Lesson 4 Learning

Positive reinforcement is to negative reinforcement as:

addition of a reinforcing stimulus is to removal of an aversive stimulus.

According to psychologist Edward C. Tolman, learning that is not immediately demonstrated in overt behavior is termed:

latent learning.

To keep from getting mosquito bites when he mows the lawn, Kevin always sprays himself with insect repellent before he starts mowing. Using operant conditioning terms, this is an example of:

negative reinforcement by avoidance.

Dan and Joel, both 4-year-olds, have been watching reruns of "Superman" on television. Joel's mother recently found the boys standing on the garage roof, ready to try flying. What best accounts for the boys' behavior?

observational learning

Children of abusive parents often learn to be aggressive by imitating their parents. This illustrates the importance of

observational learning.

Mindy is in nursing school and is learning how to measure a patient's blood pressure. Her instructor first shows the class a video that demonstrates the proper procedures for measuring blood pressure and then demonstrates these same procedures using Mindy as a "patient." Mindy and her class are learning how to measure blood pressure in patients through the use of:

observational learning.

In ________ reinforcement, the person or animal is not reinforced every time a desired behavior is performed.

partial

John wants to train his daughter to excuse herself before she leaves the table. Although he does not know how often he will reward her for excusing herself, he does know that he will not reward her every time she excuses herself. Which reinforcement schedule is John planning to use?

partial

Which of the following types of consequences is CORRECTLY matched with an example?

positive punishment - When Laurel takes $20 from her mom's purse, her mother yells at her

Kicking your leg when your knee is tapped and quickly pulling your hand back when you accidently touch a hot stove are both examples of ________.

reflexes

Five-year-old Trevor refuses to communicate with anyone. To get him to speak, his teacher first gives him candy for any sound, then only for a clearly spoken word, and finally only for a complete sentence. The teacher is using the method of

shaping

Martina is an animal trainer at Sea World. To teach a new dolphin to jump through a hoop high above the water, Martina first reinforces the dolphin for approaching the hoop while it is under the water. Then, she reinforces the dolphin for swimming through the hoop under water. Gradually raising the hoop, Martina progressively reinforces each small step toward the goal behavior. Martina is using the process of _____ to train the dolphin.

shaping

Jonathan frequently plays the slot machines and sometimes comes out slightly ahead in his winnings. Like all gambling behavior, Jonathan's gambling behavior is on a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

variable-ratio

In an advertisement that uses classical conditioning to persuade, the product or service being promoted is usually a(n):

conditioned stimulus

Initially, an infant has no response to a nurse's white uniform. But after a couple of painful experiences of getting a vaccination shot from a nurse in a white uniform, the infant will react with fear in response to a nurse in a white uniform who simply walks into the examining room. In this example, the sight of a nurse in a white uniform has become a(n) _____ to the infant.

conditioned stimulus (CS)

In your philosophy class, you have found that your professor never calls on you when you raise your hand. As a result you no longer raise your hand to ask or answer questions. In learning theory, no longer raising your hand would be the result of:

extinction.

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

extinction.

A rat in a Skinner box is reinforced for the first bar press it makes after one minute has elapsed. The rat is on a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

fixed-interval

Andrew works for NASA and gets paid once a month, whereas his friend George works at a fast-food restaurant and gets paid once a week. Despite the difference in when they are paid, both are paid on a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

fixed-interval

Janine completed several tours of duty in Afghanistan. She suffers from PTSD. Now, back home in Texas, she is frightened by firecrackers and cars backfiring. The fact that these sounds scare her reflects a process of stimulus _________.

generalization

Lili was burned slightly when a spark from a campfire landed on her hand. She is now afraid of getting close to lighted gas stoves. This best illustrates the adaptive value of

generalization.

Birds migrating, cats chasing prey, sea turtles moving toward the ocean immediately after birth, and joeys moving to the mother's pouch immediately after birth are all examples of ________.

instincts

In classical conditioning, the ________ is an unlearned reaction to a given stimulus. For example, if you have an allergy to pollen and sneeze, sneezing is an unlearned reaction to the pollen (i.e., the stimulus).

unconditioned response

In response to cutting up an onion, airborne irritants released by the onion will cause your eyes to automatically water or produce tears. Using Pavlov's terminology, the tears would be termed a(n):

unconditioned response (UCR)

Colin was spanked on several occasions for spilling his milk at a restaurant. These experiences made him fearful of the restaurant. In this case, spanking was a(n) ________ for Colin's fear.

unconditioned stimulus

in response to a cold temperature, your body will shiver reflexively. Using Pavlov's terminology, the cold temperature would be termed a(n):

unconditioned stimulus (UCS).

If you shine a bright light directly into a person's eye, the pupil of the eye will reflexively constrict. Using Pavlov's terminology, the bright light would be termed the _____, and the pupil constricting would be termed the _____.

unconditioned stimulus; unconditioned response

Which of the following is a process by which we learn to associate stimuli and, consequently, to anticipate events?

Classical Conditioning

Which statement about B. F. Skinner is correct?

He is famous for demonstrating the principles of operant conditioning: The motivation for a behavior happens after the behavior is demonstrated.

Cal works in a factory and is paid based upon his productivity. For every 100 widgets that Cal assembles, he receives $10. The owners of the factory are using a _____ schedule of reinforcement to pay Cal.

. fixed-ratio

Habitual coffee drinkers often experience an almost immediate sense of alertness when they sip a fresh cup of coffee, even though it takes about twenty minutes for the caffeine in the coffee to reach significant levels in the bloodstream. What is the best explanation for this phenomenon?

After being repeatedly paired with the drug caffeine, the smell and taste of coffee have become a conditioned stimulus that elicits the conditioned response of alertness.

A real estate agent showed Gavin several pictures of lakeshore property while they were eating a delicious, mouth-watering meal. Later, when Gavin toured the property, he drooled with delight. For Gavin, the lakeshore property was a

CS.

What is the primary conclusion John B. Watson's made after working with Little Albert?

Emotions can be a conditioned response.

According to Albert Bandura, ________.

Learning can occur by watching others and modeling what they do or say.

What is the main idea of social learning theory?

One can learn new behaviors by observing others.

Helen always drives down Sheridan Avenue to go to the college campus. One morning Helen discovers that Sheridan Avenue is closed at 23rd Street because of flooding. Helen immediately takes a different route to the campus. How would psychologist Edward Tolman explain Helen's behavior?

She has formed a cognitive map of the area.

Bill always starts his day with a cup of strong coffee. Bill stayed overnight at his mother's home and she made him a cup of coffee when he got up. Later, he was surprised to discover that his mother's coffee was decaffeinated, because he had felt more alert after drinking the coffee. In this example, what is the CS and CR?

The CS is the smell and taste of coffee, and the CR is alertness.

Six-year-old Blair liked going to school right up until her first-grade teacher, Ms. Hanemayer, took maternity leave. The substitute teacher, old Mrs. Snarly, was strict and scolded Blair on several occasions, making her cry. On one Saturday morning as Blair was helping her father with grocery shopping, she suddenly came face to face with old Mrs. Snarly. Blair instantly burst into tears. Blair's crying at just the sight of Mrs. Snarly is an example of:

a conditioned response.

In the initial period of learning, ________ describes when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

acquisition

Last year, Dr. Moritano cleaned Natacha's skin with rubbing alcohol before each of a series of painful rabies shots. Which of the following processes explains why Natacha now is afraid every time she smells rubbing alcohol?

classical conditioning

Jemma wants to teach her son to say thank you. Every time he says thank you, Jemma praises him and gives him a hug. Which reinforcement schedule is this?

continuous

When an organism receives a reinforcer each time it displays a behavior, it is called________ reinforcement.

continuous

June's cat runs to the kitchen at the sound of the electric can opener, but not when a blender is used. June's cat is demonstrating stimulus:

discrimination

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

discrimination.

After a dog had been conditioned to salivate at the sight of meat powder, the meat powder was presented to the dog every three minutes and held just out of the dog's reach. Over the course of several trials, the amount of saliva secreted by the dog decreased to zero, indicating that _____ had occurred.

extinction

What do psychologists call a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience?

learning

Gabrielle watches her father put batteries into her toy phone, and she is then able to put the batteries into the toy phone herself without further instruction from her father. In this example, Gabrielle's father is a ________.

model

Mason, a stockbroker, runs two miles every day after work because it reduces his level of stress. Mason's running habit is maintained by a ________ reinforcer.

negative

Dave's boss told him that he doesn't have to attend the company picnic (which everybody dislikes) if Dave meets his sales quota this month. Dave's boss is using ________.

negative reinforcement

Bandura's "Bobo doll" experiments were intended to demonstrate:

observational learning

Blan's thumb sucking has become a habit because it reduces her anxiety. This best illustrates the process of

operant conditioning.

Every Saturday morning, Arnold quickly washes the family's breakfast dishes so that his father will allow him to wash his car. In this instance, washing the car is a(n)

positive reinforcer.

After lightning caused an electrical power surge and damaged his computer, Damon no longer turns his computer on during thunderstorms. This change in Damon's behavior is the result of:

punishment

In operant conditioning, what describes adding something to decrease the likelihood of behavior?

punishment

After getting cactus needles stuck in her hand, 2-year-old Rachel no longer touches cactus plants. Using operant conditioning terms, this is an example of:

punishment by application (positive punishment).

If a slamming door is a conditioned stimulus, then being able to distinguish between the sound of a slamming door and the sound of a heavy item being dropped would represent ________.

stimulus discrimination

When Micah was 2 years old, he was frightened by his Aunt Mabel's little dog, which had nipped him on the leg. Because of the incident, Micah developed a strong fear of small dogs but not of large dogs. This best illustrates which of the following?

stimulus discrimination

Kerry is conditioned to fear strawberries. Raspberries are similar to strawberries, and even though no attempt was made to make Kerry fear raspberries, she reacts with fear when she sees them. This is an example of ________.

stimulus generalization

The famous "Little Albert" study conducted by John Watson and Rosalie Rayner demonstrated:

that it was possible to classically condition an emotional reaction to a previously neutral stimulus.

Whenever Stephanie changes the engine air filter in her car, she unscrews the two bolts that hold the filter cover on, then places the two bolts by the car's front tire to avoid dropping (and losing) them in the car's engine. Using operant conditioning terminology, placing the bolts by the tire is:

the operant (behavior) that is being negatively reinforced.

At the beginning of the semester, the humanities instructor explains that there will be ten surprise quizzes over the semester, so students are strongly encouraged to keep up with their reading and attend every class. The humanities instructor is using a _____ schedule of reinforcement to encourage studying and class attendance.

variable-interval