Question 1

A car manufacturer places an ad for its newest model in Playboy magazine, hoping that it will increase sales. In this case, the car is a/an ________ and the female models throughout the magazine would presumably serve as ________.

Accepted Answer

The car is a neutral stimulus because it initially does not elicit a strong response from the audience. The female models are unconditioned stimuli because they naturally attract attention and elicit a response, which the manufacturer hopes will transfer to the car.

Question 2

Robert Rescorla said that a conditioned stimulus must reliably ________ an unconditioned stimulus.

Accepted Answer

Rescorla's contingency theory states that a conditioned stimulus must reliably predict the occurrence of an unconditioned stimulus. In other words, the conditioned stimulus must be a consistent indicator that the unconditioned stimulus is about to occur.

Question 3

For classical conditioning to be effective in forming an association, the CS should be presented:

Accepted Answer

For classical conditioning to be effective, the conditioned stimulus (CS) should be presented just prior to the unconditioned stimulus (US). This creates an association between the two stimuli, leading to the formation of a conditioned response (CR). If the CS is presented too long before or after the US, the association is weaker, and the conditioning may not be as effective. Presenting the CS at the same time as the US can lead to overshadowing, where the animal pays more attention to one stimulus over the other, and the conditioning is less effective.

Question 4

Researchers asked college students to look at slides of either beige pens or blue pens while either popular or unfamiliar music played in the background. Later, when allowed to choose a pen:

Accepted Answer

The findings suggest that popular music has a significant influence on decision-making, as almost three-fourths of the students who listened to popular music chose the colour of pen seen in their slides. This implies that popular music can affect consumer behavior and preferences.

Question 5

According to John B. Watson, the founder of North American behaviourism, you learn to love another:

Accepted Answer

According to John B. Watson, you learn to love another by pairing stroking and cuddling with the person doing the stroking and cuddling. This is known as classical conditioning, where a previously neutral stimulus (the person) becomes associated with a pleasurable experience (stroking and cuddling), ultimately resulting in a positive emotional response (love).

Question 6

It would be easiest to classically condition Yosef to acquire a fear of:

Accepted Answer

Snakes have long been associated with fear and danger in many cultures, making them a common object of phobias. This means that it would be easier to classically condition Yosef to acquire a fear of snakes compared to flowers, cars, or butterflies.

Question 7

"Little Albert" was a:

Accepted Answer

Little Albert was a young child who was the subject of a famous experiment by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner, where they demonstrated classical conditioning by making him fear a white rat.

Question 8

In a research study conducted at a college, students looked at slides of either beige pens or blue pens while either popular or unfamiliar music played in the background. In classical conditioning terms, the music was a/an:

Accepted Answer

In classical conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus is something that naturally and automatically triggers a response without prior conditioning. In this study, the music serves as an unconditioned stimulus that could elicit a response from the students.

Question 9

For classical conditioning to be most effective, the neutral stimulus should ________ the unconditioned stimulus.

Accepted Answer

The neutral stimulus should precede the unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning. This means that the neutral stimulus should be presented before the unconditioned stimulus in order for the association between the two to be formed.

Question 10

Contemporary psychologists have suggested that what an animal or person actually learns in classical conditioning is:

Accepted Answer

Contemporary psychologists propose that classical conditioning involves learning the informational relationship between stimuli, where one stimulus provides information about the occurrence of another.

Question 11

College students looked at slides of either beige pens or blue pens while either appealing or unappealing music played in the background. Based on this procedure, it is evident that the researchers are studying:

Accepted Answer

The experiment involves a pairing of a neutral stimulus (the pens) with a conditioned stimulus (the music) in order to create a new conditioned response (a preference for either beige or blue pens based on the type of music played). This is a clear example of classical conditioning.

Question 12

According to the textbook:

Accepted Answer

The textbook states that while a person can learn to fear just about anything, it is easier to learn to fear some things than others. This indicates that some stimuli may be more easily associated with fear through classical conditioning. Option A is incorrect because classical conditioning is also often demonstrated in real life (such as in advertising). Option B is incorrect because research has shown that it is actually easier to condition a fear of heights than a fear of flowers (due to the inherent danger associated with falling from a height). Option D is incorrect because negative emotions (such as fear) can also be classically conditioned.

Question 13

After a child learns to fear spiders, he also responds with fear to ants and beetles. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Stimulus generalization occurs when a response that has been conditioned to one stimulus also occurs to similar stimuli. In this case, the fear response to spiders has generalized to ants and beetles.

Question 14

Mr. Tenedor works on the assembly line building cars. His mouth begins to water whenever the noontime bell signals the beginning of lunch. One day the bell goes haywire and rings every 30 minutes throughout the day. By the end of the day, Mr. Tenedor realizes that he has stopped salivating to the bell, which means that ________ has occurred.

Accepted Answer

Extinction refers to the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus. In this scenario, Mr. Tenedor's salivation response to the lunch bell has gradually weakened and disappeared when the bell rang repeatedly throughout the day without the presentation of food. Thus, choice A is the correct answer. Counterconditioning refers to the process of changing an unwanted conditioned response to a more desirable one, spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a previously extinguished response, and stimulus generalization refers to the tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus. None of these processes explain Mr. Tenedor's lack of salivation response to the lunch bell at the end of the day.

Question 15

John Watson and his colleague Rosalie Rayner showed Little Albert a live white rat. Albert:

Accepted Answer

John Watson and Rosalie Rayner initially showed Little Albert a live white rat, and he liked the rat and seemed delighted. It was only after they paired the rat with a loud noise that he began to show fear responses.

Question 16

For classical conditioning to be most effective, the stimulus to be conditioned should:

Accepted Answer

In classical conditioning, the conditioned stimulus (CS) should be presented before the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in order to create an association between the two stimuli. This is known as temporal contiguity. Therefore, the stimulus to be conditioned should precede the UCS.

Question 17

John B. Watson believed that classical conditioning could affect:

Accepted Answer

John B. Watson believed that classical conditioning could affect our emotional responses, as demonstrated in his famous Little Albert experiment, where a phobia of rats was conditioned in a young child through a series of pairings with loud noises. Classical conditioning can also affect other aspects of behavior, such as arousal and attention.

Question 18

What actually is learned in classical conditioning is:

Accepted Answer

The answer of What actually is learned in classical conditioning...

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a situation that can be explained by classical conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning involves learning associations between stimuli and responses through repeated pairing. Innate food preferences are not learned through conditioning, but rather through biological factors such as genetic predispositions and evolutionary history. Therefore, C is not a situation that can be explained by classical conditioning.

Question 20

The acquisition of a conditioned fear response appears to involve a receptor for the neurotransmitter:

Accepted Answer

The acquisition of a conditioned fear response involves the glutamate receptor, specifically the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Activation of this receptor in the amygdala is necessary for fear conditioning to occur. Other neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine do play a role in fear and anxiety, but they are not necessarily involved in the acquisition of a conditioned fear response.

Quiz 7: Learning and Conditioning

A car manufacturer places an ad for its newest model in Playboy magazine, hoping that it will increase sales. In this case, the car is a/an and the female models throughout the magazine would presumably serve as .