LearningCurve 6a. How Do We Learn?; Classical Conditioning

Every time Martin opens the cabinet door where he stores his dog's treats, his dog begins to bark in anticipation of getting a treat. This is an example of:

associative learning.

_____ is the process of learning associations.

conditioning

_____ is the tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus (CS). By contrast, _____ is the ability to differentiate between the CS and other stimuli that have NOT been associated with the unconditioned stimulus (US).

Generalization; discrimination

Lightning is associated with thunder and regularly precedes it. Thus, when we see lightning, we often anticipate that we will hear thunder soon afterward. This is an example of _____ conditioning.

classical

People and animals learn the association between two stimuli through _____; however, they learn the association between a behavior and a consequence through _____.

classical conditioning; operant conditioning

You feel fine at a picnic until a spider very similar to the one that bit you last year and made you sick starts to walk onto your picnic blanket. You begin to become anxious and fearful. This reaction is MOST likely a(n):

conditioned response.

Walter was bitten by a dog when he was 5 years old. To this day, he is fearful of dogs; however, he is not frightened of cats. This reaction BEST illustrates:

discrimination.

Jane had leukemia as a child and had to undergo numerous bouts of chemotherapy. She had grown to associate the waiting room with nausea. Now 35 years old, she had to take her mother to the same hospital for breast cancer treatment. She became nauseous while in the waiting room with her mother. Her nausea BEST illustrates: Please choose the correct answer from the following choices, and then select the submit answer button.

spontaneous recovery.

Carla had leukemia as a child and had to undergo numerous bouts of chemotherapy. The chemotherapy always made her nauseous. As she underwent a year of treatment, the waiting room started to make her nauseous. The nausea from the chemotherapy is the:

unconditioned response.

Researchers conditioned a flatworm to contract when exposed to light by repeatedly pairing the light with electric shock. The electric shock is a(n):

unconditioned stimulus (US).