Question 1

Martin Seligman noted that phobias seem to be quite selective, involving only certain stimuli. To explain this, Seligman proposed that:
A) humans are biologically prepared to develop fears of objects or situations that may once have posed a threat to humans' evolutionary ancestors.
B) children learn from their parents at a very early age to fear these types of stimuli.
C) people rely primarily on vision, so visual stimuli lead to better fear conditioning.
D) most phobias are due to early childhood experience with painful or frightening stimuli.

Accepted Answer

Seligman proposed that humans are biologically prepared to develop fears of objects or situations that may once have posed a threat to humans' evolutionary ancestors, which would explain why phobias are often selective to certain stimuli.

Question 2

As studies with rats have shown, taste aversions can be produced when the interval between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is:
A) no less than half a second and no longer than one second.
B) at least five seconds but no longer than 10 seconds.
C) as long as one hour but no longer.
D) as long as 24 hours.

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that taste aversions can be produced even when the interval between the conditioned stimulus (taste) and the unconditioned stimulus (e.g. nausea-inducing drug) is as long as 24 hours. This is known as the long-delay taste aversion conditioning paradigm.

Question 3

When psychologists have tried to produce conditioned fears in young children to such objects as curtains, wooden ducks, or wooden blocks, they were:
A) unsuccessful.
B) able to produce conditioned fears to wooden ducks but not to wooden blocks or curtains.
C) successful in all three cases, showing that fears can be classically conditioned to virtually any stimuli.
D) successful only when the object was paired with an extremely loud noise.

Accepted Answer

Psychologists have found that young children are less susceptible to classical conditioning compared to adults. As a result, attempts to produce conditioned fears in young children to objects such as curtains, wooden ducks or wooden blocks have generally been unsuccessful.

Question 4

Coyotes who have been fed sheep carcasses laced with a nausea-inducing poison are less likely to prey on sheep in the wild. This phenomenon is best explained by which classical conditioning phenomenon?
A) learned helplessness
B) punishment by removal
C) higher order conditioning
D) taste aversion learning

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon described in the scenario is best explained by taste aversion learning, where the coyotes have associated the taste of sheep meat with feeling nauseous due to the poison, resulting in a decreased likelihood of them preying on sheep in the future.

Question 5

Rats can most easily be classically conditioned to learn an association between:
A) a flashing light and a taste.
B) a taste and physical discomfort, such as nausea or illness.
C) a loud noise and a taste.
D) a taste and a painful event, such as electric shock.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Rats can most easily be classically conditioned...

Question 6

Who formulated the law of effect?
A) B. F. Skinner
B) John B. Watson
C) Edward L. Thorndike
D) Ivan Pavlov

Accepted Answer

The law of effect was formulated by Edward L. Thorndike, a psychologist who conducted research on animal learning in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The law of effect states that behaviors that are followed by positive consequences are more likely to be repeated in the future, while behaviors that are followed by negative consequences are less likely to be repeated. This principle is a fundamental concept in behaviorism and has influenced the development of many theories of learning and behavior.

Question 7

How can you explain the finding that quail could be easily conditioned to associate an illness with blue-colored water but rats could not?
A) Quail are less intelligent than rats.
B) Rats are color-blind, while quail are not.
C) Rats are biologically prepared to associate the color blue with danger rather than illness.
D) Quail are biologically prepared to associate visual stimuli with illness, while rats are not.

Accepted Answer

Quail are biologically prepared to associate visual stimuli with illness, while rats are not.

Question 8

Researchers found that people easily acquire a conditioned fear response to pictures of snakes and spiders when the images 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. According to the text discussion, this is an example of:
A) biological preparedness.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) higher order conditioning.
D) learned helplessness.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of biological preparedness, which suggests that humans (and other animals) are more predisposed to learn certain types of fears over others, such as fears of snakes and spiders. This is likely due to evolutionary factors that have led these types of fears to be more adaptive and beneficial for survival.

Question 9

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:
A) we are more likely to develop phobias for objects or situations that posed a threat to our evolutionary survival.
B) it is superstitious behavior due to accidental reinforcement.
C) we have become conditioned through films and television shows to fear certain stimuli, even though we have never been personally threatened by those stimuli.
D) instinctive drift is occurring.

Accepted Answer

Phobias of heights, storms, snakes, and spiders are more common because they are objects or situations that posed a threat to our evolutionary survival. Our ancestors who had a fear of heights or snakes would have been more likely to survive and pass on their genes, leading to the evolution of these fears.

Question 10

Conditioned taste aversions demonstrate:
A) the power of punishment to suppress behavior.
B) that certain stimuli are easier to associate than others.
C) that any neutral stimulus is capable of becoming a conditioned stimulus.
D) that the interval between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus must be only a few seconds, or classical conditioning will not occur.

Accepted Answer

Conditioned taste aversions demonstrate that certain stimuli (in this case, taste) are easier to associate with the unconditioned stimulus (in this case, nausea) than others. This is because humans and animals are biologically predisposed to learning certain associations, such as those related to survival. This is different from traditional classical conditioning, where any neutral stimulus can become a conditioned stimulus with repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 11

What is the law of effect?
A) The law of effect was a notion, suggested by Marion and Keller Breland, explaining how instinctual behaviors affect how wild animals learn new behaviors.
B) The law of effect was the theoretical model, suggested by John B. Watson, describing the effect of fear on infants.
C) The law of effect was the basic rule that Albert Bandura used to explain how imitation occurs in a wide variety of social situations.
D) The law of effect was a principle, formulated by Edward Thorndike, that described how voluntary behaviors can be modified by their consequences.

Accepted Answer

The law of effect was a principle proposed by Edward Thorndike that stated that voluntary behaviors can be modified by their consequences. This means that if a behavior is followed by a desirable consequence, the behavior is more likely to be repeated in the future, while if it is followed by an undesirable consequence, the behavior is less likely to be repeated. This principle became the basis for many theories of operant conditioning in psychology.

Question 12

In a series of studies, Thorndike put hungry cats into specially constructed cages called puzzle boxes. He placed plates of food just outside the cages where the cats could see and smell them. At the end of his studies, Thorndike concluded that the cats:
A) were able to escape quickly because of their insight and reasoning abilities.
B) were classically conditioned to fear the puzzle boxes.
C) were classically conditioned to salivate at the sight of the puzzle boxes.
D) used trial and error to escape from the puzzle boxes.

Accepted Answer

Thorndike concluded that the cats used trial and error to escape from the puzzle boxes, as they tried different movements until they stumbled upon the correct one that led to the food. This is known as the law of effect, which states that behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes are more likely to be repeated in the future, while behaviors followed by unsatisfying outcomes are less likely to be repeated. Therefore, the cats learned through trial and error to associate specific behaviors with escaping the puzzle boxes and obtaining food.

Question 13

Classical conditioning involves _____, while operant conditioning involves _____.
A) reflexive behaviors; voluntary behaviors
B) responses emitted by organisms; responses elicited by unconditioned stimuli
C) responses acquired through observational learning; responses acquired through imitation
D) voluntary behaviors; reflexive behaviors

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning involves reflexive behaviors, meaning that the response is automatic and not under conscious control. In contrast, operant conditioning involves voluntary behaviors, meaning that the response is emitted intentionally to achieve a particular outcome or consequence.

Question 14

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?
A) latent learning
B) biological preparedness
C) spontaneous recovery
D) the partial reinforcement effect

Accepted Answer

This observation can be best explained by the concept of biological preparedness, which suggests that some associations are easier to learn due to an organism's evolutionary history. Rats are biologically prepared to associate a taste with illness because in the wild, eating something toxic can make them ill and potentially lead to death. Therefore, learning to avoid certain tastes is adaptive and has a survival benefit. On the other hand, there is no clear evolutionary advantage to learning an association between taste and flashing lights and noise, which is why the rats did not demonstrate this type of learning.

Question 15

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 why Caleb asks Shauna for another date?
A) latent learning
B) response generalization
C) spontaneous recovery
D) the law of effect

Accepted Answer

The law of effect suggests that behaviors that lead to positive outcomes are likely to be repeated. Since Caleb had a wonderful time on his first date with Shauna, he is likely to want to repeat the experience by asking her out on a second date.

Question 16

_____ was the first psychologist to systematically investigate animal learning and to study how voluntary behaviors are influenced by their consequences.
A) Edward C. Tolman
B) B. F. Skinner
C) Ivan Pavlov
D) Edward L. Thorndike

Accepted Answer

Edward L. Thorndike is known as the first psychologist to systematically investigate animal learning and to study how voluntary behaviors are influenced by their consequences. He is known for his law of effect, which states that behaviors that are followed by satisfying outcomes are more likely to be repeated, while behaviors that are followed by unpleasant outcomes are less likely to be repeated.

Question 17

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 to use as his conditioned stimulus?
A) a painful stimulus, such as electrical shock
B) a taste stimulus, such as flavored water
C) a visual stimulus, such as colored water
D) an auditory stimulus, such as a loud noise

Accepted Answer

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

Question 18

The notion that an organism is innately predisposed to form associations between certain stimuli and responses is termed:
A) biological preparedness.
B) latent learning.
C) instinctive drift.
D) the law of effect.

Accepted Answer

Biological preparedness refers to the innate tendency of organisms to form associations between certain stimuli and responses. This predisposition is based on biological factors such as genetics and evolutionary history.

Question 19

The evolutionary perspective helps explain why the most common phobias are fears of:
A) wooden ducks, blocks, or curtains.
B) foods that have been paired with illness cues.
C) spiders, snakes, and heights.
D) mushrooms and flowers.

Accepted Answer

The evolutionary perspective suggests that humans have evolved to be fearful of certain stimuli that were historically threatening to our ancestors, such as spiders, snakes, and heights. These fears may have provided a survival advantage and have been passed down through generations.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the most common phobias are fears of spiders, snakes, and heights.

Question 20

Researchers found that people easily acquire a conditioned fear response to pictures of snakes and spiders when the images 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 for this finding?
A) the cognitive perspective
B) the behaviorist perspective
C) the Pavlovian perspective
D) the evolutionary perspective

Accepted Answer

The evolutionary perspective provides the best explanation for this finding as it suggests that humans have evolved a fear response to potential threats like snakes and spiders as a survival mechanism. Flowers and mushrooms are not typically associated with danger in human evolution, so there is no innate fear response to them.

Quiz 5: Learning

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

As studies with rats have shown, taste aversions can be produced when the interval between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is:

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

Coyotes who have been fed sheep carcasses laced with a nausea-inducing poison are less likely to prey on sheep in the wild. This phenomenon is best explained by which classical conditioning phenomenon?

Rats can most easily be classically conditioned to learn an association between:

Who formulated the law of effect?

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

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:

Conditioned taste aversions demonstrate:

What is the law of effect?

In a series of studies, Thorndike put hungry cats into specially constructed cages called puzzle boxes. He placed plates of food just outside the cages where the cats could see and smell them. At the end of his studies, Thorndike concluded that the cats:

Classical conditioning involves _, while operant conditioning involves _.

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?

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 why Caleb asks Shauna for another date?

_____ was the first psychologist to systematically investigate animal learning and to study how voluntary behaviors are influenced by their consequences.

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 to use as his conditioned stimulus?

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

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