Question 1

Hedonic shift implies that when Eric drinks too much tequila, which he finds delicious, and gets sick, the next time he encounters the flavor
A) he will expect to get sick.
B) he will expect to get somewhat intoxicated.
C) he will not like the taste.
D) he continues drinking until his aversion is extinguished.

Accepted Answer

Hedonic shift refers to a change in the perceived pleasantness of a stimulus; after getting sick from tequila, Eric is likely to find the taste less appealing.

Question 2

Why is the observation that all CRs are unique of value?
A) It argues against the generality of laws of learning, leading to advances in understanding specialization.
B) It suggests that uniqueness is a function of the CS and US and how they occur together, rather than a result of special forms of learning.
C) It makes hedonic shift a prime example of where generality fails.
D) It suggests that not all CRs are a function of expecting the US.

Accepted Answer

The observation that all conditioned responses (CRs) are unique suggests that the uniqueness is due to the specific combination of the conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US), rather than being a result of special forms of learning. This highlights the importance of the specific pairing and context in which learning occurs.

Question 3

Research on taste aversions and preferences has found that this learning may occur robustly because a flavor is either
A) a signal for an aversive outcome or has changed in terms of its appeal or palatability.
B) one that the subject is prepared to learn about or is neutral.
C) memorable and long-lasting or salient but labile.
D) intense, novel, and unique, or weak, familiar, and commonplace.

Accepted Answer

Taste aversions and preferences often develop robustly when a flavor signals an aversive outcome (such as illness) or when its appeal or palatability changes. This is because the association between the taste and the outcome is strong, making the learning process particularly effective.

Question 4

Which outcome could suggest that a flavor's hedonic value has shifted, not that the flavor has become a signal for the US?
A) The subject consumes less of a flavor associated with illness and more of a flavor paired with calories.
B) The subject's consumption of a flavor after conditioning is unchanged, despite inflation or devaluation of the training US.
C) The subject's preference for, or dislike of, a flavor is successfully reversed through counter-conditioning.
D) The subject's preference for, or dislike of, a flavor after conditioning is changed when the value of the training US is modified.

Accepted Answer

When the subject's consumption of a flavor remains unchanged despite changes in the value of the unconditioned stimulus (US), it suggests that the hedonic value of the flavor itself has shifted, rather than the flavor becoming a signal for the US.

Question 5

Is the lack of a US revaluation effect in taste aversion good evidence that the animals may not be learning to expect the US in this paradigm?
A) Yes, changes in the US should affect changes in the response elicited by the CS.
B) No, we do not fully understand the situations in which US revaluation will produce clear changes in responses.
C) Yes, US revaluation effects are easy to see in virtually all other paradigms.
D) No, taste aversion is a form of S-S learning in which such effects are not always expected.

Accepted Answer

Taste aversion learning is complex, and the absence of US revaluation effects does not necessarily indicate that animals are not learning to expect the US. The mechanisms and conditions under which US revaluation affects responses are not fully understood.

Question 6

In compound potentiation studies, the weaker CS gains _______ associative strength when paired with a second, _______ salient CS.
A) more; more
B) less; more
C) more; less
D) less; less

Accepted Answer

In compound potentiation studies, the weaker conditioned stimulus (CS) gains more associative strength when it is paired with a second, more salient CS. This is because the presence of a more salient stimulus can enhance the learning about the weaker stimulus.

Question 7

Is compound potentiation a counterintuitive result?
A) Yes, a less salient odor CS should block a more salient taste CS when both are presented in compound.
B) No, a less salient odor CS enhances learning about a highly salient light CS when both are presented in compound.
C) Yes, a more salient taste CS should overshadow a less salient odor CS when both are presented in compound.
D) Sometimes, more salient taste CS acts as an occasion-setter, allowing the subject to determine whether or not the odor CS will predict illness.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Is compound potentiation a counterintuitive result?
A) Yes,...

Question 8

Travis is listening to new loud music on his phone and accidentally steps into traffic and gets hit by a car. For several days later he experiences fear in seemingly random places-that is, he doesn't know what makes him afraid. What could have happened?
A) Fear acquired in his accident generalized to other stimuli similar to the scene.
B) Some relatively unnoticeable stimuli were potentiated by the loud music at the time of the car accident, and he is randomly encountering these stimuli which now elicit fear.
C) He will only be afraid when listening to the song he was hearing at the time of the accident, so he must be hearing that song.
D) He could have protected against conditioning with external stimuli by chewing strongly flavored gum, a gustatory stimulus, while he crossed the street.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Travis is listening to new loud music...

Question 9

Compound potentiation observed with tastes and odors is not truly unique. Which statement best supports that assertion?
A) Odor cues are distal stimuli and part of the skin defense system, whereas tastes are proximal cues and part of the gut defense system; thus the two cues do not interfere or compete with each other.
B) A standard within-compound association forms between odor and taste, just like with other stimuli outside the taste aversion paradigm.
C) As a result of evolution and the way organisms' sensory systems integrate input, organisms are "prepared" to learn odor-taste aversions.
D) Any relevant cue is more likely to show potentiation effects when it is very nonsalient and presented in compound with a strongly salient cue.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Compound potentiation observed with tastes and odors...

Question 10

Which statement about compound potentiation studies is true?
A) The observation that distal odor versus proximal taste cues activate noncompeting defense systems cannot explain potentiation.
B) Standard within-compound associations explain why potentiation occurs while overshadowing occurs at other times.
C) Potentiation is unique to taste-odor combinations.
D) Salience differences of cues and their differential susceptibility to potentiation indicates that taste aversion learning is unique, as first suspected.

Accepted Answer

The observation that distal odor versus proximal taste cues activate noncompeting defense systems cannot explain potentiation.

Question 11

Taste aversion research has led to significant changes in learning theory. Which area has not been influenced substantially by insights resulting from studying the supposedly unique qualities of taste aversion?
A) The influence of evolution on learned behaviors
B) The role of stimulus relevance on learning
C) The role of contextual interference on learning
D) The functional role of conditioning as an adaptation process

Accepted Answer

Taste aversion research primarily impacts understanding of how evolution shapes learning, the importance of stimulus relevance, and conditioning's adaptive role. It hasn't significantly altered views on contextual interference in learning, which deals with how the context can facilitate or hinder learning processes, a concept not directly tied to the unique characteristics of taste aversion learning.

Question 12

An exaptation is a(n)
A) genetic trait that was not selected for the function it currently performs.
B) exception to, or contradiction of, the natural selection mechanism of evolution.
C) genetic trait that was once beneficial but is no longer necessary or useful.
D) particularly fast form of evolutionary change that occurs when the genetic pool is restricted.

Accepted Answer

An exaptation is a feature that originally evolved to serve one function but has been co-opted to serve another. This means it is a genetic trait that was not selected for its current function, fitting the description in choice A.

Question 13

An example of exaptation is the genetic transmission of
A) darker pigmentation in the next generation of moths that live in polluted environments.
B) traits that have more than one function (e.g., fur keeps an animal warm but also provides camouflage).
C) a mutation (e.g., coloration, size) that might be adaptive for the next generation.
D) traits that decrease the survival chances in offspring (e.g., missing pigmentation, or albinism).

Accepted Answer

Exaptation refers to a trait that originally evolved for one purpose but later came to serve another. The example of fur providing both warmth and camouflage illustrates this concept, as the fur's primary function might have been warmth, but it also serves the purpose of camouflage, which is a secondary benefit that was not the original reason for its evolution.

Question 14

General laws of learning could have resulted from evolution if
A) two different behaviors evolved separately but obeyed similar rules because they both solved similar problems.
B) evolution produced specializations or separate mechanisms whenever the structure of problems was different.
C) a genetic feature such as a learning or memory process that was adaptive in solving one problem could not be co-opted to solve other problems.
D) exaptation is prevented by genetic drift.

Accepted Answer

General laws of learning could have evolved if different behaviors that evolved separately followed similar rules because they addressed similar adaptive challenges, indicating a shared evolutionary basis for learning mechanisms.

Question 15

Sherry and Schacter (1987) argued that both specializations and generality can be expected from evolution. For this perspective to work,
A) learning mechanisms must respond to the need to remember episodic events.
B) some learning functions must act as an exaptations and be useful in solving other functions.
C) all problems must have a similar underlying function.
D) generality must arise from specific solutions to general problems.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Sherry and Schacter (1987) argued that both...

Question 16

Though not discussed in the textbook, it is an established phenomenon that we are particularly adept at recognizing faces. That is, we learn about them especially well. Which statement best characterizes this ability?
A) Learning about faces is simple because they are analogous and homologous.
B) Learning about faces is consistent with them being encapsulated and processed in a special module.
C) Learning about faces should be unprepared, and thus free from interference.
D) Learning about faces is likely an incremental, habit-based system.

Accepted Answer

Learning about faces is consistent with the theory of modularity of mind, which suggests that the brain has specialized regions for processing certain types of information, such as faces, in a specialized and encapsulated manner.

Question 17

An example of an analogous trait is the
A) wing of a bird wing and the wing of a bat.
B) flipper of a seal and the wing of a bat.
C) leg and paw of a dog and the leg and foot of a human.
D) talons of a hawk and the claws of a bear.

Accepted Answer

Analogous traits are features that are similar due to convergent evolution, not common ancestry. The wings of a bird and a bat are analogous because they evolved independently to serve the function of flying.

Question 18

An example of a homologous traits is
A) beak of bird and the tail of the duckbill platypus
B) flipper of a seal and the wing of a bat
C) webbed feet of a duck and the fins of a fish
D) tail of a bird and the tail of a beaver

Accepted Answer

Homologous traits are those that originated from a common ancestor but may have evolved for different functions. The flipper of a seal and the wing of a bat are both derived from the forelimbs of a common ancestor, making them homologous structures despite their different functions in swimming and flying, respectively.

Question 19

Which of the following does not characterize a module?
A) A module is developed as a result of an organism's experience with the environment.
B) A module is relatively encapsulated, as it tends to be unaffected by other modules.
C) A module is an inherited specialization to deal with a functional incompatibility.
D) A module is an example of a prepared behavior.

Accepted Answer

Modules are typically considered innate and not developed through environmental experience.

Question 20

The "relative validity effect" refers to a learning phenomenon in which
A) a stimulus that is valid in one context may not be valid in another context.
B) the first behavior that solves a problem stops the learning process.
C) the stimulus that controls a behavior is the best predictor of that behavior, compared to all other present stimuli.
D) the validity of a stimulus changes from one conditioning trial to the next.

Accepted Answer

The "relative validity effect" is a phenomenon where the stimulus that most accurately predicts a behavior or outcome, in comparison to other stimuli present, is the one that most strongly controls that behavior. This means that among several cues, the one with the highest predictive value relative to the others will have the greatest influence on learning and behavior.

Quiz 6: Are the Laws of Conditioning General

Hedonic shift implies that when Eric drinks too much tequila, which he finds delicious, and gets sick, the next time he encounters the flavor

Why is the observation that all CRs are unique of value?

Research on taste aversions and preferences has found that this learning may occur robustly because a flavor is either

Which outcome could suggest that a flavor's hedonic value has shifted, not that the flavor has become a signal for the US?

Is the lack of a US revaluation effect in taste aversion good evidence that the animals may not be learning to expect the US in this paradigm?

In compound potentiation studies, the weaker CS gains _ associative strength when paired with a second, _ salient CS.

Is compound potentiation a counterintuitive result?

Travis is listening to new loud music on his phone and accidentally steps into traffic and gets hit by a car. For several days later he experiences fear in seemingly random places-that is, he doesn't know what makes him afraid. What could have happened?

Compound potentiation observed with tastes and odors is not truly unique. Which statement best supports that assertion?

Which statement about compound potentiation studies is true?

Taste aversion research has led to significant changes in learning theory. Which area has not been influenced substantially by insights resulting from studying the supposedly unique qualities of taste aversion?

An exaptation is a(n)

An example of exaptation is the genetic transmission of

General laws of learning could have resulted from evolution if

Sherry and Schacter (1987) argued that both specializations and generality can be expected from evolution. For this perspective to work,

Though not discussed in the textbook, it is an established phenomenon that we are particularly adept at recognizing faces. That is, we learn about them especially well. Which statement best characterizes this ability?

An example of an analogous trait is the

An example of a homologous traits is

Which of the following does not characterize a module?

The "relative validity effect" refers to a learning phenomenon in which