Question 1

Who was Little Albert?
A)developer of the concept of classical conditioning
B)an animal trained by using operant conditioning procedures
C)creator of methods for teaching children
D)a child who developed a fear as part of a demonstration of classical conditioning

Accepted Answer

Little Albert was a child who was part of a famous experiment conducted by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner in 1920, where they demonstrated the principles of classical conditioning by creating a fear response in the child towards a white rat. This experiment is considered unethical and highly controversial today.

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of classical conditioning?
A)A child learns to blink her eyes to a bell because the ringing of the bell has been followed by a puff of air to the eye.
B)A pigeon learns to peck at a disk in a Skinner box to get food.
C)Rich saw that when Donna banged her fist against a particular vending machine,she got a free soft drink,so now he bangs his fist against that machine when he wants a free soft drink.
D)A monkey learns to escape from a cage.

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning involves learning through association between two stimuli. In this example, the child has learned to blink her eyes to a bell because the ringing of the bell has been followed by a puff of air to the eye, which has created an association between the two stimuli.

Question 3

When an organism also responds to a stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus, _______________ is said to have occurred.
A)discrimination
B)generalization
C)acquisition
D)extinction

Accepted Answer

Generalization refers to the tendency of an organism to respond to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus. It is the opposite of discrimination, which involves the ability to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli. Acquisition refers to the initial process of learning a new behavior, while extinction refers to the gradual disappearance of a behavior over time when the conditioned stimulus is no longer presented.

Question 4

When a stimulus similar to the CS also elicits the CR,the phenomenon is called
A)stimulus discrimination.
B)stimulus generalization.
C)spontaneous recovery.
D)2nd order conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Stimulus generalization occurs when a stimulus similar to the CS elicits the CR. This occurs because the individual has learned to respond to a range of similar stimuli, rather than just the original CS. Stimulus discrimination, on the other hand, occurs when an individual learns to respond only to the specific CS, and not to other similar stimuli. Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of the CR after a rest period following extinction. 2nd order conditioning involves pairing a second neutral stimulus with a previously conditioned stimulus to create a new conditioned response.

Question 5

According to John B.Watson,the founder of American behaviorism,you learn to love someone else
A)when you feel close to the other person and needed by him or her.
B)through the instant chemistry and attraction that flows back and forth.
C)by pairing stroking and cuddling with the person doing the stroking and cuddling.
D)by associating the person with concepts of trust,loyalty,and companionship.

Accepted Answer

According to John B. Watson, learning occurs through the pairing of stimuli and response. In this case, the stimuli would be the stroking and cuddling, and the response would be the development of feelings of love. Therefore, choice C, "by pairing stroking and cuddling with the person doing the stroking and cuddling" is the best option. Choices A, B, and D are all factors that can contribute to the development of love, but Watson's behaviorist theory focuses on learning through conditioning.

Question 6

In the experiment with Little Albert,the unconditioned stimulus was
A)the experimenter.
B)the laboratory.
C)the loud noise.
D)the rat.

Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus in the Little Albert experiment was the loud noise that was made behind Albert's head, which caused him to reflexively startle and become fearful.

Question 7

Robert Rescorla said that a stimulus must reliably _______________ an unconditioned stimulus for the stimulus to begin eliciting conditioned responding.
A)block
B)follow
C)predict
D)cause

Accepted Answer

Rescorla's contingency theory of classical conditioning argues that a conditioned stimulus must reliably predict the occurrence of an unconditioned stimulus in order for conditioning to occur. In other words, the conditioned stimulus must be a reliable signal that something important is about to happen, rather than just occurring in association with the unconditioned stimulus by chance. Therefore, the best choice is C) predict.

Question 8

When words are paired with objects or other words that already elicit some emotional response,they may come to elicit that response.This would be an example of
A)higher-order conditioning.
B)spontaneous recovery.
C)an intrinsic reinforcer.
D)counterconditioning.

Accepted Answer

This scenario describes higher-order conditioning, which occurs when a neutral stimulus (in this case, the words) becomes associated with a previously conditioned stimulus (the objects or other words that elicit an emotional response), resulting in eliciting the same emotional response. This happens because the neural connections that were established during the initial conditioning transfer onto the neutral stimulus.

Question 9

After Little Albert acquired a conditioned fear of a rat,Watson and Rayner wanted to see how he would react to a white rabbit,cotton wool,and a Santa Claus mask.They were studying whether or not _______________ had occurred.
A)behavior modification
B)stimulus discrimination
C)extinction
D)stimulus generalization

Accepted Answer

Stimulus generalization refers to the tendency for a response that has been conditioned to one stimulus to be elicited by similar stimuli. In this case, Watson and Rayner were testing whether or not Little Albert's fear response to the rat would generalize to other similar stimuli, such as a white rabbit, cotton wool, and a Santa Claus mask.

Question 10

Initially,when John Watson and his colleague,Rosalie Rayner,showed Little Albert a live white rat.Albert
A)began to whimper and tremble.
B)liked the rat and seemed delighted.
C)tried to crawl away and escape.
D)didn't react to the rat,one way or another.

Accepted Answer

Initially, Little Albert showed no fear of the white rat and seemed delighted by it. It was only after Watson and Rayner conditioned him to associate the rat with a loud, frightening noise that Albert began to show fear of the rat.

Question 11

The proverb "He who hath been bitten by a snake fears a rope" illustrates
A)an intrinsic reinforce.
B)higher-order conditioning.
C)spontaneous recovery.
D)stimulus generalization .

Accepted Answer

The proverb "He who hath been bitten by a snake fears a rope" suggests that an individual who has had a negative experience with a particular stimulus (in this case, a snake) may generalize their fear response to similar stimuli (such as a rope that resembles a snake). This is an example of stimulus generalization.

Question 12

When a stimulus similar to the CS also elicits the CR,the phenomenon is called
A)stimulus discrimination.
B)stimulus generalization.
C)spontaneous recovery.
D)2nd order conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Stimulus generalization refers to when a stimulus similar to the CS (conditioned stimulus) also elicits the CR (conditioned response).

Question 13

One of the best known examples of classical conditioning in humans was the Little Albert study,conducted by
A)Pavlov.
B)Freud.
C)Watson.
D)Skinner.

Accepted Answer

The Little Albert study was conducted by John Watson, who is known as the father of behaviorism. The study involved conditioning a young child named Albert to fear a white rat by associating it with a loud, scary noise. This experiment demonstrated the principles of classical conditioning, as Albert eventually began to fear not only the rat but other similar objects as well.

Question 14

You classically condition your dog Milo to salivate when middle C is played on the piano,but you find that he also salivates when middle C is played on the guitar.You make a point of playing C on the guitar and not giving Milo any food afterward,whereas you do sometimes give him food after you play C on the piano.After a few days,Milo stops salivating when C is played on the guitar but continues to salivate when it is played on the piano.This phenomenon is known as
A)extinction.
B)stimulus discrimination.
C)higher-order conditioning.
D)instinctive drift.

Accepted Answer

Stimulus discrimination refers to the ability to differentiate between similar stimuli and respond differently to them. In this scenario, Milo is able to discriminate between the sound of middle C on the piano (which is associated with food) and middle C on the guitar (which is not associated with food), and therefore only salivates in response to the former. This is different from extinction, which would be the gradual disappearance of the conditioned response altogether if the conditioned stimulus (middle C) was no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus (food). Higher-order conditioning and instinctive drift apply to different phenomena in classical conditioning.

Question 15

Contemporary psychologists have suggested that what an animal or person actually learns in classical conditioning is
A)an association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.
B)a temporal association between one stimulus and another.
C)successive approximations of the desired conditioned response.
D)information conveyed by one stimulus about another.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Contemporary psychologists have suggested that what an...

Question 16

The founder of American behaviorism was
A)John B.Watson.
B)Jean Piaget.
C)Ivan Pavlov.
D)B.F.Skinner.

Accepted Answer

John B. Watson is widely considered to be the founder of American behaviorism, as he strongly believed in the idea of observable and measurable behavior being the only valid way to study psychology.

Question 17

An analysis of the principles of classical conditioning reveals that
A)classical conditioning occurs in mammals,but not in lower species.
B)classically conditioned responses last for about two years.
C)completely eliminating a conditioned response usually requires more than one session.
D)the mere pairing of an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus is enough to produce learning.

Accepted Answer

The answer of An analysis of the principles of classical...

Question 18

For classical conditioning to be most effective,the stimulus to be conditioned should
A)precede the unconditioned stimulus.
B)occur simultaneously with the unconditioned stimulus.
C)follow the unconditioned stimulus.
D)be of greater intensity than the unconditioned stimulus.

Accepted Answer

For classical conditioning to be most effective, the conditioned stimulus should precede the unconditioned stimulus. This means that the conditioned stimulus should be presented before the unconditioned stimulus, as it is the predictive cue signaling the onset of the unconditioned stimulus. This creates an association between the two stimuli, leading to a conditioned response.

Question 19

In the experiment with Little Albert,the conditioned stimulus was
A)the experimenter.
B)the laboratory.
C)the loud noise.
D)the rat.

Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus in the Little Albert experiment was the rat. During the experiment, the rat was paired with a loud noise (the unconditioned stimulus) which caused fear in Albert. Eventually, just the sight of the rat (conditioned stimulus) was enough to trigger fear in Albert, even without the loud noise being presented. This showed that the rat had become a conditioned stimulus that triggered a fear response in Albert.

Question 20

Higher-order conditioning may contribute to the formation of
A)prejudice.
B)social values.
C)conditioned stimuli.
D)generalizations.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Higher-order conditioning may contribute to the formation...

Quiz 9: Learning and Conditioning

Who was Little Albert?

Which of the following is an example of classical conditioning?

When an organism also responds to a stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus, _______________ is said to have occurred.

When a stimulus similar to the CS also elicits the CR,the phenomenon is called

According to John B.Watson,the founder of American behaviorism,you learn to love someone else

In the experiment with Little Albert,the unconditioned stimulus was

Robert Rescorla said that a stimulus must reliably _______________ an unconditioned stimulus for the stimulus to begin eliciting conditioned responding.

When words are paired with objects or other words that already elicit some emotional response,they may come to elicit that response.This would be an example of

After Little Albert acquired a conditioned fear of a rat,Watson and Rayner wanted to see how he would react to a white rabbit,cotton wool,and a Santa Claus mask.They were studying whether or not _______________ had occurred.

Initially,when John Watson and his colleague,Rosalie Rayner,showed Little Albert a live white rat.Albert

The proverb "He who hath been bitten by a snake fears a rope" illustrates

When a stimulus similar to the CS also elicits the CR,the phenomenon is called

One of the best known examples of classical conditioning in humans was the Little Albert study,conducted by

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

The founder of American behaviorism was

An analysis of the principles of classical conditioning reveals that

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

In the experiment with Little Albert,the conditioned stimulus was

Higher-order conditioning may contribute to the formation of