Question 1

The evolutionary perspective helps explain why the most common phobias are fears of:

Accepted Answer

According to the evolutionary perspective, humans are more likely to develop phobias towards potential threats that were present in our ancestral environment, such as snakes, spiders, and heights. These phobias are believed to be adaptive because they help us avoid danger and protect ourselves. Phobias towards wooden ducks, blocks, curtains, mushrooms, and flowers are not as common because they were not as prevalent in our ancestral environment and do not pose as much of a threat. Phobias towards foods that have been paired with illness cues may develop through classical conditioning, but they are not as common as phobias towards potential physical threats.

Question 2

The evolutionary approach to classical conditioning emphasizes that:

Accepted Answer

The evolutionary approach to classical conditioning emphasizes that an animal's unique characteristics and natural behavior patterns can influence what it is capable of learning. This is because animals are more likely to learn things that are relevant to their survival and reproduction, which are shaped by their evolutionary history. Therefore, classical conditioning is not a one-size-fits-all process, but rather depends on the individual characteristics of the organism being conditioned.

Question 3

Researchers found that people easily acquire a conditioned fear response to pictures of snakes and spiders when the slides were paired with a mild electric shock. However, people did NOT easily acquire a conditioned fear response to pictures of flowers and mushrooms when these images were paired with a mild electric shock. Which perspective provides the best explanation of this finding?

Accepted Answer

The evolutionary perspective provides the best explanation of this finding. Snakes and spiders are considered to be evolutionary threats, as they have posed a danger to humans throughout our evolutionary history. Therefore, humans may have an innate predisposition to acquire a fear response to images of these creatures. Flowers and mushrooms, on the other hand, do not present the same evolutionary threat and therefore do not elicit a fear response as readily.

Question 4

Which of the following statements best captures the essence of Thorndike's law of effect?

Accepted Answer

Thorndike's law of effect states that rewarded behavior is more likely to be repeated, while behaviors that are not rewarded or punished are less likely to be repeated. This law forms the basis of operant conditioning.

Question 5

The notion that an organism is innately predisposed to form associations between certain stimuli and responses is termed:

Accepted Answer

Biological preparedness refers to the idea that certain associations between stimuli and responses are easier for an organism to form due to innate predispositions. For example, humans are biologically prepared to associate certain tastes with toxicity to avoid eating poisonous substances. This concept has been observed in a variety of species and can be linked to evolutionary and adaptive processes.

Question 6

How can you explain the finding that quail could be easily conditioned to associate an illness with blue-colored water but rats could not?

Accepted Answer

Quail and rats have different evolutionary histories that have led them to be biologically prepared to learn certain associations more easily than others. Quail, being birds that rely heavily on visual cues in their environment, are more predisposed to associate visual stimuli, like the color of water, with outcomes such as illness. Rats, on the other hand, are more likely to associate illness with tastes or smells, due to their evolutionary background that emphasizes these senses for survival. This concept is rooted in the idea of biological preparedness, where certain species are innately predisposed to make specific associations more easily than others based on their evolutionary history.

Question 7

Phobias of heights, storms, snakes, and spiders are much more common than phobias of cars, stairs, stoves, or sharp objects. According to psychologist Martin Seligman, the reason is that:

Accepted Answer

Phobias are believed to be evolutionary in nature, as humans are more likely to develop a fear response to objects or situations that posed a threat to our survival in the past. Height, storms, snakes, and spiders, for example, have all been potentially dangerous in the course of human evolution, while cars, stairs, stoves, or sharp objects have not.

Question 8

Researchers found that people easily acquire a conditioned fear response to pictures of snakes and spiders when the slides were paired with a mild electric shock. However, people did NOT easily acquire a conditioned fear response of pictures of flowers and mushrooms when these images were paired with a mild electric shock. According to the text discussion, this is an example of:

Accepted Answer

This is an example of biological preparedness, which refers to the idea that humans and animals are biologically prepared to learn certain associations more easily than others due to evolutionary factors. In this case, humans may have evolved to quickly learn to fear snakes and spiders as they may have posed a threat to our ancestors, while flowers and mushrooms did not pose the same level of danger.

Question 9

Who formulated the ''law of effect''?

Accepted Answer

Edward L. Thorndike formulated the law of effect, which proposes that the consequences of a response determine whether the response is likely to be repeated or not.

Question 10

Caleb had a wonderful time on his first date with Shauna. Because of this, he asked Shauna to go out on a second date. What best explains Caleb's behavior of asking Shauna for another date?

Accepted Answer

The behavior of asking Shauna for a second date is likely due to the law of effect, which states that behaviors that are followed by positive consequences are more likely to be repeated in the future. Caleb likely enjoyed his first date with Shauna and therefore sought to repeat the behavior in order to experience the positive consequences again.

Question 11

When psychologists have tried to produce conditioned fears in young children to such objects as curtains, wooden ducks, or wooden blocks, they were:

Accepted Answer

Psychologists have generally been unsuccessful in producing conditioned fears in young children to objects such as curtains, wooden ducks or wooden blocks. This is likely due to the fact that these objects are not innately threatening or aversive to the children, and therefore do not easily become associated with fear through classical conditioning.

Question 12

Skinner coined the term operant to describe:

Accepted Answer

Skinner defined operant behavior as active behaviors that operate on the environment and are shaped by their consequences. This means that the behavior is voluntary and influenced by the consequences that follow it.

Question 13

Martin Seligman noted that phobias seem to be quite selective, involving only certain stimuli. To explain this, Seligman proposed that:

Accepted Answer

Seligman proposed the concept of biological preparedness - the idea that humans are genetically predisposed to develop fears of objects or situations that posed a threat to our evolutionary ancestors. This explains why phobias tend to be selective, involving only certain stimuli rather than all potentially dangerous objects or situations.

Question 14

What is the ''law of effect''?

Accepted Answer

The law of effect is a principle formulated by Edward Thorndike that states that voluntary behaviors can be modified by their consequences. Specifically, behaviors that are followed by positive consequences are more likely to be repeated, while behaviors that are followed by negative consequences are less likely to be repeated. This principle has been used in the development of behaviorism and operant conditioning.

Question 15

Psychologist John Garcia found that rats did not learn to associate a taste with flashing lights and noise. However, rats do learn to associate a taste with getting ill. Which of the following concepts best accounts for this observation?

Accepted Answer

This observation can be explained by the concept of biological preparedness, which suggests that animals (including humans) are more likely to learn certain types of associations due to evolutionary factors. In this case, rats are biologically prepared to associate tastes with illness because it is a survival necessity, while they are not biologically prepared to associate tastes with flashing lights and noise.

Question 16

Skinner strongly believed that psychology should restrict itself to the study of:

Accepted Answer

Skinner believed that psychology should focus solely on observable and measurable behavior rather than mental processes or unconscious motivations, which cannot be directly observed or measured.

Question 17

Classical conditioning involves _____, while operant conditioning involves _____.

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning involves the association between a previously neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus) and an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a reflexive behavior (conditioned response). Operant conditioning involves learning to associate a voluntary behavior with a consequence (reinforcement or punishment) in order to increase or decrease the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future.

Question 18

The first psychologist to systematically investigate animal learning and to study how voluntary behaviors are influenced by their consequences was:

Accepted Answer

Edward L. Thorndike is considered the first psychologist to systematically investigate animal learning and to study how voluntary behaviors are influenced by their consequences, as evidenced by his pioneering work with cats in puzzle boxes. While Ivan Pavlov studied classical conditioning, B.F. Skinner focused on operant conditioning and Edward C. Tolman is known for his research on cognitive maps and learning theory.

Question 19

In a series of studies, Thorndike put hungry cats into specially constructed cages called ''puzzle boxes.'' There was a plate of food just outside the cage where the cats could see and smell it. At the end of his studies, Thorndike concluded that the cats:

Accepted Answer

Thorndike's studies showed that the cats used trial and error to escape from the puzzle box. They tried different actions until they accidentally hit the lever that opened the cage door. Over time, the cats learned to associate the correct action with the reward of getting out of the cage and accessing the food. This led to the development of Thorndike's Law of Effect, which states that behaviors followed by positive consequences are more likely to be repeated in the future.

Question 20

Josh, a graduate student in psychology, wishes to use classical conditioning to condition a learned taste aversion in pigeons. Given what you read about biological preparedness in the text, which of the following would be the easiest stimulus to use as his conditioned stimulus?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Josh, a graduate student in psychology, wishes...

Quiz 5: Section 2: Learning