Question 1

Juanita had an automobile accident on a bridge, and now she becomes very nervous whenever she has to cross any bridge. Which process accounts for this feeling?

Accepted Answer

Juanita is exhibiting generalization, where a learned response (in this case, fear/nervousness) to one specific situation (the bridge where her accident occurred) is generalized to other similar situations (crossing any bridge).

Question 2

Following extinction, if a conditioned stimulus is presented at a later time, it may again evoke a conditioned response. This phenomenon is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of extinction. Therefore, if a conditioned stimulus is presented at a later time and evokes a conditioned response, it is an example of spontaneous recovery.

Question 3

Following conditioning, repeated presentations of the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus will lead to a reduction and eventually a disappearance of the conditioned response. This phenomenon is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Extinction refers to the process of gradually weakening and eventually eliminating a conditioned response by presenting the conditioned stimulus repeatedly without the presence of the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 4

In order to extinguish a classically conditioned response, you must repeatedly present the ________ without the ________.

Accepted Answer

In order to extinguish a classically conditioned response, you must repeatedly present the conditioned stimulus (CS) without the unconditioned stimulus (US). This is known as extinction training. As a result, the organism gradually learns that the CS no longer predicts the occurrence of the US, leading to a decrease in the conditioned response.

Question 5

Little Harold overcame his fear of water after two bullies had held him under the water. Although he swam the rest of the season without noticeable fear, on the first day of swimming the next summer, he began to cry and said he was scared. What had occurred?

Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinguished response after a period of time without exposure to the conditioned stimulus. In this case, Little Harold had overcome his fear of water after being held under by bullies and had swam without fear for the rest of the season. However, the next summer, he cried and expressed fear again, indicating a reappearance of his fear response after a period without exposure to water/swimming.

Question 6

Extinction requires which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Extinction in classical conditioning occurs when a conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus, leading to a decrease in the conditioned response over time.

Question 7

Which factor listed below led Pavlov to determine that an extinguished conditioned response was not erased or forgotten, but only inhibited?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which factor listed below led Pavlov to...

Question 8

The important variable in determining whether a conditioned response will generalize to a stimulus other than the original conditioned stimulus depends mainly on the ________ of two stimuli.

Accepted Answer

The similarity between the original conditioned stimulus and the new stimulus is the most important variable in determining whether a conditioned response will generalize. If the new stimulus is very similar to the original conditioned stimulus, the conditioned response is more likely to occur. If the new stimulus is very different from the original conditioned stimulus, the conditioned response is less likely to occur.

Question 9

Ali grew-up in a country where police committed horrible atrocities against civilians. Now in Canada, when Ali sees a police officer he is overcome by a great fear. The fact that Ali is now fearful of all police officers in Canada suggests that

Accepted Answer

Generalization has occurred because Ali has generalized fear from police officers in his previous country to all police officers in Canada. Discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous recovery do not accurately describe this situation.

Question 10

The occurrence of spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning shows that

Accepted Answer

The answer of The occurrence of spontaneous recovery in classical...

Question 11

Which element in classical conditioning is the learned signal?

Accepted Answer

The learned signal in classical conditioning is the conditioned stimulus. This is the stimulus that, through repeated pairing with the unconditioned stimulus, comes to elicit a response on its own. For example, in Pavlov's famous experiment, the sound of a bell (conditioned stimulus) was repeatedly paired with the presentation of food (unconditioned stimulus), until eventually the sound of the bell alone was enough to cause dogs to salivate (conditioned response).

Question 12

What happens when a conditioned response is extinguished?

Accepted Answer

When a conditioned response is extinguished, the conditioned stimulus no longer signals that the unconditioned stimulus will follow. Essentially, the association between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is weakened and eventually disappears, causing the conditioned response to no longer occur. The other options are incorrect. The conditioned stimulus does not become an inhibitor, as this is a different process in classical conditioning. Also, the association between the unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response is not relevant to the process of extinction in classical conditioning.

Question 13

The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus is called

Accepted Answer

Extinction is when a conditioned response gradually weakens and disappears when the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 14

Sirens on police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances do not sound exactly alike, but because of ________ we react similarly to them.

Accepted Answer

Generalization refers to the tendency to respond in similar ways to stimuli that resemble each other, even if they are not exactly the same. In this case, sirens on different emergency vehicles may not sound identical, but we generalize our response to them and react similarly (e.g. pulling over to let them pass). Therefore, the best answer is C) generalization.

Question 15

Two-year-old Rick was playing with a balloon when it burst and made an extremely loud noise, causing him to cry. Now, whenever Rick sees a balloon, he becomes frightened. In this situation, crying at the loud noise is the

Accepted Answer

Crying in response to the loud noise is an unconditioned response because it is a natural reaction to the stimulus (the loud noise) without prior learning or conditioning.

Question 16

Two-year-old Rick was playing with a balloon when it burst and made an extremely loud noise, causing him to cry. Now, whenever Rick sees a balloon, he becomes frightened. In this situation, the balloon is the

Accepted Answer

The balloon initially caused an unconditioned response (crying) when it burst, making it the unconditioned stimulus. However, after the association was made between the balloon and the loud noise, the balloon became the conditioned stimulus that elicited a conditioned response (fear) in Rick.

Question 17

Last winter, Carmen skidded on the ice and hit another car. This left her with a fear of driving on ice and snow that she finally overcame by the end of the winter. But her fear returned when she had to drive for the first time on the snow this winter. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

Carmen's behavior of avoiding driving on ice and snow was extinguished at the end of last winter when she was able to overcome her fear. However, when she was faced with driving on snow again this winter, her fear returned, which is an example of spontaneous recovery. Generalization would refer to her fear extending beyond just driving on snow and ice, discrimination would refer to her being able to drive on some types of snow or ice but not others, and extinction would refer to the gradual decrease and eventual disappearance of her fear over time with continuous exposure.

Question 18

Failure to occasionally pair the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus will lead to

Accepted Answer

Failure to pair the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus will eventually lead to extinction, meaning that the conditioned response will no longer occur in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 19

Two-year-old Rick was playing with a balloon when it burst and made an extremely loud noise, causing him to cry. Now, whenever Rick sees a balloon, he becomes frightened. In this situation, the fear produced by the sight of the balloon is the

Accepted Answer

The fear that Rick experiences when he sees a balloon is a learned response, which means it is not automatic. It is a result of the association formed between the balloon bursting (unconditioned stimulus) and the fear response (unconditioned response). Over time, the sight of the balloon (conditioned stimulus) became associated with the fear response, and as a result, Rick now experiences fear (conditioned response) when he sees balloons.

Question 20

The tendency of stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus to evoke the conditioned response is called

Accepted Answer

Generalization refers to the tendency of stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus to evoke a conditioned response. This occurs because the individual associates the similar stimulus with the original conditioned stimulus.

Quiz 5: Learning