PSY Exam 2 Learning Curve Questions

After some practice, Lori was able to read books while holding them upside down. This BEST illustrates _____

perceptual adaptation

In the MOST common form of colorblindness:

red and green cannot be distinguished.

Drivers sometimes overestimate the distance between their own vehicles and pedestrians who are short, because they rely on the distance cue known as:

relative size

Watson and Rayner taught Little Albert to fear white rats by:

repeatedly pairing a loud noise with the presentation of a white rat

Mia is attracted to a man she is chatting with in a nightclub. What is probably happening to her eyes?

Her pupils are dilating

You wake up early in the morning and your room is fairly dark. You look over and see your shirt hanging on a hook. You know it's your red shirt because you hung it up there before you went to bed, but in the dark you can't see its color. It looks dark gray to you. Why is that?

In the dim light, the cones in your eyes are ineffectual

Because we are human, language allows us to learn things we have neither experienced nor observed. This type of learning is called:

cognitive learning

Which statement is NOT a possible consequence of using physical punishment to change children's behavior?

Punished behavior changes behavior in all situations and the change is long lasting.

Carl takes his 1-year-old son Reynold out for a walk. Reynold reaches over to touch a red flower and is stung by a bumblebee sitting on the petals. The next day, Reynold's mother brings home some red flowers. She removes a flower from the arrangement and takes it over for her baby to smell. Reynold cries loudly as soon as he sees it. According to the principles of classical conditioning, what is the conditioned response in this example?

Reynold crying

Which psychologist proposed a cognitive explanation of classical conditioning?

Robert Rescorla

What happens during accommodation?

The lens changes its curvature to focus an image

With respect to the trichromatic and opponent-process theories of color perception, which statement is MOST accurate?

Trichromatic theory describes color processing early in the visual system; opponent-process theory describes color processing later on in the visual system

A person can detect a single drop of perfume diffused in an area the size of a one-bedroom apartment. This is a(n) _____ threshold

absolute

The minute Mark walks into his mother-in-law's house to visit, he is struck by the strong smell of his mother-in-law's perfume. However, after about 10 minutes, Mark no longer notices the smell. This is probably the result of sensory _____

adaptation

Visual information is processed by ganglion cells _____ it is processed by rods and cones and _____ it is processed by bipolar cells

after; after

Ten-year-old Maggie continually interrupts her teacher with jokes that make her fellow students laugh. The attention from the other students is an example of:

an extrinsic reward

Ted is a mildly autistic adult who has difficulty empathizing with the feelings of others and inferring what emotions another person might be experiencing. Some theorists would speculate that this is because Ted has:

an impaired mirror neuron system

Which example demonstrates that learning has occurred?

avoiding speeding in an area where you received a ticket previously

Fabian ordered chicken from a national chicken chain restaurant and became very ill immediately after eating it. Years later, Fabian still feels queasy when he sees an advertisement for the chicken chain or drives by one of its establishments. In this example, the unconditioned stimulus is the:

bacteria that caused the illness

starts at the very basic level of sensory receptors and works toward more complex levels of processing

bottom- up

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

classical conditioning

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

In classical conditioning, the learned reaction to a previously neutral stimulus is called the:

conditioned response

Dr. Garcia 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. Garcia closes the classroom door. Closing the door has become a(n):

conditioned stimulus

Pavlov noticed that dogs began salivating at the mere sight of the person who regularly brought food to them. For the dogs, the sight of this person had become a(n):

conditioned stimulus

the process of learning associations

conditioning

Sean just discovered that his roommate's girlfriend broke up with him. Later on, Sean sees his roommate studying in the library and assumes that he looks depressed. This assumption is an example of perception being influenced by what?

context effect

Kittens, monkeys, and humans who experience sensory deprivation early in life end up with permanent damage to their visual functioning. This finding suggests that there is a _____ for normal sensory and perceptual development

critical period

According to the textbook, desirable objects are perceived as closer than neutral objects. In an experiment examining this phenomenon, the perceived distance of the objects is a(n) _____ variable in this study

dependent

In an experiment described in the textbook, bar patrons preferred the taste of vinegar-laced beer in a glass labeled "MIT brew" to the taste of identical beer served in an unlabeled glass. Taste preference is a(n) _____ variable in this study

dependent

In continuous reinforcement, an organism is reinforced _____; whereas in partial or intermittent reinforcement, an organism is reinforced _____

every time the desired behavior occurs; sporadically when the desired behavior occurs

DeMarcus drinks several cups of coffee a day. Often, DeMarcus experiences an almost immediate sense of alertness when he smells a fresh cup of coffee, even though it takes about 20 minutes for the caffeine in the coffee to reach significant levels in the bloodstream. He decides, with the encouragement of his physician, to quit drinking coffee. At first, he still experiences the alertness when he smells freshly brewed coffee, but after about 10 days he no longer experiences the effect. That DeMarcus no longer experiences the alertness effect exemplifies:

extinction

Secondary reinforcers are powerful tools for shaping behavior because they have become associated with primary reinforcers. Which reward is NOT a secondary reinforcer?

food

Pat turns to look directly at a brightly colored bird her friend has spotted in the garden. Pat is ensuring that the bird's image falls directly on her:

fovea

Laurie and her lab partner conditioned a rat to press a lever for food when a red light was on, but discovered that the rat would also press the lever when a white light was on. Laurie and her partner reported that the rat had exhibited _____ through _____ conditioning.

generalization; operant

The color afterimage effect can be explained by the color-opponent system, in that _____ cells are inhibited by _____ cells

green; red

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

Denise wears an extremely bright safety yellow sweatshirt when she cycles to the gym after dark. The sweatshirt's brightness reflects the _____ of the light it reflects.

high amplitude

An experimenter visits a preschool with a big box of markers and paper. The children are told that they can draw as many pictures as they want. The children enjoy the task very much. On another visit, the children are told that for every picture they draw they will earn a prize. Two weeks later when the experimenter returns, he offers the markers and paper for drawing but says that no prizes will be given. The children draw very little with the markers because extrinsic rewards can undermine _____ motivation.

intrinsic

If a parent wants to increase the amount of enjoyment and time a child reads books as opposed to playing video games, the parent will need to increase the _____ for reading.

intrinsic motivation

Marcus is taking advanced placement chemistry in high school because he loves science and is fascinated by chemistry experimentation. Wade is taking advanced placement chemistry because his guidance counselor told him he had to if he intended to apply to a pre-med program at a competitive university. Marcus is motivated by _____, while Wade is motivated by _____.

intrinsic motivation; extrinsic motivation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is considering a new identification method. Instead of using old-fashioned fingerprints, they have decided to scan the eye's _____ to confirm people's identity

iris

Learning that is NOT immediately demonstrated in overt behavior is called:

latent learning

You read about an accident at a railroad crossing and wonder about the cause. Perhaps the car's driver overestimated the distance of the train because the parallel tracks stimulated the monocular depth cue of _____

linear perspective

Joey watches his older brother twirl his pasta around his fork using a spoon. Joey then attempts to twirl his pasta in the same way. Joey's older brother served as a _____ for Joey.

model

The process of learning and imitating behavior is called:

modeling

Relative height, motion, size, and linear perspective are examples of _____ cues to depth perception

monocular

Eleanor suffered severe stroke damage near the rear of both sides of her brain. Based on the case study of "Mrs. M." described in the textbook, the stroke is MOST likely to impair Eleanor's ability to perceive what?

motion

It is well known that the great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans) have a culture in their living groups, as they pass on skills to one another across generations. This is done through:

observational learning

Jill is learning how to play tennis. For her first lesson, her instructor models serving and backhand returns while Jill patiently watches. Jill then tries to imitate the sequence of swings and motions made by her instructor. Which concept BEST describes how Jill is learning to play tennis?

observational learning

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 support this type of observational learning

observational learning; mirror neurons

_____ conditioning is a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

operant

In classical conditioning, _____; whereas in operant conditioning, _____

organisms learn associations between events they don't control; organisms learn associations between their behavior and resulting events

Between 1983 and 1987 thousands of people in New York saw a UFO in the sky. It was estimated to be between 200 and 1000 feet long and had multicolored blinking lights. The UFO sighting turned out to be a hoax. Rather than an actual UFO sighting, what viewers actually saw was a group of small planes with multicolored lights attached. The pilots would fly in formation that gave the impression of a UFO. They were even able to make it appear as though the UFO disappeared by turning off their lights simultaneously. The interpretation of the sighting was influenced by the viewers' what?

perceptual set

Racial and ethnic stereotypes can sometimes bias the way one sees others' behaviors. This BEST illustrates the impact of what

perceptual set

indicate how experiences help to construct perception

perceptual set and context

Anna is reading her psychology textbook. The activation of receptors in her retina is called _____. Her interpretation of the stimuli as particular words is called _____

sensation; perception

Carlos was just touched on his cheek, which is a(n) _____. In order for Carlos to know if he was kissed or slapped, Carlos needs a(n) _____

sensation; perception

diminished sensitivity as a result of repeated stimulation

sensory adaption

Dennis, a nurse, notes that some parents of asthmatic children respond to very small changes in their children's breathing and seek care accordingly. However, other parents do not notice the same small changes. This type of difference in reaction to stimuli is BEST explained by what?

signal detection theory

Studying the impact of boredom and fatigue on people's absolute thresholds would involve research based on what?

signal detection theory

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

similar to them

occurs below your absolute threshold for conscious awareness

subliminal stimulation

Jess was in a serious car accident and is having trouble recognizing familiar faces. She MOST likely suffered damage to her _____ lobe, just behind her right ear

temporal

A researcher subliminally presents a visual image to study participants, which increases the likelihood that they will later recognize the same briefly presented image. This BEST illustrates what?

that information can be processed outside of conscious awareness

Tanisha asked her roommate to lower the radio as she was trying to study. Her roommate had turned the radio up originally from a volume level of 14 to 15, which was just enough for Tanisha to detect. She turned it back down to 14 after Tanisha asked her to lower it, which satisfied Tanisha. This is probably the result of what?

the difference threshold

If people stare at an object, why doesn't it disappear?

their nerve cells are constantly firing

Wanda is a mildly autistic adult who has difficulty empathizing with the feelings of others and inferring what emotions another person might be experiencing. The ability in which Wanda seems to have reduced function is called:

theory of mind

Perceptions can be influenced _____ by expectations, the context, emotions, and motivation

top- down

Giulio's bag of marbles is twice as heavy as Jim's bag. If it takes 5 extra marbles to make Jim's bag feel heavier, it will take 10 extra marbles to make Giulio's bag feel heavier. This BEST illustrates what?

weber's law

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage, rather than a constant amount

weber's law

The size of the difference threshold is greater for heavier objects than for lighter ones. This BEST illustrates what

weber's law

Psychologist George Stratton conducted a famous experiment on perceptual adaptation in which he:

wore a pair of glasses that inverted his vision for eight days

Irene is having trouble convincing her husband that spanking isn't necessarily the best way to control their child's behavior. Which argument should she use to support her position?

When spanked, children do not forget the punished behavior. They simply suppress it, and are not taught what behavior to exhibit in its place.

A snack manufacturer finds that it must increase the salt content of its chips by 8 percent in order for a sample of consumers to notice that the chips are saltier than they were before. This example BEST illustrates the concept of a(n) _____ threshold

difference

When Sanjay recognizes line segments and areas of light and dark as his friend's face at an airport gate, he is demonstrating what?

perception

In terms of vision, _____ is the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field

perceptual adaptation

The way in which you quickly group the individual letters in this test item into separate words BEST illustrates the Gestalt principle of _____

proximity

Lily is riding her bicycle and, after the fortieth mile, she has one last hill to climb. As compared with the other hills she has climbed on her ride, Lily is likely to perceive this last hill as

higher

You have been working nights and weekends to get a project completed at work. You are successful, and a couple of weeks later you come into work and your boss presents you with a bonus check. This BEST illustrates the value of _____ reinforcement

positive

B. F. Skinner believe that _____ was the BEST way to shape desirable behavior

positive reinforcement

In classical conditioning, we learn _____; whereas in operant conditioning, we learn _____

to associate two stimuli and thus to anticipate events; to associate a response and its consequence