Question 1

_____ used a shuttlebox to demonstrate the phenomenon of _____.
A) Martin Seligman and Steven Maier; learned helplessness
B) B. F. Skinner; shaping
C) John Garcia; taste aversions
D) Ivan Pavlov; stimulus generalization

Accepted Answer

Martin Seligman and Steven Maier used a shuttlebox to demonstrate learned helplessness, which is the phenomenon where an organism becomes passive and helpless due to a perceived lack of control over a situation.

Question 2

According to your text, the phenomenon of learned helplessness has been demonstrated in:
A) athletic teams and students.
B) cats and dogs.
C) cockroaches and fish.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

The text states that learned helplessness has been demonstrated in athletic teams, students, cats, dogs, cockroaches, and fish. Therefore, all of the answer choices are correct.

Question 3

Athletes who believe they have no control over factors that lead to poor performance are less likely to believe they can succeed in the future and are less likely to persist in the face of failure. This illustrates the phenomenon of:
A) the Premack principle.
B) the partial reinforcement effect.
C) learned helplessness.
D) biological preparedness.

Accepted Answer

The scenario described is an example of learned helplessness, a phenomenon where an individual comes to believe that they have no control over their environment and subsequently stops trying to change it. This can result in decreased motivation and persistence in the face of failure or obstacles. The Premack principle refers to the use of a preferred behavior to reinforce a less preferred behavior. The partial reinforcement effect describes the phenomenon where behavior that is reinforced intermittently is more resistant to extinction than behavior that is reinforced consistently. Biological preparedness refers to the innate predisposition to learn certain behaviors, such as fear of snakes or spiders.

Question 4

Animal trainers Keller and Marian Breland tried to train a raccoon to pick up two coins and deposit them in a metal box. However, instead of dropping the coins in the box, the raccoon would rub the coins together, much as raccoons do with their food in the wild. This tendency of the raccoon to revert to its natural behavior patterns is termed:
A) extinction.
B) latent learning.
C) instinctive drift.
D) learned helplessness.

Accepted Answer

Instinctive drift refers to the phenomenon where animals trained to perform a certain behavior may revert to their natural instincts and behaviors. In this case, the raccoon's natural instinct to rub objects together overrode its training to deposit coins in the box. Extinction refers to the process of a learned behavior disappearing due to lack of reinforcement. Latent learning refers to learning that occurs without reinforcement and is only demonstrated later when a reinforcer is introduced. Learned helplessness refers to the state in which an organism gives up trying to escape or avoid negative stimuli because it has learned that its behavior is ineffective.

Question 5

_____ conducted research to challenge the idea that an animal's natural behavior patterns do not matter and have little or no bearing on the effectiveness of operant conditioning principles.
A) Robert Rescorla
B) Martin Seligman and Stephen Maier
C) B. F. Skinner
D) Marian and Keller Breland

Accepted Answer

Marian and Keller Breland conducted research in the 1940s and 1950s, known as the "misbehavior of organisms" experiments, in which they found that the natural instincts and behaviors of animals could interfere with operant conditioning principles, leading to unexpected or bizarre behaviors.

Question 6

The basic strategy for overcoming learned helplessness is to:
A) use punishment by application to suppress undesirable behaviors.
B) displace the frustration onto another object.
C) acquire a sense of control and mastery over challenging circumstances.
D) withdraw from the situation.

Accepted Answer

The best strategy for overcoming learned helplessness is to acquire a sense of control and mastery over challenging circumstances. This can be done through setting achievable goals, practicing self-care, and seeking help from others. Punishment by application and withdrawing from the situation will only reinforce feelings of helplessness, while displacing frustration onto another object is not a productive solution.

Question 7

Which famous psychologist said the following? "It became my mission in life to help create a positive psychology whose mission would be the understanding and building of positive emotion, of strength and virtue, and of positive institutions."
A) B. F. Skinner
B) John Garcia
C) Martin Seligman
D) Robert Rescorla

Accepted Answer

Martin Seligman, often referred to as the founder of positive psychology, has made significant contributions to the field, including the development of the PERMA model of well-being and the creation of the field of positive education. The quote provided aligns with his mission to shift psychology's focus from solely treating mental illness to also promoting positive emotions, strengths, and institutions.

Question 8

Roy is having trouble passing his calculus course. No matter how hard he studies, he cannot seem to pass a calculus test. Eventually, Roy gives up and stops studying or even coming to calculus class. Roy's behavior can be explained as an example of:
A) the partial reinforcement effect.
B) classical conditioning.
C) biological preparedness.
D) learned helplessness.

Accepted Answer

Roy's behavior is consistent with learned helplessness, which occurs when a person feels helpless and gives up trying to succeed because they believe that their efforts will not result in successful outcomes. In this situation, Roy has struggled to pass his calculus course despite his efforts, and as a result, he has given up trying altogether.

Question 9

Which of the following statements best describes the phenomenon of instinctive drift?
A) As operant behaviors are learned, they override instinctive or reflexive behaviors.
B) Over time, reflexive behaviors change as a function of repeated exposure to classical conditioning.
C) The biological predisposition to perform natural behaviors can interfere with learning operant behaviors.
D) Misbehavior can be prevented by operantly conditioning instinctive behaviors that are incompatible with the misbehavior.

Accepted Answer

Instinctive drift occurs when the innate (instinctive) behavior of an animal interferes with their ability to learn and perform operant behaviors. Despite being trained with rewards and reinforcements, animals may revert back to their natural behavior due to their biological predisposition.

Question 10

Classical conditioning involves _____, while operant conditioning involves _____.
A) active, voluntary behaviors; physiological and emotional responses
B) behavior elicited by a stimulus; behavior emitted by an organism
C) associating a response and a consequence; associating two stimuli
D) voluntary behavior emitted by an organism; behavior elicited by a stimulus

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning involves behavior being elicited by a stimulus, while operant conditioning involves behavior being emitted by an organism in order to receive a reinforcement or punishment.

Question 11

After dogs have experienced inescapable shocks, they are placed in a shuttlebox in which they can easily jump over a barrier from one side of the shuttlebox to the other. If the dogs have developed learned helplessness, they will most likely respond to another shock by:
A) jumping over the barrier to escape the shock.
B) doing nothing.
C) jumping out of the shuttlebox altogether.
D) trying to bite the experimenter.

Accepted Answer

Dogs who have developed learned helplessness will likely do nothing when faced with another shock because they have learned that there is no way to escape or avoid the shock. They have become passive and resigned to their situation.

Question 12

College students who experience feelings of learned helplessness may respond to academic setbacks, such as failing a test, by:
A) giving up prematurely on subsequent academic tasks or procrastinating instead of persisting.
B) becoming more motivated to succeed and increasing their efforts on subsequent academic tasks.
C) expressing their frustration through angry outbursts or other violent behavior.
D) pairing up with a successful student and imitating that student's study habits.

Accepted Answer

Learned helplessness is a phenomenon where an individual feels that their actions have no effect on their environment, causing them to give up easily when faced with adversity. In the case of college students, this may manifest as a lack of motivation, procrastination, or even dropping out of college. Therefore, giving up prematurely on subsequent academic tasks or procrastinating instead of persisting is the most likely response to academic setbacks for college students with learned helplessness.

Question 13

_____ was one of the first psychologists to use positive reinforcement to teach basic self-help skills to people with developmental disabilities, and also helped train marine mammals for the U.S. Navy.
A) Robert Rescorla
B) Albert Bandura
C) B. F. Skinner
D) Marian Breland

Accepted Answer

Marian Breland, along with her husband Keller Breland, was a pioneer in applying principles of operant conditioning, including positive reinforcement, to train animals and teach self-help skills to people with developmental disabilities. She also worked on training marine mammals for the U.S. Navy.

Question 14

Elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1996, _____ launched a new movement called positive psychology, which emphasized research on human strengths rather than human problems.
A) B. F. Skinner
B) John Garcia
C) Martin Seligman
D) Robert Rescorla

Accepted Answer

Martin Seligman was elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1996 and launched the positive psychology movement, which focused on studying human strengths and virtues rather than solely on human weaknesses and pathologies.

Question 15

Classical conditioning is to operant conditioning as _____ are to _____.
A) reflexive, involuntary responses; nonreflexive, voluntary responses
B) reflexive, involuntary responses; automatic responses
C) nonreflexive, voluntary responses; reflexive, involuntary responses
D) reflexive, voluntary responses; nonreflexive, involuntary responses

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning deals with reflexive, involuntary responses that are elicited by specific stimuli, while operant conditioning deals with shaping nonreflexive, voluntary responses through reinforcement or punishment.

Question 16

_____ developed a program to teach "learned optimism" as a way of overcoming feelings of helplessness, habitual pessimism, and depression.
A) B. F. Skinner
B) John Garcia
C) Martin Seligman
D) Robert Rescorla

Accepted Answer

Martin Seligman developed the program to teach "learned optimism." He believed that people could learn to be optimistic rather than defaulting to learned helplessness and pessimism.

Question 17

The text describes the conditioning of learned helplessness in dogs. According to the text discussion, why did the dogs display learned helplessness?
A) The dogs were reinforced for passive behavior.
B) All other operant responses were punished.
C) The dogs had developed the cognitive expectation that there was nothing they could do to escape or change their environment.
D) The behavior they needed to learn was too complex for dogs to perform.

Accepted Answer

The text describes the process in which the dogs were repeatedly exposed to an environment in which they were unable to escape or avoid unpleasant stimuli. As a result, the dogs eventually gave up trying to escape or avoid the stimuli, even when given the opportunity to do so. This is believed to be due to the dogs developing a cognitive expectation that they had no control over their environment, leading to learned helplessness. The other options (A, B, and D) do not fully explain why the dogs displayed learned helplessness.

Question 18

Angela's friend Drew tells her that he is thinking about dropping out of college because no matter how hard he studies, he can't seem to get his grades above a C average. Angela realizes that Drew is experiencing feelings of learned helplessness. What should she advise Drew to do? He should:
A) try harder.
B) break tasks down into smaller, manageable goals, and seek information about exactly what he needs to do to succeed in each class.
C) go to a career counselor and seek advice about jobs that do not require a college degree.
D) blame the faculty for his poor performance and continue to complain about the impossibility of success, so as to avoid developing low self-esteem.

Accepted Answer

Drew should not give up but approach the problem differently. Breaking tasks down into smaller, manageable goals and seeking information on how to succeed will help him regain a sense of control and mastery. This approach will help him overcome the feeling of helplessness and improve his grades. Going to a career counselor may be an option in the future, but it should not be the first course of action. Trying harder without changing the approach may only lead to further frustration and reinforce the belief that success is impossible. Blaming others is not a constructive response and will not help Drew overcome his difficulties.

Question 19

In using operant conditioning principles to train animals to perform tricks, Keller and Marian Breland found that:
A) reinforcement is the sole determinant of an animal's behavior.
B) it is impossible to train cats to perform tricks.
C) punishment is more effective than reinforcement in shaping animal behavior.
D) an animal's inborn or instinctive behavior patterns could interfere with the operant conditioning of new behaviors.

Accepted Answer

Keller and Marian Breland found that an animal's inborn or instinctive behavior patterns could interfere with the operant conditioning of new behaviors. They termed this tendency instinctive drift, and it demonstrated that operant conditioning is not as simple as reinforcement and punishment - it must take an animal's natural tendencies into account. They also found that animals can be trained to perform complex behaviors, but that the training must take into account the animal's natural behaviors and motivations. Choice A is not entirely true, as other factors can also influence an animal's behavior; choice B is not true as cats can be trained using operant conditioning; and choice C is not true as punishment is generally not as effective as reinforcement in shaping behavior.

Question 20

Classical conditioning involves _____, while operant conditioning involves _____.
A) superstitious pigeons; drooling dogs
B) behavior emitted by an organism; behavior elicited by a stimulus
C) associating two stimuli; associating a response and a consequence
D) associating a response and a consequence; associating two stimuli

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning involves associating two stimuli, as seen in Pavlov's experiments with dogs. Operant conditioning involves associating a response with a consequence, as seen in Skinner's experiments with reinforcement and punishment.

Quiz 5: Learning

_ used a shuttlebox to demonstrate the phenomenon of _.

According to your text, the phenomenon of learned helplessness has been demonstrated in:

Athletes who believe they have no control over factors that lead to poor performance are less likely to believe they can succeed in the future and are less likely to persist in the face of failure. This illustrates the phenomenon of:

_____ conducted research to challenge the idea that an animal's natural behavior patterns do not matter and have little or no bearing on the effectiveness of operant conditioning principles.

The basic strategy for overcoming learned helplessness is to:

Which famous psychologist said the following? "It became my mission in life to help create a positive psychology whose mission would be the understanding and building of positive emotion, of strength and virtue, and of positive institutions."

Roy is having trouble passing his calculus course. No matter how hard he studies, he cannot seem to pass a calculus test. Eventually, Roy gives up and stops studying or even coming to calculus class. Roy's behavior can be explained as an example of:

Which of the following statements best describes the phenomenon of instinctive drift?

Classical conditioning involves _, while operant conditioning involves _.

After dogs have experienced inescapable shocks, they are placed in a shuttlebox in which they can easily jump over a barrier from one side of the shuttlebox to the other. If the dogs have developed learned helplessness, they will most likely respond to another shock by:

College students who experience feelings of learned helplessness may respond to academic setbacks, such as failing a test, by:

_____ was one of the first psychologists to use positive reinforcement to teach basic self-help skills to people with developmental disabilities, and also helped train marine mammals for the U.S. Navy.

Elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1996, _____ launched a new movement called positive psychology, which emphasized research on human strengths rather than human problems.

Classical conditioning is to operant conditioning as _ are to _.

_____ developed a program to teach "learned optimism" as a way of overcoming feelings of helplessness, habitual pessimism, and depression.

The text describes the conditioning of learned helplessness in dogs. According to the text discussion, why did the dogs display learned helplessness?

Angela's friend Drew tells her that he is thinking about dropping out of college because no matter how hard he studies, he can't seem to get his grades above a C average. Angela realizes that Drew is experiencing feelings of learned helplessness. What should she advise Drew to do? He should:

In using operant conditioning principles to train animals to perform tricks, Keller and Marian Breland found that:

Classical conditioning involves _, while operant conditioning involves _.