PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 8 Quiz

Which of the following is an example of nonassociative learning?

Andrea recently learned how to drive a car. At first she found merging into highway traffic very stressful, but now can do it with ease.

Brian watches the Boston Celtics games on TV. According to Bandura, what would motivate Brian to try to imitate the Boston Celtics?

Brian's friend improved his three point shot after mimicking the shooting style of one of the Boston Celtics.

What is a key distinction between classical conditioning and operant conditioning?

Classical conditioning makes associations between two stimuli; operant conditioning associates a behavior with its consequence.

In which of the following scenarios is Roxie the dog most likely to rapidly learn to associate a conditioned stimulus with food?

Each morning, Roxie's owner opens the squeaky kitchen cupboard, pours dog food into a bowl, and immediately puts the bowl of food on the floor for Roxie to eat.

Eduardo, a psychologist, uses counterconditioning to help his client, Catherine, address her extreme fear of heights. What technique is Eduardo likely to use?

Eduardo and Catherine repeatedly visit a scenic viewpoint at the top of a hill. They have a pleasant picnic there, gradually moving to picnic tables that are closer to the top of the hill.

What indicates that imitation provides adaptive advantages?

Imitation is frequently used in the animal world.

In which of the following examples is the person likely to show the highest, and very steady, rate of response over time?

In hopes of winning a big jackpot, Penny plays the slot machines at a nearby casino.

Which of the following methods of behavior modification adheres to the Premack Principle?

Knowing his daughter loves to ride her bike, Miguel states: "you can ride your bike as soon as you clean your room."

What is true of latent inhibition?

Learning associated with latent inhibition is slow; resulting in relatively poor learning.

As a gate creaks open, Oscar the puppy notices a cat heading into his yard. The cat hisses and scratches Oscar on the nose, causing Oscar to yelp in pain. Which outcome to this scenario portrays higher order conditioning?

Now when Oscar hears a gate creak, regardless of who is coming through it, he runs away.

Why does associative learning provide an enormous survival advantage?

Organisms can predict the future and thus are given time to prepare for future events.

What was a key finding of the Bobo doll experiment?

Reprimanding the adult for her aggressive behavior slightly reduced the children's aggressive behavior

Who is likely to discontinue his or her behavior first if reinforcement completely stops?

Sam, who receives $20 each time he mows his neighbor's lawn

A modified cage containing levers or buttons that can be pressed or pecked by animals and is used to investigate operant conditioning is referred to as a ____.

Skinner Box

Which of the following approaches would B.F. Skinner recommend to alter an undesirable behavior?

Standing by but ignoring a child who is having a tantrum in the grocery store

What was a key implication of Garcia and Koelling's classic taste aversion studies?

The studies highlighted the unique biological predispositions of specific species.

When is the matching law most applicable?

When exposed to at least two schedules of reinforcement

Sara allows her dog, Isabel, to run freely at a local park. As Isabel is chased by several other dogs, Sara notices that Isabel's hair rises up along her spine. Isabel's response illustrates ____.

a reflex

Nick wants to encourage his six-year-old daughter, Anna, to help with family chores. He makes an outline of a rainbow with seven bands so that Anna can color in a band each time she does a chore. If she does seven chores in a week, coloring in the full rainbow, she gets one dollar. Nick's technique demonstrates which methods?

a token economy, positive reinforcement, and a fixed ratio schedule

Children are most likely to pattern their own behavior based on the ____ of their parents.

actions

Jim and his father are watching the ball game on TV. Jim's father starts to yawn and Jim soon follows. This is an example of ____.

an instinct

Which condition is characterized by a lack of gesture and facial expression imitation during infancy and deficits in empathy and social skills later in life?

autism

Garcia and Koelling's findings prompted a renewed interest in ____.

biological influences in learning

Martha wants to teach her dog Max the command, "Get beer, Max." This involves going to the refrigerator and opening it by pulling on a dishtowel tied to the handle, taking out a can of beer with his mouth, and bringing it to her dinner guest. Which of the following training methods is likely to work best?

chaining and positive reinforcement

The formation of associations between two stimuli, which occur sequentially in time, is referred to as ____.

classical conditioning

When he was nine years old, Mike tried shrimp for the first time; but felt ill shortly after. To this day, he cannot bring himself to eat shrimp. This is an example of ____.

classical conditioning

Sonia first trains her new dog by saying "good dog!" before giving him a food treat. She then trains her dog to sit and stay, saying "good dog!" when he provides the correct behavior; while continuing to periodically provide a food treat. Sonia is using which method(s)?

classical conditioning and operant conditioning

A reinforcer that gains value from being associated with other things that are valued is called a(n) ____.

conditioned reinforcer

An environmental cue or event whose significance is learned through classical conditioning is referred to as a(n) ____.

conditioned stimulus

Tim, an alcoholic, is prescribed disulfiram by his doctor to help him halt his alcohol consumption. Disulfiram works by causing unpleasant physiological effects when even small amounts of alcohol are consumed. This type of treatment is best described as ____.

counterconditioning

Thorndike's Law of Effect states that behavior is ____.

engrained relative to the consequences of the behavior

Tim would like to stop drinking alcohol, but he is finding it difficult to resist the urge to drink when he meets up with friends. Tim's therapist assures him that if he can resist the urge to drink during these social events, his cravings for alcohol will diminish even further, eventually fading away. What process is Tim's therapist describing?

extinction

Mrs. Collora teaches social studies to junior high school students. Two boys in her class often loudly make jokes about the material being discussed. She has tried several techniques without success: 1) ignoring them; 2) encouraging and rewarding them for contributing to the class discussion; 3) removing their opportunities to participate in field trips; and 4) sending them to detention. In the order presented, list the operant conditioning principles she has applied to the situation.

extinction, positive reinforcement, negative punishment, positive punishment

Dr. Graham exposes rats to a vanilla scent prior to receiving a food pellet in the left corner of their cage, but provides no food after exposure to a lemon scent. After several trials, upon smelling a vanilla scent, the rats wait at the far left corner of the cage regardless of whether a food pellet is present. However, they do not wait in the far left corner when exposed to the lemon scent. What is the unconditioned stimulus in the experiment?

food pellet

The tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to an original conditioned stimulus is called ____.

generalization

In what process do mirror neurons play a key role?

imitation

Experienced whale trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by one of her favorite killer whales during a 2010 show at Sea World in Orlando, Florida. Animal experts believed that the whale had simply reverted to normal whale behavior; illustrating ____.

instinctive drift

A person with schizophrenia who associates a boiling pot of water with anger has reduced ____.

latent inhibition

At dinner Candace eats several familiar food (pasta, salad, bread) and an unfamiliar food (mussels). Later that evening she suffers abdominal discomfort. She attributes this to the mussels, but later learns that she had developed a sensitivity to gluten. Her misattribution of the problem to the mussels is likely due to ____.

latent inhibition

Which process below is defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience?

learning

Based on the work of Richard Dawkins, the basic unit of cultural transmission is known as a(n) ____.

meme

Lucia, who experiences extreme anxiety when taking an exam, practices meditation breathing to reduce her anxiety prior to taking a test. Her meditation breathing is an example of a ____.

negative reinforcer

Learning is traditionally divided into three categories: associative, nonassociative, and ____.

observational

What type of learning is most influential in developing and maintaining culture?

observational learning

The process of associating a behavior with its consequences is known as ____.

operant conditioning

A consequence that eliminates or reduces the frequency of a behavior by applying an aversive stimulus is referred to as ____.

positive punishment

After a stressful day of work, Randi often makes small burn marks on her inner arm with a cigarette; which she feels helps her sleep better at night. This type of behavior is an example of ____.

positive reinforcement

What type of partial reinforcement depends on the number of times a behavior occurs?

ratio

Based on his experiments with rats in mazes, Edward Tolman believed that ____.

rats developed a cognitive map for where they could find food

Inevitable, involuntary responses to stimuli that are primarily controlled by circuits located in the spinal cord and brainstem are referred to as ____.

reflexes

The rats involved in Skinner's research boxes learned to press levers for food through the process of ____.

shaping

Greg, who mainly smoked cigarettes when out with friends, recently quit smoking. However, each time he visits a bar or restaurant with his friends, he has the strong urge to light up a cigarette. This is an example of ____.

spontaneous recovery

According to Rescorla and Wagner, the association between a conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus is strongest when the association is ____.

surprising

What type of stimulus elicits a response without prior experience?

unconditional

A schedule of reinforcement in which the first response after a varying period of time is reinforced is called a(n) ____.

variable interval schedule

Based on the findings of Garcia and Koelling, which type of stimuli would be most effective for training birds?

visual stimuli