggests that the other-race effect can be reduced by:

A)exposing people to more examples of faces from their own racial group.
B)teaching people to recognize their implicit racial biases.
C)repeatedly presenting a single face from another racial group.
D)training people to distinguish between several faces of other racial groups.

Question 27

Training an individual to respond differently to different stimuli is known as:

A)mere exposure.
B)discrimination training.
C)sensitization.
D)priming.

Question 28

According to dual-process theory,repeated exposure to a soft tone will lead to a:

A)habituation response only.
B)sensitization the response only.
C)stronger habituation response than sensitization response.
D)stronger sensitization response than habituation response.

Question 29

A child who is exposed to a foreign language may have an easier time learning that language later on in life.This is an example of:

A)habituation.
B)learning specificity.
C)dishabituation.
D)mere exposure learning.

Question 30

Which of the following is an example of learning specificity?

A)People can only learn to discriminate shapes when the shapes are at a particular angle.
B)Judges at dog shows can discriminate between dog breeds very well,but not between different species of birds.
C)Chicken-sexers learn to spot male and female chickens by being extensively trained in distinguishing between male and female chickens.
D)Doctors learn to diagnose diseases in part by receiving feedback on whether past diagnoses were accurate.

Question 31

Learning in which repeated experience with a set of stimuli makes those stimuli easier to distinguish is known as:

A)habituation.
B)sensitization.
C)dishabituation.
D)perceptual learning.

Question 32

When rats learn to run through mazes,they:

A)make substantial use of the visual cues in the environment.
B)rely mainly on learning a sequence of motor movements.
C)rely entirely on their sense of smell to find their way to the food reward.
D)become confused if placed in a new starting position.

Question 33

According to comparator models,habituation occurs because:

A)the stimulus cannot be matched to a memory representation.
B)the connection between the stimulus and the muscle reflex has been weakened.
C)the brain processes only a limited amount of information about a stimulus during each exposure.
D)orienting responses are suppressed when stimuli are well-represented.

Question 34

Which model suggests that both sensitization and habituation occur in response to every stimulus presentation,and it is the summed combination of these two independent processes that determines the strength of responding?

A)dual-process theory
B)comparator models
C)differentiation theory
D)priming theory

Question 35

In studies of rats learning to find their way through a maze,Tolman & Honzik found that: rats that were:

A)rewarded every day learned the maze better than rats who started receiving rewards on the 11^th day.
B)rewarded every day learned the maze as well as rats that were never rewarded.
C)rewarded every day learned the maze as well as rats who started receiving rewards on the 11^th day.
D)never rewarded learned the maze better than rats who started receiving rewards on the 11^th day.

Question 36

Comparator theory provides the best account of:

A)short-term habituation effects.
B)short-term sensitization effects.
C)mere exposure effects.
D)perceptual learning resulting from discrimination training.

Question 37

Which model proposes that the brain forms a representation of a stimulus,compares this with a memory representation,and makes an orienting response if there is no match?

A)dual-process theory
B)comparator theory
C)differentiation theory
D)priming theory

Question 38

Rats that are exposed to circles and triangles for a month can learn to discriminate between these two shapes more quickly than rats not exposed to the shapes.This finding demonstrates:

A)learning specificity.
B)sensitization.
C)mere exposure learning.
D)priming.

Question 39

Which theory provides the BEST account of short-term habituation and sensitization effects?

A)dual-process theory
B)differentiation theory
C)comparator theory
D)All of the theories account equally well for these effects.

Question 40

Studies in which wasps' potential landmarks were removed demonstrated that:

A)landmarks are not required for wasps to navigate.
B)wasps rely mainly on remembering a sequence of movements for navigation.
C)wasps rely mainly on smell for navigation.
D)landmarks are an important part of wasp navigation.

Question 41

What accounts for the sensitization of the gill-withdrawal reflex in aplysia?

A)Motor neurons release serotonin,which increases the number of vesicles available to release glutamate from the sensory neuron.
B)Motor neurons release glutamate,which increases the number of vesicles available to release serotonin from the interneurons.
C)Interneurons release serotonin,which increases the number of vesicles available to release glutamate from the sensory neuron.
D)Interneurons release glutamate,which increases the number of vesicles available to release serotonin from the sensory neuron.

Question 42

Which of the following is true?

A)Habituation is homosynaptic,and sensitization is heterosynaptic.
B)Sensitization is homosynaptic,and habituation is heterosynaptic.
C)Both sensitization and habituation are heterosynaptic.
D)Both sensitization and habituation are homosynaptic.

Question 43

When prior exposure to a stimulus improves an organism's ability to respond to that stimulus later,this is known as:

A)habituation.
B)sensitization.
C)perceptual learning.
D)priming.

Question 44

Touching a patch of skin on the hand causes a particular neuron in the brain to fire.That particular patch of skin would be part of the neuron's:

A)homunculus.
B)receptive field.
C)priming field.
D)sensitization zone.

Question 45

Habituation and sensitization in aplysia are explained well by which theory?

A)dual-process theory
B)comparator models
C)differentiation theory
D)priming theory

Question 46

The capacity for cortical receptive fields and cortical spatial organization to change as a result of experience is called:

A)perceptual learning.
B)cortical plasticity.
C)heterosynaptic learning.
D)homosynaptic learning.

Question 47

When more sensory neurons are tuned to a particular feature of a stimulus,the organism will:

A)become sensitized to the stimulus more quickly.
B)habituate to the stimulus more quickly.
C)take longer to learn about the stimulus.
D)be better able to make fine distinctions related to the stimulus.

Question 48

It is believed that the mechanisms of habituation documented in aplysia occur in other species because:

A)scientists have been able to trace the entire neuronal circuit of habituation in the mammalian brain.
B)most mammals have the same number of neurons as do aplysia.
C)repeated stimulation of sensory neurons in other species causes a reduction in neurotransmitter release.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 49

If the visual input to the cortex is cut off during development:

A)visual acuity may be permanently degraded if sight is later restored.
B)cortical neurons that normally respond to visual input will be more sharply tuned to visual stimuli.
C)areas that normally respond to tactile or auditory stimuli will begin to respond to visual stimuli.
D)the visual area of the brain will increase in size.

Question 50

The textbook describes a study in which blue jays were quicker and more accurate at detecting a particular species of moth if they had recently detected other members of that species.This result demonstrates:

A)habituation.
B)sensitization.
C)priming.
D)perceptual learning.

Question 51

In a word-stem completion task,people are

A)more likely to fill in the blanks to form words they have previously seen.
B)less likely to fill in the blanks to form words they have previously seen.
C)more likely to fill in the blanks to form words they have previously seen,only if they consciously remember the words.
D)less likely to fill in the blanks to form words they have previously seen,only if they consciously remember the words.

Question 52

If sensitization of the gill-withdrawal reflex is heterosynaptic,which of the following would occur?

A)Touching the tail will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.
B)Touching the mantle will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.
C)Touching the mantle will cause a gill-withdrawal response.
D)Touching the siphon will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.

Question 53

Suppose we habituate the gill-withdrawal reflex in aplysia by repeatedly touching the siphon.If the habituation is homosynaptic,which of the following would occur?

A)Touching the tail will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.
B)Touching the mantle will not cause a gill-withdrawal response.
C)Touching the tail will cause a gill-withdrawal response.
D)Touching the siphon will cause a gill-withdrawal response.

Question 54

In alplysia,what accounts for the habituation of the gill-withdrawal reflex?

A)a decrease in the motor neuron's sensitivity to glutamate
B)an increase in the motor neuron's sensitivity to glutamate
C)a decrease in the amount of glutamate released by the sensory neuron
D)an increase in the amount of glutamate released by the sensory neuron

Question 55

Cortical neurons that are physically close together are tuned to similar stimulus features.This is known as:

A)a homunculus.
B)the sensory zone.
C)the receptive field of a neuron.
D)a topographic map.

Question 56

In aplysia:

A)the neural connections involved in the gill-withdrawal reflex have been well mapped out.
B)the nervous system consists of just 24 neurons.
C)the neurons are smaller than normal.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 57

Sensitization is demonstrated in aplysia when,after shocking the:

A)siphon,touching the siphon causes a strengthened gill-withdrawal reflex.
B)tail,touching the siphon causes a strengthened gill-withdrawal reflex.
C)siphon,touching the siphon causes a weakened gill-withdrawal reflex.
D)tail,touching the siphon causes a weakened gill-withdrawal reflex.

Question 58

In a novel object recognition task,which of the following demonstrates that a stimulus is perceived as familiar?

A)An individual shows sensitization to the stimulus.
B)An individual actively avoids any contact with the stimulus.
C)An individual spends less time examining the stimulus relative to a novel stimulus.
D)An individual shows dishabituation to the stimulus.

Question 59

In aplysia,touching the siphon over and over again results in:

A)perceptual learning.
B)priming.
C)a stronger gill-withdrawal reflex.
D)a weaker gill-withdrawal reflex.

Question 60

When aplysia are habituated over several days,we find that the:

A)amount of neurotransmitter released by the motor neuron increases.
B)number of synapses between sensory and motor neurons decreases.
C)number of motor neurons decreases.
D)number of presynaptic terminals in the sensory neurons increases.

Question 61

A sensory prosthesis is:

A)a therapeutic technique used to assist stroke victims who have lost sensory input from parts of their bodies.
B)a mechanical device containing sensory detectors that interface with appropriate sensory areas of the brain.
C)an inability to identify location or to find one's way around the environment.
D)the area of space to which a place cell responds.

Question 62

Neurons that respond to inputs from more than one sensory modality are known as:

A)multimodal.
B)Hebbian.
C)heterosynaptic.
D)homosynaptic.

Question 63

The behavior of rats navigating three-arm mazes before and after the mazes are rotated demonstrates that:

A)rats cannot navigate mazes when the mazes are rotated.
B)place cells do not respond when mazes are rotated.
C)place cell responses are based on visual cues in the environment.
D)visual cues are not important in navigation of mazes.

Question 64

Scientists have been working on a device that can be implanted in the retina of blind people to help them see again.Such a device is an example of:

A)a Hebbian device.
B)a place field.
C)a sensory prosthesis.
D)restraint therapy.

Question 65

The ability of rats to learn spatial layout declines when:

A)place fields shrink.
B)place cells become more selective.
C)place fields are prevented from shrinking.
D)place cells are active.

Question 66

Neurons in the sensory cortices:

A)can be retuned in adults.
B)can be retuned only in children.
C)take several months to become retuned.
D)can be retuned only in situations involving drastic sensory deprivation.

Question 67

What happens after repeated presentation of two simultaneous touches on the finger?

A)People habituate to the touches and no longer feel them.
B)People have a harder time determining whether there are one or two points being touched.
C)There is a decrease in the number of cortical neurons tuned to touches of the fingertip.
D)There is an increase in the number of cortical neurons tuned to touches of the fingertip.

Question 68

When rats repeatedly experience an environment,their place cells:

A)increase the size of their place fields.
B)eventually stop responding to the environment.
C)habituate to the environment.
D)become increasingly tuned to locations within that environment.

Question 69

A neuron that responds only when a rat is in a particular location is called a ____,and the preferred location is called the ____.

A)place cell;place field
B)place cell;receptive field
C)place field;receptive field
D)receptive field;place cell

Question 70

The hippocampus:

A)has not received much attention in learning and memory research.
B)is known to exist only in primates and rodents.
C)is much larger in birds than in rodents.
D)lies just beneath the temporal lobe in primates.

Question 71

Cochlear implants:

A)work by amplifying external sounds.
B)cause slow,gradual improvement in speech perception during the initial months.
C)generate virtual sounds that are nearly identical to normal speech sounds.
D)lead to reorganization of the auditory cortex in cats.

Question 72

Studies involving repeated presentation of two simultaneous touches on the finger have shown that the ability to discriminate the positions of the two touches:

A)stays the same.
B)improves.
C)gets worse.
D)improves,but only in children.

Question 73

Learning that involves strengthening connections between neurons is called _______ learning.

A)latent
B)Hebbian
C)heterosynaptic
D)homosynaptic

Question 74

The idea that "neurons that fire together,wire together" is more formally known as:

A)spontaneous recovery.
B)learning specificity.
C)Hebbian learning.
D)latent learning.

Question 75

When Brenda and Don first got married,Brenda was bothered by Don's snoring,but after 15 years of marriage she barely notices it anymore.This is an example of:

A)habituation.
B)sensitization.
C)priming.
D)dishabituation.

Question 76

Which of the following is true regarding the use of constraint-induced movement therapy to treat learned non-use?

A)It exploits mechanisms of cortical plasticity.
B)It is less effective than encouraging people to use their affected limb.
C)It helps muscles to recover but has little effect on brain activity.
D)It is used when motor control is lost but sensation is retained.

Question 77

Sarah woke up from a frightening dream.Lying awake in bed,she is overly frightened by the normal noises in her house.This is an example of:

A)habituation.
B)sensitization.
C)priming.
D)dishabituation.

Question 78

According to Hebbian learning,the connection between two neurons is:

A)strengthened when one neuron fires before the other one.
B)strengthened when both neurons are active at the same time.
C)weakened when both neurons are active at the same time.
D)strengthened when a third neuron is active before they fire.

Question 79

Research has shown that in the cortexes of opossums blinded at birth:

A)Area X,which exists in sighted opossums,was not present.
B)the visual area was smaller than normal,while the other sensory areas were of normal size.
C)within the visual area,some neurons responded to auditory or somatosensory stimuli.
D)there were no multimodal neurons.

Question 80

Rats with hippocampal damage are impaired in the ability to:

A)recognize objects if the context and position of the objects are integrated.
B)navigate but not in the ability to recognize objects.
C)recognize objects in nearly all situations.
D)recognize objects that the rats had experienced just a few times.