Learning Curves Ch. 4

Lilliana has seen numerous commercials for a "brain fitness" computer training game that claims to help improve cognitive functioning. She is planning on enrolling in the program in hopes of improving her memory. What would you say to Lilliana?

"These programs do not do what they claim to do. While your memory will improve, it will only improve on the practiced skills and will not help you in everyday life."

Research participants were shown more than 2500 slides of faces and places for only 10 seconds each. Later, when the slides were paired with others they had not seen before, they were able to recognize approximately _____ percent of the slides they had seen before.

90

Which of the following statements BEST captures the basic idea of operant conditioning?

Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences.

Eight-year-old Rebecca, 6-year-old Chris, and 2-year-old Bonnie are all thrilled to be home with their mom and dad on a snow day. Which child will be the LEAST accurate in his or her recollection of the snow day, five years from now?

Bonnie

Those who emphasize continuity over stages would choose which of the following to illustrate their viewpoint?

Children learn to control their emotional outbursts when they learn that making a request in a rational manner helps them become more successful at getting what they want.

Dr. Garcia believes that everyone passes through the same stages of development in the same order. Which of the following statements is he MOST likely to DISAGREE with?

Development is a result of experience and learning.

Children start to gain control over their attention beginning in preschool. This control is related to a growth spurt in the _____ lobes.

Frontal

Henry, a heavy smoker, is interested in quitting. Given what is known about the cognitive processes involved in classical conditioning, what is the MOST likely reason he still has trouble quitting after he is treated with a drug that induces nausea when he smokes a cigarette?

He realizes his nausea is due to the drug, not the cigarette.

Ray drank too much tequila last night. He spent much of the morning feeling nauseous and vomiting. According to the principles of classical conditioning, how will Ray likely react today when he smells the tequila bottle that he drank out of last night?

He will find the smell of tequila aversive.

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the so-called midlife transition during the forties?

People realize life is mostly behind them.

Which of the following students utilized the type of studying that helps people retain information successfully?

Shelly, who rehearsed the information for her sociology exam by associating it with personal experiences

Which of the following statements about B. F. Skinner's beliefs is TRUE?

Skinner believed that human behavior is determined by external consequences, not by internal thoughts and feelings.

On a business trip last year, Susan and Pam flew from Los Angeles to Boston. Susan really hates to fly. In the middle of the flight, the plane experienced 20 minutes of very severe turbulence. Susan remembers this incident as if it were yesterday, but Pam cannot recall it. Why?

Susan experienced emotion-triggered hormonal changes.

Sara thinks she conceived about seven days ago. She rushes to find a book on pregnancy so that she can learn more about it. What will the book say is happening around the seventh day of pregnancy?

The cells of the zygote are beginning to differentiate.

Judy DeLoache (1987) showed children a model of a room and hid a miniature stuffed dog behind its miniature couch. The 2½-year-olds easily remembered where to find the miniature toy, but they could not use the model to locate an actual stuffed dog behind a couch in a real room. Three-year-olds had no problem performing this task. What accounts for the difference at these two ages?

The three-year-olds could think of the model as a symbol for the room.

If newborns have all their brain cells at birth, why can't they talk immediately?

Their nervous systems are not well wired.

_____ is a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of information.

Working memory

In classical conditioning _____ is associating events in which the conditioned stimulus announces the unconditioned stimulus; in operant conditioning, this refers to associating a response with a consequence.

acquisition

Nell and her sister Hannah need a night light on at bedtime. They believe that if the night light is on, they will not have a bad dream. This is an example of:

acquisition

Jack was having difficulty recalling information while studying for an exam. He decided to go to his classroom and sit in the same chair he does in class. Jack is attempting to:

activate retrieval cues

During her adolescent years, Michelle used drugs and was extremely active sexually. When she became pregnant at the age of 21, she quit using drugs and has not used since. After she had the baby, Michelle went to college and earned a degree in nursing. Now Michelle is employed full-time as a nurse and spends the majority of her time with her daughter. What happened with Michelle demonstrates that developmental patterns:

are flexible.

Ten-year old Caron is sad. She is crying. Her older brother Max looks at her and then walks away. Max may be showing signs of _____.

autism spectrum disorder

Amelia is 3 years old and fights with her mother each morning over what to wear. Her mother almost always tries to convince her that her mismatched outfit is not suitable for an outing but eventually gives in because of Amelia's persistence. According to Erikson's psychosocial theory, Amelia is dealing with which of the following issues?

autonomy versus shame and doubt

Teen impulsivity is to late-maturing frontal lobes as old-age _____ is to frontal lobe atrophy.

bluntness

While 5-year-old Hope was looking at one of the balloons her mother set out for her birthday, her brother took a pin and popped the balloon, causing Hope to flinch and blink. Later during the party, when her mother approached her with a balloon, Hope blinked and flinched. This is an example of _____ conditioning.

classical

Stefan has been a coffee drinker since he started college three years ago. He finds that anytime he smells coffee, he starts to feel more alert and awake even before he takes his first sip. This is an example of:

classical conditioning

Michael noticed that all the fish in his aquarium direct their mouths toward the top of the tank when he walks by. This is most likely an example of:

classical conditioning.

This week Andrea is babysitting her younger sisters, Cassy, who is the youngest, and Nikki. Andrea fixes them both a glass of their favorite juice except that Cassy's glass is taller and Nikki's is wider and shorter. Andrea anticipated that Nikki would complain, but she did not. When Andrea asked Nikki why, Nikki replied that the glasses held the same amount. Nikki is in which stage of cognitive development according to Piaget's theory?

concrete operational

Dr. Garcia is known for his difficult pop quizzes. Typically, he closes the classroom door just before he's about to give a quiz, which makes his students anxious and tense. Students soon learn to feel anxious whenever Dr. Garcia closes the classroom door. Closing the door has become a(n):

conditioned stimulus.

Operant behavior operates on the environment and produces _____.

consequences

Mark thinks that language development over the life span requires a slow but steady shaping process. His belief is MOST directly relevant to the issue of:

continuity and stages.

Max is 17 years old and has decided to volunteer at Buddy Ball this summer, helping disabled children play baseball. He knows this will look good on his college applications. Max is probably in the _____ stage of moral development.

conventional

Encoding is to _____ as storage is to _____.

data input into a computer; data saved on the hard drive

As a young child, Samantha was extremely shy. She spent most of her time alone in her room while the other children played together outside. As an 11-year-old, she spends her time outdoors with a group of newly acquired friends. Samantha's behavior is consistent with the view that:

developmental patterns can change.

John was always in trouble during his late adolescent years and his early 20s. He was arrested several times for underage drinking, disorderly conduct, and possession of marijuana. John is now in his 40s and is a successful attorney. He has not been in trouble since he was 23 years old. John's behavior demonstrates the view that;

developmental patterns can change.

Boris was raised in a Russian orphanage where he was given minimal care. At age 6, he was adopted by a loving American family. As he matures, it is likely that Boris will:

display anxiety.

Mike is watching a Disney movie with his son, Jason. Jason likes the movie so much that he becomes excited and stands in front of the TV. Mike asks Jason to move so that he can see the TV. Jason doesn't move. Jason is demonstrating:

egocentrism.

Adam suffered a brain injury in a motorcycle accident that makes it impossible for him to form new memories. He can, however, remember his life experiences before the accident. Adam's memory difficulty MOST clearly illustrates:

encoding failure

Gordon remembers very clearly the day his best friend died when a drunk driver hit him while he was riding on his bicycle. This would be considered a(n) _____ memory.

flashbulb

Abigail is disgusted by the cover for a rapper's new album. The cover displays the artist wearing nothing but skimpy underwear. Abigail believes that the rapper's young female fans will see this self-objectification as acceptable and even mimic it themselves. Abigail has vowed to boycott any music or performances by the rapper. She has entered the _____ stage of development.

formal operational

Following the death of a local teenager, Melissa came to believe that the teen had been profiled as a potential threat because he was African-American. She decided to join in the protests and actively engaged in public demonstrations in her community and high school. Melissa has entered which stage of development, according to Piaget?

formal operational

At 19, Abbey is beginning to plan for her future. She wants to become a doctor, so she knows she has buckle down in school. Most likely, Abbey's _____ are developing.

frontal lobes

"Teens are less guilty by reason of adolescence" because their:

frontal lobes are not fully developed.

Marcia is in her forties and has the intense desire to create a mentoring program at her company. According to Erik Erikson, she is likely experiencing the _____ versus stagnation stage.

generativity

Nigel has the intense desire to create a mentoring program at his company. According to Erik Erikson, he is likely experiencing the _____versus stagnation stage.

generativity

Julia was born in France and spoke both French and English until she moved to the United States at the age of 3. From then on, she spoke only English. Julia plans to study French in high school. It is MOST likely that she will:

have less difficulty with the French accent.

Hakeem has a very clear memory of his daughter's birth. He remembers the weather, what he was wearing, the sounds in the hallway, and the joy he felt. Psychologists would say that:

he has a flashbulb memory for this event.

Lara is trying to remember events from when she was 18 months old but is unable to do so. This is likely caused by the fact that her _____, was not fully developed at that age.

hippocampus

When 9-year-old Sanjay looks at a picture in a book, then closes his eyes, he can still see the picture very clearly for a few tenths of a second. Sanjay is experiencing _____ memory.

iconic

Mark is 17 years old and drinks heavily. Which of the following is Mark likely to experience as an adult?

impulsivity

Six-year-old Fiona has no memory of having been taken to the hospital when she was 2 years old. Her inability to remember this event is known as: Think about Fiona's age.

infantile amnesia

Mike is 68 years old and is sitting in his recliner reflecting on the mistakes he made in his life, as well as the dreams that went unfulfilled. According to Erik Erikson, Mike is in the stage of development called:

integrity vs. despair.

The more similar information to be learned is, the more likely it is that _____ will occur.

interference

If a parent wants to increase the amount of time a child spends reading as opposed to playing video games, the parent will need to increase the _____ of reading.

intrinsic motivation

In classical conditioning, the response should be:

involuntary

Birdie frequently experiences tip-of-the-tongue memories—that is, she knows either a word or a memory but is unable to recall it at the moment. Birdie is MOST likely in which stage of development?

late adulthood

Dr. Greco is conducting a study of military veterans from the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. He plans to evaluate them every year for 10 years to see if those with anxiety disorders have a more pronounced decline in mental abilities and overall memory. This is a(n) _____ study.

longitudinal

Fausto is studying developmental milestones and relates each milestone to a memory of his younger sister, Des. Fausto finds that this technique helps him better retain information. Fausto is:

making the material meaningful.

When adolescents reach the stage of formal operations, they tend to become:

more idealistic.

If Pete wants to train his dog to sit and lie down when he commanded the behavior, he should utilize _____ conditioning.

operant

The office vending machine gives extra candy bars when either the "a" or "b" choice is selected. Employees continue to frequent this machine regularly. This BEST illustrates:

operant conditioning

Tony began playing sports in the pee-wee soccer league. He won a ribbon in his first tournament and a trophy a year later in a championship game. Tony loves the admiration and accolades he gets for winning. As a result, Tony continues to play soccer. This is an example of:

operant conditioning

Tina's goal is to raise children who enjoy playing musical instruments. Given what is known about observational learning, we should recommend that Tina should:

play her own musical instrument in front of her children.

Anne has been working nights and weekends to complete a project at work. She is successful and is awarded a bonus check. This best illustrates the value of _____ reinforcement.

positive

Robin is 17 years old and has decided to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity this summer because she wants to give back to people who are not as fortunate as she is. Robin has probably reached the _____ stage of moral development.

postconventional

In an effort to recall his early life experiences, Aaron form

priming

Whenever Mark tries to recall his new cell-phone number, he keeps coming up with his old cell-phone number. Mark's failure to remember his new phone number is probably caused by:

proactive interference

Dr. Napleton prefers to test his students with essay and fill-in-the-blank questions, which would more fully test their:

recall.

Seventy-year-old Barbara has been asked to memorize a series of 30 words. She is likely to perform similar to young adults if asked to do which of the following?

recognize the words

Lori is an excellent student. She rewrites her class notes after each class and reviews the chapter covered in the lecture each evening. Rewriting her notes and reviewing the chapter is a form of:

rehearsal

In experiments with rats in which rewards were not given to the rats for exploring a maze, experimenters later included rewards after several trials. When rewards were given upon reaching the end of the maze, the time needed to complete the maze decreased immediately. This caused researchers to conclude that:

reinforcement is not necessary for learning to occur.

Ilana studied the Russian language in high school but never used it. Years later, when she decided to go to Russia, she wanted to brush up on her vocabulary. She picked up the vocabulary quickly because it is easier to _____.

relearn

Janel was abused by her uncle when she was 5 years old. This experience was so devastating and traumatic that she removed the memory from her conscious awareness. This is an example of:

repression

As a child, Joseph was physically abused by his father, who often came home from work drunk and angry. Joseph attended college and is now an emergency medical technician. He is also a father himself. Joseph is _____.

resilient

Darlene is trying to remember the name of a woman sitting next to her on the bus. She knows she met her at a party and is able to imagine where the woman was sitting. Darlene is using _____ to remember the woman's name.

retrieval cues

Ivan recently suffered a severe stroke and is no longer able to remember events from his childhood. His memory problems are related to:

retrieval failure

While taking his statistics exam, Mikhail is trying to remember a statistical formula that he studied the night before. However, he cannot seem to recall the correct information. Mikhail is failing to _____ information from his long-term memory.

retrieve

Shimi is studying for tomorrow's biology exam. He has been reading and taking notes for hours, and he feels like he cannot study any longer. To avoid _____, the best thing for Shimi to do at this point is to get ready to go to sleep.

retroactive interference

Mark is 13 months old. When he is with his mother, he feels free to explore his environment and plays comfortably. When his mother leaves, he cries but is comforted when she returns. Mark is displaying which of the following forms of attachment?

secure attachment

If you visualize the stages of Atkinson and Shiffrin's model of memory as a funnel, the stage at the mouth of the funnel is:

sensory memory.

In teaching her son to play basketball, Mrs. Richards initially reinforces him with praise for simply dribbling while standing still, then only for walking while dribbling, and finally only for running while dribbling. She is using a procedure known as:

shaping

Michelle always drives down Hampton Avenue to go to the work. One morning Michelle discovers that Hampton Avenue is closed at Wood Street because of construction. Michelle immediately takes a different route to work. She is able to make a quick route change because:

she has formed a cognitive map of the area.

Jackie is worried about her young children being exposed to violence on television. You should tell Jackie all of the following EXCEPT:

she should not worry so long as she is not modeling violent behavior.

Jenelle is 33 years old. She has a full-time career and is not married. Jenelle's grandmother keeps asking when she will get married and have children, insisting that Jenelle should be a wife and mother by now. Jenelle's grandmother's remarks reflect the _____ of her generation.

social clock

Several months after watching a science fiction movie about space travel and alien abduction, Gilbert began to remember that aliens had abducted him and subjected him to many of the horrors portrayed in the movie. This is an example of _____.

source amnesia

Zhe distributes his study time rather than cramming. He is using the _____ effect.

spacing

Those who emphasize change over _____ would suggest that the first two years of life provide a poor basis for predicting a person's eventual traits.

stability

Bart was just arrested for setting the school's outdoor shed on fire. Bart's parents admitted to the police that their son has always had an aggressive streak. This example represents the:

stability side of the stability and change developmental issue.

Olga came home quite drunk from the party on Saturday night. Luckily she was given a ride home. She threw her purse down somewhere and immediately fell asleep. She may not be able to find her purse when she is sober because of _____ memory.

state-dependent

A traffic light is an example of a _____.

stimulus

Nicole almost drowned in the ocean when she was a teenager. As an adult she fears taking a bath and will only shower. This new fear is an example of:

stimulus generalization

Cory stopped at his favorite drive-thru restaurant after a late night of studying and ordered his favorite sandwich. In the middle of the night he awoke with stomach pains. About two weeks later, Cory was waiting in line at the same restaurant when he began to feel nauseated. This is an example of:

taste aversion.

Anders is in his mid-fifties. Anders can expect that he will experience a gradual decrease in _____.

testosterone

In Pavlov's original experiments, dogs were classically conditioned to salivate to the sound of a tone when it preceded the presentation of food. According to Robert Rescorla, the dogs had learned:

that the tone was a signal that reliably predicted that food would follow.

A father takes his 1-year-old son out for a walk. The toddler reaches over to touch a red flower and is stung by a bumblebee sitting on the petals. The next day, the boy's mother brings home some red flowers. The boy cries loudly as soon as he sees them. Which of the following is the unconditioned stimulus?

the bee sting

When you go for a job interview and are introduced to many people, the next day whose name are you MOST likely to remember?

the first person you met

Marshall takes his 1-year-old son, Marcus, out for a walk. Marcus reaches over to touch a red flower and is stung by a bumblebee sitting on the petals. The next day, Marcus's mother brings home some red flowers. Marcus cries loudly as soon as he sees them. Which of the following is the conditioned stimulus?

the red flower

Ever since she foolishly drank too much tequila at a rock concert and vomited all over her best friend, Erin becomes nauseous at the smell of tequila. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is _____ and the conditioned response is _____.

the smell of tequila; nausea

Jack finds it extremely difficult to pull himself away from the blackjack table. He keeps thinking he will win the next hand, which will enable him to break even. Jack is reinforced on a _____ schedule.

variable-ratio

All of the following are aspects of biological maturation EXCEPT:

vocabulary development.