Chapter 6: Learning

When 4-year-old Saffi suddenly picks up her ironing board and plays it like it is an electric guitar, she likely has seen someone playing a real electric guitar in the same manner. Thus, she has learned via

observation.

Pauline is learning how to play badminton. For her first lesson, her instructor models serving the birdie while Pauline patiently watches. Pauline then tries to imitate the sequence of swings and motions made by her instructor. This is an example of _____ learning.

observational

What type of behavior occurs as an automatic response to a stimulus?

respondent

Classical conditioning focuses on _____ behavior, whereas operant conditioning focuses on _____ behavior.

respondent; operant

The process of learning and imitating behavior is called:

modeling

Research discussed in the textbook suggests that it takes just over _____ days for a behavior to become a habit.

60

_____ is learning that certain events occur together.

Associative learning

Which statement BEST captures the basic idea of operant conditioning rather than classical conditioning?

Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences.

Which statement is MOST accurate with respect to the influence of behaviorism in psychology?

Behaviorism was most influential in the first half of the twentieth century.

According to operant conditioning principles, which action would NOT be recommended when dealing with a young girl who is resistant to going to school every morning?

Her parents should express their anger by yelling at the girl.

To determine if watching television violence and playing violent video games cause children to act more aggressively, which research study would you conduct?

Randomly assign some children to play violent video games and some children to play educational games and then measure aggressive behaviors.

Although B. F. Skinner and other behaviorists did not think it was necessary to refer to thoughts or expectations when explaining human learning, findings from experiments with rats suggest otherwise. Which finding suggests that cognitive processes are involved in operant learning?

Rats appear to experience latent learning while exploring mazes.

_____ is the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.

Spontaneous recovery

Skinner's work built on the law of effect, a principle identified and named by:

Thorndike.

Beginning is to end as _____ is to _____.

acquisition; extinction

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.

Five-year-old Arianna is frightened by the noise thunder makes. Arianna associates lightning with thunder because lightning always precedes thunder. Thus, when Arianna sees lightning, she often cries in anticipation that she will hear thunder soon afterward. This is an example of _____ conditioning.

classical

Taste aversion is a real-life example of which type of learning?

classical conditioning

The acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events or watching others or through language is called:

cognitive learning.

A mental representation of the layout of one's environment is called a(n) _____.

cognitive map

Children who are promised a payoff for playing with an interesting toy have later been observed to play with the toy less than those who are not promised the reward. These findings provide support for the role of _____ in operant behavior.

cognitive processes

Dr. Jones is known for his difficult pop quizzes. Immediately before he springs a pop quiz on his students, he typically goes to the classroom door and closes it, and his students begin to feel anxious and tense. Students soon learn to anticipate a pop quiz and feel anxious whenever Dr. Jones closes the classroom door. Closing the door has become a(n) _____ stimulus.

conditioned

In a replication of Bandura et al.'s Bobo doll study, children observe an adult model behave aggressively toward a doll. The children then observe another adult tell the model, "Good job!" The model received _____ reinforcement for behaving aggressively.

conditioned

A word of praise is to a delicious meal as a(n) _____ is to _____.

conditioned reinforcer; primary reinforcer

Lachlan loves cats! He feeds his cats canned cat food. Initially, his cats get excited about the canned cat food but over time have begun to show excitement when Lachlan uses the can opener. In this example, the excitement to the can opener is the:

conditioned response.

Ever since she foolishly drank too much tequila at a rock concert and vomited all over her best friend, Erin becomes nauseous at the smell or taste of tequila. In the terminology of classical conditioning, the smell of tequila is now a(n) _____.

conditioned stimulus

Pam uses crack cocaine. Her dealer drives a black Buick. Pam's heart starts pounding and she feels "keyed up" when she sees a black Buick pull alongside the curb in front of her house. In this scenario, the unconditioned stimulus is MOST likely:

crack cocaine.

A scientist conditions a dog to salivate in response to the sound of a high-pitched tone. The researcher then presents a low-pitched tone. The dog fails to salivate. The dog is demonstrating:

discrimination.

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.

Researchers are conducting a research study with 24 men on the relationship between movies and violent behavior. They will have the men watch three violent films over the next two days and then assess their attitudes toward violent behavior by reading actual cases of violent crime. It can be expected that the researchers find that the men:

expressed less sympathy for the victims of violent crime.

In operant conditioning, which reinforcement schedule reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed?

fixed-interval

Marissa knows that a package shipping company usually delivers overnighted packages to her business at about 9:45 a.m. Expecting an important package and watching for the delivery truck, Marissa glances out her window more frequently as 9:45 approaches. Marissa's glancing is reinforced on a _____ schedule.

fixed-interval

A year after having her home burglarized while out shopping at the mall, Maggie still responds negatively to shopping bags and the mention of malls. This reaction BEST illustrates:

generalization.

John just started his vacation from work and scheduled a tee time with friends to play golf Monday morning. On Monday morning, he started driving his car to work instead of the golf course. Driving his car to work instead of the golf course is an example of:

habitual behavior.

In the United States and Canada, _____ rates doubled between 1957 and 1974, coinciding with the introduction and spread of television.

homicide

Any event or object that evokes a response is called a(n) _____.

stimulus

Classical and operant conditioning are similar in many ways. Which process does NOT apply to both types of learning?

involuntary responses to stimuli

Watson and Pavlov agreed that:

laws of learning are the same for all animals.

If a child is watching a favorite sibling being scolded for misbehavior, a type of brain cell called a(n) _____ is likely to be activated in an empathetic response to this observation.

mirror neuron

As compared with the time they spend in school, children in developed nations spend _____ time watching television.

more

Michael is busy with a work project that he brought home. His son wants him to put a movie in the DVD player. Michael tells him to wait 10 minutes; however, his son whines and complains so much that Michael decides to put the movie in right now. This BEST illustrates the value of _____ reinforcement.

negative

Theo regularly buckles his seatbelt simply because it turns off the car's irritating warning buzzer. This BEST illustrates the value of _____ reinforcement.

negative

Mike regularly buckles his seatbelt simply because it turns off the car's irritating warning buzzer. This BEST illustrates the value of:

negative reinforcement.

John B. Watson believed that psychology should be the science of:

observable behavior.

Studies show that a significant number of children who are victims of child abuse become child abusers themselves. This unfortunate incidence is learned through _____, and the _____ in the brain supports this type of observational learning.

observational learning; mirror neurons

What type of behavior produces consequences?

operant

This research device developed by B. F. Skinner contains a bar that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer. The bar is attached to a recording device. This device is known as a(n):

operant chamber.

Sandy has been working nights and weekends to complete a project for her boss. Sandy is successful, and a couple of weeks later her boss presents her with a bonus check. This BEST illustrates the value of _____ reinforcement.

positive

Which example could serve as evidence that animals are predisposed to learn associations that help them adapt and survive in their environment?

rats appearing biologically primed to develop aversions to the taste of tainted food because they taste small portions of a novel food first before eating it again

Findings from John Garcia's research on taste aversion in rats indicate that:

rats are more likely to develop aversions to taste than they are to sights or sounds

In teaching her son to play basketball, Mrs. Williams initially reinforces him with praise for simply dribbling while standing still, then only for walking while dribbling, and finally only for running while dribbling. She is using a procedure known as _____.

shaping

A guest will be spending time in Mrs. Gui's classroom. To make sure the students imitate this person's prosocial behaviors, Mrs. Gui should pick a guest who the children think is:

similar to them.

Hernando had cancer as a child and had to undergo numerous bouts of chemotherapy, where he eventually associated the waiting room with nausea. He did not experience nausea outside of the waiting room. Now 35 years old, he had to take his mother to the same hospital for breast cancer treatment, and he became nauseous while in the waiting room with his mother. His nausea BEST illustrates:

spontaneous recovery.

One of Ivan Pavlov's major contributions to the field of psychology was to show how:

the discipline of psychology could be based on objective laboratory methods.

Most learning involves the process of associations. In classical conditioning, an organism learns to associate:

two stimuli.

Conditioning seldom occurs when a(n) _____ repeatedly comes before a(n) _____.

unconditioned stimulus (US); neutral stimulus (NS)

Won loves cats! She feeds her cats canned cat food. Initially, her cats get excited about the canned cat food but over time have begun to show excitement when Won uses the can opener. In this example, the canned cat food is the:

unconditioned stimulus.

Jack finds it extremely difficult to pull himself away from the blackjack table. He keeps thinking he will break even, because the next hand will be his winning one. This is an example of the effects of a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

variable-ratio

Several years ago Kishara became violently ill after eating scallops in a restaurant. Ever since then the mere smell of cooked shellfish makes Kishara nauseous. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is:

the smell of cooked shellfish.

Tori's goal is to raise children who enjoy playing musical instruments. Given what is known about observational learning, which action would one recommend to her?

Tori should do all of these things to foster musical enjoyment in her children