Chapter 5 Learning

_________is an application of operant conditioning that assumes that any complex task can be broken down into a number of small steps; these steps can be shaped individually and then combined in sequence to form the correct behavioral chain.​

Programmed learning

Which of the following is true of negative reinforcers?

They increase the probability that a behavior will occur when the reinforcers are removed.

In the context of reinforcement schedules, commuter trains that arrive at platforms at specific times are on a _________.​

fixed-interval schedule

Bethany taught her dog to jump when she raised her right hand. Later, her dog started jumping even if she raised her left hand. The response of Bethany's dog to her action similar to the original action to which the dog's response was conditioned is known as__________.

generalization

In conditioning,__________is the tendency for a conditioned response to be evoked by stimuli that are similar to the stimulus to which the response was conditioned.

generalization

According to behaviorists,__________is a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior that arises from practice or experience.

learning

In the terminology of observational learning, a person who engages in a response that is imitated is a__________.

model

​As a little girl, Dana liked to watch her motherprepare dinner. As an adult, Dana now enjoys preparing gourmet meals for her family. Dana learned to cook by watching her mother cook rather than by means of direct experience. In thecontext of observational learning, Dana's mother was a _____ for her.

model

William's father was a gardener. As a child, William often watched his fatherat work.As an adult,Williamtakes care of his garden himself. Though he was never taught the art of gardening, he is very good at it and prides himself onhaving the best garden on the block.William acquired the knowledge and skills of gardening by the process of _____.

observational learning

The behaviorthat manipulates theenvironment is called_________.​

operant behavior

The behavior that manipulates the environment is called__________.

operant-behavior

_________is a procedure in which a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit the response brought forth by a conditioned stimulus by being paired repeatedly with that conditioned stimulus.​

Higher-order conditioning

Biofeedback training, behavior modification, and programmed learning are all applications of__________.

operant-conditioning

During fishing trips, Laurence casts his hook and waits for a fish to take the bait. He waits patiently as the fish can bite at any time. In this scenario, Laurence is on a__________.

variable-interval-schedule

In the context of reinforcement schedules, a piece worker that getspaid on a per-shirt basis is on a _________.​

variable-ratio schedule

Which of the following illustrates continuous reinforcement?

Clara gets a chocolate bar from her father every time she completes a household chore.

​_________is an application of operantconditioning that has enabled people and lower animals tolearn to control autonomicresponses to attain reinforcement.

Biofeedback training

__________psychologists define learning as the process by which organisms change the way they represent the environment because of experience.

Cognitive

_________is the viewthat learning occurs when stimuliprovide information about thelikelihood of the occurrence of otherstimuli.​

Contingency theory

__________is a schedule of reinforcement in which every correct response is reinforced.

Continuous-reinforcement

__________is the process by which stimuli lose their ability to evoke learned responses because the events that had followed the stimuli no longer occur.

Extinction

Media violence and aggressive video games decrease viewers' level of emotional arousal.

FALSE

Positive reinforcers increase the probability that a behavior will occur when the reinforcers are removed.

FALSE

__________is the acquisition of knowledge and skills by watching others rather than by means of direct experience.

Observational-learning

Describe the applications of operant conditioning with examples.

Operant conditioning is a simple form of learning in which an organism learns to engage in certain behavior because of the effects of that behavior. Applications of this include biofeedback training, shaping, behavior modification, and programmed learning. Biofeedback training enables people and lower animals to learn to control autonomic responses to attain reinforcement. For example, people use instruments to lower muscle tension, heart rates, and blood pressure. Shaping is a procedure for teaching complex behaviors that at first reinforces approximations of the target behavior. When you are teaching someone how to drive a shift, you reinforce the driver to simply shift without stalling. Behavior modification is when you reinforce children when behaving appropriately and ignoring when not. Teachers use time outs to discourage the poor behavior. Lastly, programmed learning is any complex task that can be broken down into smaller steps. This does not punish errors, but lets a child learn without making mistakes.

Which of the following is a suggestion by cognitive psychologists about the behavior of people?

People choose whether or not to imitate aggressive behaviors they observe.

​_________is defined as a simple unlearned responseto a stimulus.

Reflex

_________is a procedure for teaching complex behaviors that at first reinforces approximations of the targetbehavior.​

Shaping

In the context of reinforcement schedules, a person placing bets on a roulette table is on a variable-ratio schedule.

TRUE

In Robert Rescorla's experiment, what happened to the group of dogs to whom a shock was consistently presented after a tone?

The group of dogs learned to show a fear response at the sound of the tone.

In the context of immediate versus delayed reinforcers, which of the following statements is true?

The short-term consequences of behavior often provide greater incentive than the long-term consequences.

During a survey conducted in a primary school, it was found that most of the students feared snakes, insects, thunderstorms, and darkness. According to Arne Öhman and Susan Mineka, the students might be__________by evolutionary forces to develop these fears.

biologically-prepared

In E. c. Tolman's experiment, some rats were trained to run through mazes for standard food goals, while other rats were allowed to roam freely for 10 days in the same mazes without food goals or other rewards. Later, when food rewards were placed in a box at the far end of the maze, the previously unrewarded rats reached the food box as quickly as the rewarded rats after only one or two trials. This shows that the rats had the ability to form__________of their surroundings.

cognitive-maps

Most organizations of healthprofessionals agree that media violence_____.

contributes to aggression among people

Jeff's dog barks and growls at the sound of a stranger's car engine pulling into the driveway, yet the dog wags its tail and gets excited at the sound of Jeff's car engine. In the context of conditioning, the reaction of Jeff's dog to the sound of his car's engine is known as__________.

discrimination

Hailey is teaching her dog to roll over on its back. She starts by giving it a treat every time it performs an action close to rolling over. At first, she gives it a treat for lying on its stomach, then for lying on its back, and eventually for rolling over. This procedure used by Hailey to teach her dog to roll over on its back is known as__________.

shaping

​As a child, Peter was bitten by a big, white dog due to which he developed a fear of dogs. Over the years, his fear of dogs got gradually extinguished. Recently, on his way to work, he saw a similar big, white dog barking ferociously at a cat. Suddenly, he felt the fear of dogs again. This recurrence of Peter's fear of dogs is known as _____.

spontaneous recovery

In a variable-interval schedule, reinforcement is provided after a__________.

variable-amount-of-time-has-passed

Carl is teaching his dogs to jump through a hoop. At the onset of training, Carl gives the dogs treats for each movement toward the hoop. Then, he gives them treats as they near the hoop. Eventually he gives them treats only when they jump through the hoop. In this scenario, Carl reinforces__________of the goal.

successive-approximations

In__________, a client is gradually exposed to fear-evoking stimuli under circumstances in which he or she remains relaxed.

systematic-desensitization

In a variable-interval schedule, reinforcement is provided after a _____.​

variable amount of time has passed

Christine uses an electric can opener to open cans of dog food. Her dog starts to salivate just at the sound of the electric can opener in anticipation of the food. According to the principles of classical conditioning, the electric can opener has become an effective _____ for the dog.​

​conditioned stimulus

​In _________, a client is gradually exposed to fear-evoking stimuli under circumstances in which he or she remains relaxed.

​systematic desensitization

In the context of operant conditioning,gamblers atslot machines win on a _____.​

​variable-ratio schedule