Question 1

To assess whether Mrs. Webster had suffered from a brain injury, researchers conditioned her to blink in response to a sound that signaled the delivery of a puff of air directed toward her face. In this application of classical conditioning, the sound was a

Accepted Answer

The sound that signals the delivery of the puff of air is the conditioned stimulus (CS) in this classical conditioning experiment, as it is the previously neutral stimulus that has been associated with the puff of air (unconditioned stimulus, or US) to elicit a conditioned response (CR), which in this case is the blink of the eye.

Question 2

Because of the discomfort and embarrassment associated with his childhood bed-wetting, Andrew becomes nervous whenever he senses an urge to urinate. If genital arousal subsequently makes Andrew unusually anxious, this would best illustrate

Accepted Answer

The situation described here involves generalization, as Andrew's anxiety is spreading from his initial fear of bed-wetting to a related situation (sensing an urge to urinate). This is a common process in anxiety disorders, where fears and phobias start to generalize beyond their initial triggers. The other options (shaping, spontaneous recovery, and secondary reinforcement) do not apply to this particular scenario.

Question 3

After a fear-provoking biking accident, Alex extinguished his conditioned fear of bikes by cycling on a safe biking trail every day for a week. The reappearance of his previously extinguished fear when Alex rode a bike on the same trail two weeks later best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of time has passed. In this case, Alex had extinguished his fear of bikes by cycling on the safe biking trail every day for a week, but two weeks later, his fear resurfaced when he rode a bike on the same trail. Therefore, D is the best choice. Latent learning is unrelated because it refers to learning that occurs without any obvious reinforcement, while intermittent reinforcement refers to a reinforcement schedule where a behavior is only reinforced some of the time. Instinctive drift refers to the tendency for learned behaviors to drift back towards innate, instinctual behaviors over time. None of these are relevant to the scenario presented.

Question 4

In classical conditioning, generalization refers to the tendency for the conditioned response to be evoked by stimuli that are similar to the

Accepted Answer

Generalization in classical conditioning occurs when stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus also elicit the conditioned response. Therefore, the correct answer is C, the conditioned stimulus.

Question 5

Your heart may race when you are confronted by a lion but not when you are approached by a kitten. This best illustrates the adaptive value of

Accepted Answer

Discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli. In this scenario, the ability to recognize that a lion is a threat but a kitten is not is a form of discrimination that has adaptive value for survival.

Question 6

Dogs conditioned to salivate to stimulation of the thigh also begin to salivate when stimulated on other body parts. This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Generalization refers to the tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to also elicit the conditioned response. In this case, the dogs are responding with salivation to other body parts besides the thigh, indicating that they have generalized the conditioned response to those other areas.

Question 7

Jacqueline is sexually aroused by the sight of her handsome boyfriend but not by the sight of her equally handsome brother. This best illustrates the value of

Accepted Answer

Discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish between different stimuli, such as being sexually aroused by one person or object but not by another. In this case, Jacqueline is able to discriminate between her boyfriend and her brother in terms of her sexual arousal.

Question 8

Watson and Rayner's study of Little Albert demonstrated how specific fears

Accepted Answer

Watson and Rayner's study of Little Albert demonstrated how specific fears may be produced through classical conditioning. Little Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat by pairing its presentation with a loud noise, which eventually led to him showing fear responses to other similar objects such as rabbits and cotton balls.

Question 9

Compared with nonabused children, those who have experienced a history of abuse show a stronger brain-wave response to an unfamiliar but angry-looking face. This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

The scenario described in the question reflects the concept of generalization, which is the tendency to have similar conditioned responses to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus. In this case, the brain-wave response to an angry-looking face is a conditioned response that has been generalized from the experience of abuse to include similar stimuli.

Question 10

After learning to fear a white rat, Little Albert responded with fear to the sight of a rabbit. This best illustrates the process of

Accepted Answer

Generalization is the process by which a conditioned response is elicited by stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus. In the case of Little Albert, he learned to fear the white rat (conditioned stimulus) and eventually generalized that fear to other animals, such as the rabbit, which had similar features to the rat.

Question 11

After he was spanked on several occasions for spilling his milk at a restaurant, Colin became afraid to go to the restaurant. In this case, spanking was a(n) ________ for Colin's fear.

Accepted Answer

The answer of After he was spanked on several occasions...

Question 12

At one time Jimmy was scared of dogs because he was bitten by one. With subsequent repeated exposure to tame dogs in safe settings, however, his fear of dogs has gradually faded. Jimmy's diminishing fear of dogs best illustrates

Accepted Answer

The diminishing fear of dogs is a form of extinction, as the fear response is gradually weakening after repeated exposure to the feared stimulus in a safe environment. Delayed reinforcement, spontaneous recovery, and shaping are not applicable in this scenario.

Question 13

Makayla developed an intense fear of flying five years ago when she was in a plane crash. The fact that today she can again fly without distress indicates that her fear has undergone

Accepted Answer

Extinction refers to the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response, which can occur when the conditioned stimulus (in this case, flying) is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus (in this case, the traumatic experience of a plane crash). Makayla's ability to fly without distress suggests that her fear response has been extinguished through exposure therapy or repeated experiences of safe flights.

Question 14

The occurrence of spontaneous recovery suggests that during extinction

Accepted Answer

The answer of The occurrence of spontaneous recovery suggests that...

Question 15

Monica's psychotherapist reminds her so much of her own father that she has many of the same mixed emotional reactions to him that she has to her own dad. Her reactions to her therapist best illustrate the importance of

Accepted Answer

Monica's reaction to her therapist is an example of generalization, as she is transferring her emotional reactions from her own father to her therapist, who shares similar qualities with her father.

Question 16

The reappearance, after a time lapse, of an extinguished CR is called

Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of time has passed without further conditioning.

Question 17

Pavlov's research on classical conditioning was important because

Accepted Answer

Pavlov's research demonstrated that classical conditioning could occur in many different species, including humans. This helped to establish the importance of classical conditioning as a fundamental learning process that occurs across different types of organisms.  His research did not highlight the role of cognitive processes in learning, demonstrate a difference between animal and human learning, or suggest that all learning depends on reinforcement.

Question 18

The ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus is called

Accepted Answer

Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and other stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Acquisition refers to the initial learning of the association between the CS and UCS, while generalization refers to the tendency for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit a similar response. Latent learning refers to learning that occurs without reinforcement and may not be immediately apparent in behavior.

Question 19

Just after they taste a sweet liquid, mice are injected with a drug that produces an immune response. Later, the taste of the sweet liquid by itself triggers an immune response. This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

This scenario describes classical conditioning, where the sweet liquid (neutral stimulus) becomes associated with the drug injection (unconditioned stimulus) which elicits an immune response (unconditioned response). Eventually, the sweet liquid alone (now the conditioned stimulus) triggers an immune response (now the conditioned response) due to its association with the drug injection.

Question 20

Toddlers taught to fear moving cars may also begin to fear moving trucks and motorcycles. This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Generalization occurs when a response to one stimulus is also elicited by similar stimuli. In this case, the fear of moving cars is generalized to other moving vehicles such as trucks and motorcycles.

Quiz 7: Learning