Psychology test 2

Bandura's 4 basic processes in observational learning

1. Attention: pay attention to another person's behavior and its consequences. 2. Retention: remember what you observed until you have the opportunity to use an observed response. 3. Reproduction: reproduce the response by converting your stored mental images into overt behavior. 4. Motivation: you will use the response if you are motivated to do so, which depends on if you believe the response is likely to pay off for you.

Four Intermittent Schedules of reinforcement

1. Fixed ratio 2. Variable ratio 3. Fixed interval 4. Variable interval

Thorndike's Law of Effect

1. If you do something and it turns out to be good, pleasing or satisfying, you're going to do that particular thing again. 2. If you do something and it turns out to be bad, upsetting or unsatisfying, you are not likely to do that particular thing again.

Four memory steps

1. Perception: Attend, pay attention to material 2. Encoding: get material ready to store in brain, usually verb encoding 3. Storage: neural circuitry in brain, maintain encoded information in memory over time. The hippocampus plays a critical role in consolidation or getting memories into permanent storage in the cerebral cortex. Memories may appear to be cell assemblies or clusters of cells that fire together when one or more are stimulated. 4. Retrieval: get it back out of brain, failure here is very frustrating, i.e. students in tests.

Neutral Stimulus

A bell. Something that has no effect on the subject. It doesn't work initially.

Visual imagery

A creation of visual images to represent the words to be remembered. A form of enhancing semantic encoding that created visual images to represent words.

Habituation

A decrease in responsiveness to repeated presentations of a stimulus; most often used to describe a reduction of respondent behavior as a function of repeated presentation of the eliciting stimulus over a short span of time (decrease in cessation of behavior)

Startle Response

A defensive reaction to a sudden, unexpected stimulus, which involves automatic tightening of skeletal muscles and various hormonal and visceral changes (ex. door slamming, startles the first time. eventually stop jumping in your chair when the door is slammed shut)

Elaboration

A form of enhancing semantic encoding that links a stimulus to other information at the time of encoding; adding connections to help you remember information; i.e. reading how phobias are caused by classical conditioning and apply that to your own phobia linking a stimulus to other information at the time of encoding.

Unconditioned response

A natural, unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning; such as a dog salivating due to the smell of meat. The natural response for a stimulus that does not need to be trained to be known.

A pigeon in a Skinner box is pecking the disk at a high, steady rate. The graph portraying this pigeon's responding will have: A. a steep, unchanging slope B. a shallow, unchanging slope C. a progressively steeper slope D. a progressively shallower slope

A. a steep, unchanging slope

A primary reinforcer has ____ reinforcing properties; a secondary reinforcer has ____ reinforcing properties. A. biological; acquired B. conditioned; unconditioned C. weak; potent D. immediate; delayed

A. biological; acquired

Research on avoidance learning suggests that a fear response is acquired through ____ conditioning; the avoidance response is maintained as a result of ____ conditioning. A. classical; operant B. operant; classical C. classical; classical D. operant; operant

A. classical; operant

When you try to narrow down a list of alternatives to arrive at a single correct answer, you engage in: A. convergent thinking B. divergent thinking C. creativity D. insight

A. convergent thinking

Which of the following is a true statement regarding Francis Galton? A. He took the position that intelligence is largely determined by heredity B. he advocated the development of special programs to tap the intellectual potential of the culturally disadvantage C. he developed tests that identified those children who were unable to profit from a normal education D. he took the position that intelligence is more a matter of environment than heredity

A. he took the position that intelligence is lately determined by heredity

The link between media violence and subsequent aggressive behavior may be explained by: A. observational learning B. noncontingent reinforcement C. resistance to extinction D. classical conditioning

A. observational learning

____ proposed that there are three facets on intelligence; analytical, practical, and creative intelligence A. Howard Gardner B. Arthur Jensen C. Claude Steele D. Robert Sternberg

D. RObert Sternberg

Secondary reinforcer

Events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers; vary among organisms because they depend on learning; i.e. money, good grades, praise, flattery. Learned by pairing with backup reinforce.

Negative reinforcement

Occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus; it involves a favorable outcome that strengthens a response tendency; i.e. rat pressing the bar that makes the electric shock stop.

The changes that Skinner made when he defined reinforcement by its effect on behavior

Occurs when an even following a response increases an organisms tendency to make that response ( a response is strengthened when it leads to rewarding consequences).

Reinforcement

Occurs when an event following a response increases an organism's tendency to make that response; a response is strengthened because it leads to rewards; organisms tend to repeat those responses that are followed by favorable consequences.

Escape conditioning

Occurs when an organism acquires a response that decreases or ends some aversive stimulation; i.e. leaving a party where people are making fun of you. Subject can cut short or terminate the aversive stimulus.

Avoidance conditioning

Occurs when an organism acquires a response that prevents some aversive stimulation from occurring; you quit going to parties because you're afraid of being picked on. If they respond in time, they can avoid the aversive stimulus completely.

Discrimination

Occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus does not respond in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus; it is adaptive in that animals' survival hinges on its being able to distinguish friend from foe. Only one conditioned stimulus causes the response to occur. All other stimuli, even though similar, fail to produce response. Ex. your dog salivates only when he hears the alpo bag being opened and fails to salivate at the sound of other bags. Exact opposite of generalization.

Generalization

Occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus responds in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus; it is adaptive given that an organism rarely encounters the exact same stimulus more than once. New condition stimuli develop which are usually similar to the original conditioned stimulus. Ex. a child is bitten by a yellow cat and becomes afraid of all yellow cats. Explains how human fears grow and spread.

Observational Learning

Occurs when an organism's responding is influenced by the observation of others (called models); investigated by Albert Bandura: involves indirect conditioning by watching the direct conditioning of others.

Intermediate processing

Phonemic encoding- emphasizes what a word sounds like

Little Albert

Skinner let this little kid play with a rat, kid enjoyed, Then he started blaring loud noises while the small child played with the rat, which associated a negative attitude between the rat and the startling noise. The child then began to fear rats, fluffy things, and Santa. Then the kid was taken from the experiment before he could be disassociated with the startling sound so nobody knows what happened to him.

When is punishment considered to be appropriate?

Stop bad behaviors in the bud. Eliminate dangerous behaviors (like aggression to parents or siblings).

Shallow processing

Structural encoding- involves structural encoding, emphasizes the physical structure of the stimulus

Short-term memory

has a limited capacity, and unless aided by rehearsal, its storage duration is brief (10-20 seconds).

Classical Conditioning

Type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the ability to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus. A neutral stimulus that caused no change in behavior gradually develops the ability to cause a response. Human emotional behavior also works by the classical conditioning process.

Primary positive reinforcers

are related to body needs: food, drink, sleep, and sex. Lose effectiveness only through satisfaction.

Conditioned Stimulus

A previously neutral stimulus that has, through conditioning, acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response; a learned, unnatural associate between two things; such as an auditory tone that causes a dog to salivate. Training or conditioning is necessary to get this stimulus to work.

Orienting Response

An inborn tendency to notice and respond to novel or surprising events. (after 3 or 4 clicks don't look anymore. get used to things)

Discrimination

An operant conditioning phenomena in which an organism learns to differentiate from the original stimulus and the similar one and it responds only in a certain way to get the reinforcer; i.e. dog only salivates when CERTAIN food bag is opened.

Generalization

An operant conditioning phenomena in which an organism responds to a new stimulus as if it were the original; when a behavior occurs under the different stimulus conditions, such as different settings. Ex. when a behavior learned in school transfers to the home environment. If a child is bitten by cat, becomes afraid of ALL cats.

Shaping

An operant conditioning phenomena that is necessary when an organism does not emit the desired response on its own; i.e. a rat won't naturally press the lever so by releasing food pellets closer and closer to the lever and as rewards for pressing it he learns to press it. Consists of repeatedly reinforcing closer and closer approximations of a desired response until the desired response is achieved.

Punishment

An operant conditioning phenomena that occurs when an event following response weakens the tendency to make that response; may involve presenting an aversive stimulus (spanking a child) or removal of a reward stimulus (taking away tv time). Decrease in the rate of behavior.

Extinction

An operant conditioning phenomena that occurs whenever a previously available reinforcement is stopped; i.e. the food pellets stop being released so that the rat stops pressing the lever. Remove a positive stimulus. Decrease in the rate of behavior.

Schemas

An organized cluster or knowledge about a particular object or event abstracted from a previous experience with the object or event.

Long-tern memory

An unlimited capacity store that can maintain information for lengthy periods of times, such as weeks, months or years; material is stored indefinitely and can be retrieved from here.

Conditioned response

An unnatural, learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning; such as a dog salivating due to hearing an auditory tone. A response that is learned through training which involves a neutral response that eventually causes a response.

Generalized positive reinforcers

Are also learned reinforcers but they are paired with many or unlimited back-up reinforcers. Most powerful of all reinforcers because you never satiate to them, like money. Seldom lose effectiveness- there's always more to buy.

Secondary positive reinforcers

Are learned reinforcers and gain their value by pairing with a back-up reinforcer. School grades=spring break trip. Lose effectiveness through satisfaction and being unpaired with back-up reinforcers.

Primary reinforcers

Associated with basic body needs. Work well until satisfaction (getting too much) events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs; i.e. food, water, warmth, sex.

In which of the following cases would you expect to find the greatest similarity in IQ? A. between fraternal twins B. between identical twins C. between non twin siblings D. between parent and child

B. between identical twins

When advertisers pay their products with linkable celebrities, pleasant music, and beautiful scenery, they are attempting to make their products: A. unconditioned stimuli B. conditioned stimuli C. conditioned responses D. primary responses

B. conditioned stimuli

Mr. and Mrs. Proudparent are beaming because their son, little Newton, has been selected for a gifted children program at school. They think Newton is a genius. What sort of advice do they need to hear? A. Youngsters with a 130-140 IQ tend to be very maladjusted B. Most gifted children do not go on to make genius-level, major contributions to society that earn them eminence C. They should prepare to be famous, based on their parentage of Newton D. They should be warned that gifted children often have deficits in practical intelligence

B. most gifted children do not go on to make genius-level, major contributions to society that earn them eminence

Which of the following does not belong with the others? A. aptitude tests B. personality tests C. intelligence tests D. achievement tests

B. personality tests

Your memory of how to ride a bicycle is contained in your ____ memory. A. declarative B. prefrontal cortex C. medial temporal lobe D. corpus callosum

B. prefrontal cortex

Bulldog McRae was recently traded to a new football team. He is struggling to remember the plays for his new team because he keeps mixing them up with the plays from his previous team. Bulldog's problem illustrates the operation of: A. retroactive interference B. proactive interference C. transfer-inappropriate processing D. parallel distributed processing

B. proactive interference

Most school districts consider children who ____ to be gifted. A. have IQ scores above 115 B. score in the upper 2%-3% of the IQ distribution C. have parents in professional careers D. demonstrate high levels of leadership and creativity

B. score in the upper 2%-3% of the IQ distribution

Watson and Rayner (1920) conditioned "Little Albert" to fear white rats by banging a hammer on a steel bar as the child played with a white rat. Later, it was discovered that Albert feared not only white rats but white stuffed toys and Santa's beard as well. Albert's fear of these other objects can be attributed to: A. negative reinforcement B. stimulus generalization C. stimulus discrimination D. an overactive imagination

B. stimulus generalization

The steady, rapid responding of a person playing a slot machine is an example of the pattern of responding typically generated on a ____ schedule. A. fixed-ratio B. variable-ratio C. fixed-interval D. variable-interval

B. variable-ratio

If you score at the 75th percentile on a standardized test, it means that: A. 75% of those who took the test scored better than you did B. 25% of those who took the test scored less than you did C. 75% of those who took the test scored the same or less than you did D. you answered 75% of the questions correctly

C. 75% of those who took the test scored the same or less than you did

Nora has a blind date with Nick, who, she's been told, is considered a true genius by the faculty in the art department. Now she's having second thoughts, because she's always heard that geniuses are a little off their rocker. Does she have reason to be concerned? A. Yes. It's been well documented that the stress of creative achievement often leads to schizophrenic symptoms. B. No. Extensive research on creativity and psychological disorders shows no evidence for any connection. C. Perhaps. There is evidence of a correlation between major creative achievement and vulnerability to mood disorders. D. Of course not. The stereotype of the genius who's mentally ill is purely a product of the jealousy of untalented people.

C. Perhaps. There is evidence of a correlation between major creative achievement and vulnerability to mood disorders.

Which statement best represents current evidence on the durability of long-term storage? A. all forgetting involves breakdowns in retrieval B. LMT is like a barrel of marbles in which none of the marbles ever leak out C. There is no convincing evidence that all one's memories are stored away permanently D. all long-term memories gradually decay at a constant rate

C. There is no convincing evidence that all one's memories are stored away permanently

Sam's wife always wears the same black nightgown whenever she is "in the mood" for sexual relations. Sam becomes sexually aroused as soon as he sees his wife in the nightgown. For Sam, the nightgown is a(n): A. unconditioned stimulus B. unconditioned response C. conditioned stimulus D. conditioned response

C. conditioned stimulus

Getting information into memory is called ____; getting information out of memory is called _____. A. storage; retrieval B. encoding; storage C. encoding; retrieval D. storage; encoding

C. ecoding; retrieval

The second step in a self-modification program is to: A. specify the target behavior B. design your program C. gather baseline data D. set up a behavioral contact

C. gather baseline data

Positive reinforcement ____ the rate of responding; negative reinforcement ____ the rate of responding. A. increases; decreases B. decreases; increases C. increases; increases D. decreases; decreases

C. increases; increases

Roberto is telling Rachel about some juicy gossip when she stops him and informs him that she is the one who passes this gossip on to him about a week ago. In this example, Roberto has: A. been fooled by the misinformation effect B. made a reality-monitoring error C. made a source-monitoring error D. made a destination memory error

C. made a source-monitoring error

Research suggests that the consolidation of memories depends on activity in the: A. cerebellum B. prefrontal cortex C. medial temporal lobe D. corpus callosum

C. medial temporal lobe

An organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object or event is called a : A. semantic network B. conceptual hierarchy C. schema D. retrieval cue

C. schema

IQ tests have proven to be good predictors of: A. social intelligence B. practical problem-solving intelligence C. school performance D. all of the above

C. school performance

Evidence indicating that upbringing affects one's mental ability is provided by which of the following findings? A. identical twins are more similar in IQ than fraternal twins B. there is more than a chance similarity between adopted children and their biological parents C. siblings reared together are more similar in IQ than siblings reared apart D. identical twins reared apart are more similar in IQ than siblings reared together

C. siblings reared together are more similar in IQ than siblings reared apart

The word big is flashed on a screen. A mental picture of the word big represents a _____ code; the definition "large in size" represents a _____ code; "sounds like pig" represents a _____ code. A. structural; phonemic; semantic B. phonemic; semantic; structural C. structural; semantic; phonemic D. phonemic; structural; semantic

C. structural; semantic; phonemic

Which of the following statements is (are) true? A. classical conditioning regulates reflexive, involuntary responses exclusively. B. operant conditioning regulates voluntary responses exclusively. C. The distinction between two types of conditioning is not absolute. D. Both a and b.

C. the distinction between two types of conditioning is not absolute

Which of the following is a true statement about mental retardation/intellectual disability? A. Most people with retardation are unable to live normal lives because of their mental deficiencies B. With special tutoring, a mentally retarded person can attain average intelligence C. The majority of people who exhibit intellectual disability fall in the mild category D. Diagnoses of mental retardation should be based exclusively on IQ scores

C. the majority of people who exhibit intellectual disability fall in the mild category

According to Rescorla, the strength of a conditioned response depends on: A. the number of trials in which the CS and US are paired. B. the number of trials in which the CS is presented alone. C. the percentage of trials in which the CS and US are paired. D. resistance to extinction.

C. the percentage of trials in which the CS and US are paired

If decay theory is correct: A. information can never be permanently lost from long-term memory B. forgetting is simply a case of retrieval failure C. the principle cause of forgetting should be the passing of time D. all of the above

C. the principle cause of forgetting should be the passing of time

Adaptation

Changes the senses themselves. Repeated exposure causes the sense organs not to respond to that particular stimulus.

How are classical conditioning and operant conditioning different?

Classical conditioning regulates reflexive, involuntary responses, whereas operant conditioning governs voluntary responses. But the distinction between the two types of conditioning is not absolute.

Clustering and Conceptual Hierarchies

Clustering: the tendency to remember similar or related items in groups. Conceptual hierarchy: a multilevel classification system based on common properties among items.

Semantic networks

Consists of nodes representing concepts, joined together by pathways that link related concepts; a less systematic framework for organizing knowledge.

Miles is listening as his mother rattles through a list of 15 or so things that he needs to remember to pack for an upcoming trip. According to George Miller, if Miles doesn't write the items down as he hears them, he will probably remember: A. fewer than 5 items from the list B. about 10 to 12 items from the list C. all the items from the list D. 5 to 9 items from the list

D. 5 to 9 items from the list

Which of the following is a likely consequence of stereotype threat for members of minority groups? A. academic motivation declines B. academic performance often suffers C. standardized tests may underestimate their ability D. all of the above are likely consequences

D. all of the above are likely consequences

The phenomena of higher-order conditioning shows that: A. only a genuine, natural US can be used to establish a CR. B. auditory stimuli are easier to condition than visual stimuli. C. visual stimuli are easier to condition than auditory stimuli D. an already established CS can be used in the place of a natural US.

D. an already established CS can be used in the place of a natural US

After repeatedly pairing a tone with meat powder, Pavlov found that a dog will salivate when the tone is presented. Salivation to the tone is a(n): A. Unconditioned stimulus B. Unconditioned response C. Conditioned stimulus D. Conditioned response

D. conditioned response

Overlearning: A. refers to continued rehearsal of material after the point of apparent mastery B. promotes improved recall C. proactive interference D. does both a and b

D. does both a and b

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: A. is a temporary inability to remember something you know, accompanied by a feeling that it's just out of reach B. is clearly due to failure of retrieval C. reflects a permanent loss of information from LTM D. is both a and b

D. is both a and b

On most modern IQ tests, a score of 115 would be: A. about average B. about 15% higher than the average of one's age mates C. an indication of genius D. one standard deviation above the mean

D. one standard deviation above the mean

Nolan used to love tequila. However, a few weeks ago he drank way too much tequila and became very, very sick. His tendency to drink tequila has since declined dramatically. In operant terms, this sequence of events represents: A. generalization B. negative reinforcement C. higher-order conditioning D. punishment

D. punishment

Your knowledge that birds fly, that the sun rises in the east, and that 2+2=4 is contained in you ___ memory. A. structural B. procedural C. episodic D. semantic

D. semantic

The tendency to mold one's interpretation of the past to fit how events actually turned out is called: A. the overconfidence effect B. selective amnesia C. retroactive interference D. the hindsight bias

D. the hindsight bias

Dorothy memorized her shopping list. When she goes to the store, however, she found she had forgotten many of the items from the middle of her list. This is an example of: A. inappropriate encoding B. retrograde amnesia C. proactive interference D. the serial-position effect

D. the serial-position effect

If a test has good test-retest ability: A. there is a strong correlation between items on the test B. it accurately measures what it said it measures C. it can be used to predict future performance D. the test yields similar scores if taken at two different times

D. the tests yields similar scores if taken at two different times

Positive reinforcement

Increases the rate of behavior. It occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus; i.e. good grades, paychecks, promotions, attention, flattery.

Unconditioned Stimulus

Meat. Something that always causes a response. No training is needed, and it always works.

Dual coding theory

Memory is enhanced by forming semantic and visual codes, since either lead to recall

Difference between negative reinforcement and punishment

Negative reinforcement strengthens a response whereas punishment weakens a response.

Pavlov's study

Neutral stimulus, a bell, had no affect on the dog's salivation. Then steak was presented to the dog and he automatically begins to salivate. He then paired the bell and the steak together to get a little bit of a response. After 5 or 6 pairing, the bell can now produce a response since it's related to the steak now.

Sensory memory

Preserves information in its original sensory form (visual pattern, sound, touch) for a brief time, usually only a fraction of a second after the sensory stimulation is over; it is adaptive in that it gives you additional time to try and recognize stimuli. Can hold a large amount of info just long enough (a fraction of a second) for a small portion of it to be selected for longer storage.

Extinction

The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency; occurs in classical conditioning when the conditioned stimulus is consistently presented alone, without the unconditioned stimulus; such as when Pavlov presented only the auditory tone without the smell of meat to the previously conditioned dog, the tone gradually lost its capacity to make the dog salivate. When conditioned stimulus (bell) is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus being present.

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of non exposure to the conditioned stimulus; typically can be extinguished again quickly; such as the conditioned dog having the salivation extinguished by the auditory tone, then spending a "resting period" in a cage and then later hearing the tone again and salivating. When an extinguished response develops the ability to produce a response again without further training. The only requirement in the passage of time with exposure to the conditioned stimulus.

Self- referent coding

involves deciding how or whether information is personally relevant. A form of enhancing semantic encoding; making material personally meaningful.

Deep processing

involves semantic encoding- emphasizes the meaning of verbal input

Flashbulb memory

unusually vivid and detailed recollections of momentous events. Deals with traumatic events, events of importance. Not permanent but lasts a long time; i.e. 9/11