Copy of Social, Cognitive and Biological Learning Review 2023

In high school, it did not seem to make a difference how much Clive studied Spanish; he always earned poor grades. Now that Clive is in college, he is required to take Spanish again. According to the concept of learned helplessness, which of the following statements can be most expected from Clive as he starts the new Spanish class?

"Why study? There isn't anything I can do to improve my Spanish skills."

Studies of learning have shown that animals develop an aversion for tastes associated with

sickness

Which of the following would a social learning theorist be most likely to propose as a cause for a fear of flying?

A person observed someone else's fear of flying.

Andi's best friend always screamed when she was in high places, and now Andi also screams when she is in high places. Which of the following theorists would say that Andi screams because she saw her friend scream?

Albert Bandura

The idea that the explanation for prejudice lies in children's modeling of their parents' prejudicial beliefs, emotions, and behaviors is most closely aligned with the theories of which of the following?

Albert Bandura

Xander can no longer stomach the taste of sushi after he vomited from eating a spoiled serving of it. However, the appearance of sushi does not make him sick. Which of the following best accounts for why Xander becomes sick upon tasting sushi but not seeing sushi?

Biological predisposition, because this example illustrates taste aversion.

Although people can acquire phobias to almost any object or situation, certain phobias (e.g., those to snakes, spiders, heights) are much more common than others. This finding can best be explained by which of the following concepts?

Biological preparedness

In what important way does research on taste aversion conducted by John Garcia and Robert Koelling demonstrate how biology can strongly influence classical conditioning?

By showing that some associations between unconditioned and conditioned stimuli are more easily learned than others

Which of the following statements best describes the role of biological processes in classical conditioning?

Certain species are biologically predisposed to learn particular associations that enhance their survival.

Which of the following is the best example of a learning predisposition?

It is easier to condition a person to be fearful of rats than of cars.

Which of the following is the best example of the learning principle of reinforcement?

James drank coffee before he took and passed a difficult test with a high grade, so now he drinks coffee before every test he takes because he believes doing so will help him score well on the tests.

Jasmine is worried about an upcoming exam. Which scenario best illustrates emotion-focused coping?

Jasmine reaches out to her friends for comfort to reduce her stress.

Which scenario below best depicts insight learning?

Laramie suddenly realized that he could put some of his groceries in a cabinet after repeatedly failing to fit them into a pantry.

In a study, rats were randomly assigned to two groups, group A or group B. Group A received no food reward for completing a maze initially, but was allowed to explore the maze. Group B was given food rewards for completing the maze during the exploration phase. Later, when given food rewards for completing the maze, the rats from group A completed the maze as quickly as the rats from group B. Which of the following terms best explains the performance of the rats in group A?

Latent learning

Kelly, a first-year student at a local university, is surprised at how easily she can locate the building and classroom for each of her classes on the first day of school. Kelly attributes her success to the campus tour she took the previous spring. Which of the following concepts best supports Kelly's belief?

Latent learning

Which of the following most clearly demonstrates social learning theory?

Mavis learns a line dance by watching her friends perform it.

Romina was at the park with her daughter and noticed several of the other mothers successfully redirecting their children's attention away from an ice-cream truck. Romina's daughter, who noticed the ice-cream truck, threw a tantrum when she did not get to buy some ice cream. The next time she took her daughter to the park, Romina made sure to notice the truck before her daughter did and redirected her behavior using the same techniques the other mothers used.

Modeling

Which of the following sets of concepts is central to social learning theory?

Observation, imitation, and modeling

Which of the following kinds of learning is involved when a person displays a new behavior after watching someone else perform it?

Observational learning

Which of the following provides an effective explanation for the data above?

Observational learning

Being able to perform a complex action after watching another person perform it is an example of which of the following types of learning?

Social

The terms "modeling" and "imitation" are most closely associated with which of the following?

Social learning theory

A mental image of a spatial layout is called

a cognitive map

When the fire alarm sounded in the middle of the night, Ada woke up and made her way from her bedroom, down the stairs, and out the front door in the dark. Ada's ability to navigate her way through the dark house is an example of using

a cognitive map

A technique that enables a person to control physiological responses that are normally involuntary, such as level of blood pressure, is known as

biofeedback

It is easier to condition individuals to be afraid of snakes than of electrical outlets because of a phenomenon called

biological preparedness

In Ivan Pavlov's experiments in classical conditioning, the dog's salivation was

both an unconditioned and a conditioned response

Edward L. Thorndike argued that responses that lead to satisfying outcomes are more likely to be repeated, and that responses followed by unpleasant outcomes are less likely to be repeated. This became known as the law of

effect

B. F. Skinner's claim that the environment determines an individual's behavior was criticized for

failing to acknowledge cognitive influences on behavior

Andrene is having difficulties with her roommate. A problem-focused coping strategy for Andrene would be

going directly to her roommate to see if they can work things out

Brian was having difficulty solving a riddle, but after sleeping, he suddenly understood the answer. Brian's newfound knowledge was probably the result of

insight

Dylan has difficulty solving a physics problem in class. The next day, he suddenly thinks of a solution to the problem as he is watching a friend play the guitar. The thought process that Dylan experienced is an example of

insight learning

In a classic study, a group of rats learned to run through a maze to obtain food, and another group of rats explored the maze without receiving food. Some time later, the researcher compared the two groups of rats to determine if both groups would find the food at the end of the maze. According to the researcher, the untrained rats found the food at the end of the maze as quickly as the trained rats as a result of

latent learning

In the first part of an experiment, one group of rats received reinforcement after correctly navigating a maze. A second group received no reinforcement after wandering around the maze. In the next part, both groups received reinforcement after navigating the maze. Despite not receiving reinforcement at the beginning of the experiment, the second group performed as well as the first. The learning that occurred in the second group in the absence of reinforcement is called

latent learning

Learning that is not demonstrated at the time it occurs is called

latent learning

When Mary was young, her father was trying to learn how to speak German and would listen to German tapes for hours in her presence. Mary paid very little attention to the tapes. Many years later, when Mary was in Germany, she was able to say a few German words in order to make herself understood. This is an example of

latent learning

In a two-phase study, participants were randomly assigned to either group A or group B. All participants were subjected to a series of irritating air puffs directed at the face. In the first phase of the study, participants in group A pressed a button that stopped the air puffs. Participants in group B pressed a button that had no effect on the air puffs. In the second phase of the study, both groups had buttons that, if pressed, would stop the air puffs.

learned helplessness

Individuals who believe that an unpleasant experience is unavoidable and therefore do nothing to change the course of events are exhibiting

learned helplessness

A particular group of brain cells seems to provide a basis for observational learning. Researchers call these specialized cells

mirror neurons

Learned helplessness is most likely to result when

responses have no effect on the environment

Carlos wants to lose weight but is having a hard time motivating himself to go to the gym after work because he enjoys watching movies after work instead. To increase his likelihood of going to the gym, Carlos should

reward himself immediately after going to the gym

Jeff always tells his children not to use bad language when something does not go the way they want. Unfortunately, Jeff uses bad language occasionally and his children have observed him do so. Now Jeff's children use bad language. This can be explained by

social learning theory