Psych 300

Chapter 6 test Guide

1) A relatively permanent change in behavior or mental processes as a result of practice or experience is called _____.
a) training
b) knowledge
c) intuition
d) learning

2) In classical conditioning, what is paired with the UCS to produce learning?

a) CS
b) UCR
c) CR
d) Neutral Stimulus

3) In Pavlov's original classical conditioning experiments, the _____ was the neutral stimulus, the _____ was the
stimulus that would elicit a reflex, and _____ was the reflexive response.
a) meat powder; tone; salivation
b) salivation; meat powder; sounding the tone
c) tone; meat powder; salivation
d) meat powder; salivation; sounding the tone

4) Another word for “learning” is _____.

a) maturation
b) contiguity learning
c) conditioning
d) latent learning

5) All _____ stimuli and responses are inborn, such as salivating at the sight of food.
a) unconditioned
b) conditioned
c) neutral
d) learned

6) A(n) _____ is an unlearned reaction evoked by a stimulus without any learning.

a) primary reaction
b) neutral response
c) unconditioned response
d) classical response

7) Any stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response without previous conditioning is a(n) _____.
a) instinctive response
b) unconditioned stimulus
c) operant stimulus
d) rewarding stimulus

8) _____ conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a
conditioned response.
a) Reflex
b) Instinctive
c) Classical
d) Basic

9) A previously neutral stimulus that, through repeated pairings with an unconditioned stimulus, produces a conditioned
 response is now called a(n) _____.
a) conditioned stimulus
b) primary reinforcer
c) secondary reinforcer
d) classical stimulus

10) After being shocked for the last ten days when kissing your wife, you now feel mildly anxious whenever you
approach her to give her a kiss. In classical conditioning, your wife was a(n) _____ stimulus ten days ago, and has
now become a(n) _____ stimulus.
a) unconditioned; conditioned
b) unconditioned; neutral
c) neutral; unconditioned
d) neutral; conditioned

11) In classical conditioning, which is considered to be the inborn response that does not require learning?
a) CR
b) UCR
c) UCS
d) CS

12) Which of the following develops gradually during the course of conditioning?
a) UCS
b) CS
c) CR
d) UCR

13) Eli's grandma gives him a Tootsie roll every time she visits. When Eli sees his grandma arriving, his mouth begins to
water. In this example, the conditioned stimulus (CS) is ____.
a) hunger
b) grandma
c) the Tootsie roll
d) the watering mouth

14) In the cardboard box conditioning example in the text, before conditioning, the box is the ____, the pizza is the _____,
and the salivation is the ______.
a) CS; UCS; CR
b) UCS; CS; UCR
c) NS; UCS; UCR
d) CS; UCR; CR

15) A conditioned emotional response, such as Little Albert's fear, is an emotion that is _____.
a) operantly conditioned
b) evoked by a previously neutral stimulus
c) repeatedly rewarded
d) evoked by an unconditional stimulus

16) The findings of the Little Albert experiment helped make advancements in the treatment of what psychological
disorder?
a) panic disorder
b) schizophrenia
c) phobias
d) generalized anxiety disorder.

17) A Vietnam veteran experiences an intense emotional reaction to a clap of thunder. His emotional response is an
 example of a(n) _____.
a) CS
b) UCS
c) CER
d) UCR

18) Classical conditioning falls under which perspective of psychology?

a) humanism
b) cognitive
c) behavioral
d) psychodynamic

19) _____ is an exaggerated, irrational fear of an object or situation, which may sometimes be thought of as a(n) _____.
a) A nightmare; conditioned dream response
b) An anxiety attack; immature response
c) A phobia; conditioned emotional response
d) Anxiety; unconditional expressive response

20) If wartime propaganda depicts the enemy as ugly, cruel, and somewhat less than human, then this type of propaganda
would create _____ toward the enemy.
a) a negative conditioned emotional response
b) a negative social learning environment
c) positive punishment
d) unconditional negative regard

21) The phenomena in the Little Albert experiment, where Little Albert not only learned to fear the rat (the CS), but other
objects as well, such as a rabbit is an example of ___________.
a) stimulus generalization
b) extinction
c) reinforcement
d) stimulus discrimination

22) Which of the following is an example of stimulus discrimination in classical conditioning?

a) Hank thinks all elderly drivers are slow and leave their blinkers on.
b) Sung-lee believes that everyone should wear their seat belts because she was hurt in an accident when she wasn't
wearing one.
c) After an accident with a red car last month, Giorgio gets nervous when he sees a red car, but not when he sees a
red truck or van.
d) Phoung is an aggressive driver, but stops for red lights because she got a ticket for running one several months
ago.

23) Extinction _____.

a) is a gradual suppression of a learned behavior
b) occurs when a CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS
c) is a weakening of the association between the CS and the CR
d) a and b

24) If your dog was classically conditioned to wag his tail when you pick up a leash to go for a walk, what would
extinguish this behavior?
a) Take him for a walk without his leash.
b) Pick up the leash without taking him for a walk.
c) Use operant conditioning to teach him to recognize the word walk.
d) The behavior cannot be extinguished.

25) An example of _____________ would be if you had extinguished your fear of spiders for a few months and you
 suddenly gasped in horror and felt your heart pounding when you saw an itsy-bitsy spider on your desk.
a) an extreme case of arachnophobia
b) sudden reconditioning
c) total recall
d) spontaneous recovery

26) When a neutral stimulus is paired with a previously conditioned stimulus to become a conditioned stimulus as well,
this is called _____ conditioning.
a) operant
b) classical
c) higher order
d) secondary

27) If you wanted to use higher order conditioning to get little Albert to fear Barbie dolls, you would show him a Barbie
doll with _____.
a) the loud noise
b) the original unconditioned response
c) the white rat
d) the original conditioned response

28) Learning in which voluntary responses are controlled by their consequences is called _____.
a) self-efficacy
b) classical conditioning
c) operant conditioning
d) learning conditioning

29) An example of __________ would be if the conditioned stimulus is reintroduced after a period of extinction,
conditioning occurs much faster the second time.
a) reconditioning
b) classical conditioning
c) operant conditioning
d) spontaneous recovery

30) Consequences are a critical element in _____ conditioning.

a) operant
b) classical
c) cognitive
d) operant and classical

31) An event that increases the probability that a response will be repeated is called _____.
a) a positive operation
b) reinforcement
c) an operational directive
d) a discriminative stimulus

32) An event that decreases the likelihood that a response will be repeated is called _____.
a) a negative operant c) negative reinforcement
b) punishment d) a discriminative stimulus

33) Generally, classical conditioning is _____; operant conditioning is _____.

a) active; passive
b) active; voluntary
c) passive; involuntary
d) passive; active
34) According to Thorndike's law of effect, _____________.
a) the frequency of an action is decreased when followed by unpleasant consequences
b) the frequency of an action is increased when followed by pleasant consequences
c) the frequency of an action is increased when followed by unpleasant consequences
d) a and b
35) Which of the following is an example of Thorndike's law of effect?
a) A chicken keeps poking a bar with its beak even though it is repeatedly shocked immediately afterwards.
b) A teenage driver stops speeding when his father makes him start paying for his own speeding tickets.
c) A ball keeps rolling downhill because of the pull of gravity.
d) A cat keeps clawing the sofa despite being squirted with water every time it does this.

36) According to Skinner's view of operant conditioning, reinforcement and punishment must come _____ the response.
a) after
b) before
c) at the same time as
d) before, during, or after

37) For most non-human organisms most of the time, offering food after a desired response is a _____ reinforcer.
a) negative and secondary
b) positive and secondary
c) negative and primary
d) positive and primary

38) Secondary reinforcers increase the probability of a response, and _____

a) are based on prior learning of their reinforcing properties
b) are less reinforcing than primary reinforcers
c) lose their reinforcing value over time
d) are more reinforcing than primary reinforcers

39) For most people, money and praise are _____ reinforcers
a) primary
b) anticipatory
c) unnecessary
d) secondary

40) The addition of a(n) _____ stimulus results in positive reinforcement; whereas the subtraction of a(n) _____ stimulus
results in negative reinforcement.
a) desirable; painful or annoying
b) primary; secondary
c) operant; classical
d) higher order; lower order

41) When you take aspirin to remove a headache, the removal of pain is _____.
a) ineffective
b) secondary reinforcement
c) positive reinforcement
d) negative reinforcement
42) Negative reinforcement is _____ the same as punishment.
a) always
b) mostly
c) sometimes
d) never

43) Negative punishment _____ and negative reinforcement _____ the likelihood the response will continue.
 a) decreases; decreases
b) increases; decreases
c) decreases; increases
d) increases; increases

44) A program that designates the rate or interval at which a response is reinforced is called a _____.
a) schedule of reinforcement c) reinforcement timetable
b) reinforcement calendar d) none of these options

45) Continuous reinforcement occurs when _____.

a) all responses are rewarded
b) all rewards are reinforcing
c) every correct response is rewarded
d) all of responses are conditioned

46) Two-year-old Rumiko started whining at the grocery store. The best way for her parents to extinguish this behavior
is to praise her _____ when she is NOT whining at the store and leave the store _____.
a) consistently; every time she whines
b) most of the time; every other time she whines
c) some of the time; when they are done shopping
d) none of these options; they should stop taking her to the store

47) Which of the following situations is the BEST example of prejudice being operantly conditioned?
a) Spencer's mother screamed at a homeless person, which scared Spencer.
b) Vidmar had a panic attack while taking an exam.
c) Cara's friends laugh when Cara tells a homeless woman to get a job.
d) a and c
48) Partial reinforcement occurs when _____.
a) a reward is only partially reinforcing
b) rewards are alternated with punishment
c) some, but not all, correct responses are rewarded
d) some correct and some incorrect responses are rewarded

49) Continuous reinforcement is "better" when it comes to _____; partial reinforcement is "better" when it comes to
_____.
a) initial learning of a behavior; resistance to extinction
b) spontaneous recovery; initial learning of a behavior
c) resistance to extinction; spontaneous recovery
d) resistance to extinction; initial learning of a behavior

50) The best way to get your son to take out the trash without being told would be to reward your son on a _____ schedule
of reinforcement at first, then change to a _____ schedule.
a) fixed; variable
b) continuous; partial
c) ratio; interval
d) fixed; interval

51) When you put nickels in a gum-ball machine, you receive _____ reinforcement; when you put nickels in a slot
machine, you receive _____ reinforcement.
a) continuous; continuous
b) continuous; partial
c) partial; continuous
d) partial; partial

52) Slot machines use a variable ratio because _____.

 a) it causes the gambler to lose all track of time
b) it increases the gambler's resistance to quitting
c) the gambler will fear that the next player will hit the jackpot if he quits now
d) b and c

53) A professor gives a quiz once a week but he never tells students on what day the quiz will be given. This is a _____
schedule.
a) fixed ratio
b) variable ratio
c) fixed interval
d) variable interval

54) A weekly paycheck would be an example of a ____________ schedule.

a) fixed ratio
b) variable ratio
c) fixed interval
d) variable interval

55) Ellen receives a bonus only sometimes after doing a job well. However, this keeps her maintaining maximum
performance on the job. What type of schedule does this illustrate?
a) fixed ratio
b) variable ratio
c) fixed interval
d) variable interval

56) When a teacher uses a fixed interval schedule for quizzes (e.g., every Friday), this usually encourages students to
_____.
a) avoid studying until the last minute
b) decrease the likelihood of attending class on Friday
c) increase the likelihood of cheating
d) increase the likelihood of proactive behavior

57) Which schedule is most effective for maintaining behavior over the long term?
a) fixed ratio
b) variable ratio
c) fixed interval
d) variable interval

58) When someone reinforces a series of successive approximations of the desired response, they are engaged in _____ a
behavior.
a) the continuous reinforcement of
b) generalizing
c) discriminating
d) shaping

59) When your young son picks up a spoon, you clap. You laugh and applaud when he later brings the spoon toward his
mouth. When he places the spoon in his mouth you hug and kiss him all over. It is MOST likely that you _____.
a) are using a variable ration reinforcement technique
b) are reinforcing gross motor skills
c) are excited to see his ability to feed himself
d) are using shaping to teach your son to eat with spoon

60) On average, people leave ____ of their money in Nevada casinos. They keep playing, however, due to reinforcers
 being delivered on a ____ schedule.
a) 25%; variable interval
b) 30%; variable interval
c) 30%; variable ratio
d) 25%; variable ratio

61) To prevent your children from swimming in their pool when you are not home, you don't allow them to stay home
alone when you are not there. If you send them to the neighbor's house instead, you are using ____________.
a) negative punishment
b) negative reinforcement
c) positive punishment
d) positive reinforcement

62) An example of ___________ would be if a child is given time-out away from toys and videos because she had a
temper tantrum.
a) negative punishment
b) negative reinforcement
c) positive punishment
d) positive reinforcement

63) Punishment can result in _____.

a) a decrease in the target behavior
b) an increase in aggression or passive aggressiveness
c) an decrease in avoidance behavior
d) a and b

64) To be effective, punishment must be __________ and _________.

a) immediate; consistent
b) intense; immediate
c) intense; consistent
d) partial; intense

65) Which of the following is a criticism of punishment?

a) it does not lead to a decrease in behavior
b) it actually leads to an increase in behavior
c) it does not signal to the learner the appropriate behavior
d) both a and c

66) One reason that spousal, child, and elder abuse seems to escalate is that aggression used as a punishment is often
_____.
a) ignored by the abused
b) reinforcing to the abuser
c) the most effective way to keep the relationship from breaking up
d) reinforcing to the abused

67) Five-year-old Nicholas just learned the rhyme, "Step on a crack, break your mother's back." His mother won't let
him eat the candy bar his grandmother just gave him until after dinner. Nicholas waves goodbye to grandma, while
stepping on all the cracks in his driveway. This may be an example of _____.
a) delayed aggression
b) a hypoglycemic aggressive response
c) passive aggressiveness
d) an Oedipal response

68) An example of ____________ would be if you repeatedly fail in your attempts to control your environment, and were
 likely to make no further attempts to escape or make your environment better.
a) mental retardation
b) learned helplessness
c) submissive behavior
d) underachievement

69) Because Diane is unhappy, she often yells at her husband. As a result, he has joined a variety of clubs so he can stay
away from his wife. The husband's actions would be an example of ______________.
a) avoidance behavior
b) temporary suppression
c) learned helplessness
d) passive aggressiveness

70) When a parent spanks a child for hitting another child, the parent is ____ the behavior for the child, which will affect
the effectiveness of the punishment.
a) shaping
b) modeling
c) chaining
d) trialing

71) The fact that we slow down when we see a police car and then speed up again is an example of ___.
a) avoidance behavior
b) learned helplessness
c) temporary suppression
d) passive aggressiveness

72) Which theory of learning emphasizes the role of thought and social learning in behavior?
a) cognitive-social theory
b) cognitive social learning
c) cognitive-behavioral theory
d) all of these options

73) The chimpanzee in Kohler's insight experiment _____.

a) used trial-and-error to reach a banana placed just out of reach
b) turned its back on the banana out of frustration
c) sat for a while, then used a stick to bring the banana within reach
d) didn't like bananas

74) What is the hidden learning that exists without behavioral signs until there is some reason to demonstrate it?
a) subliminal learning
b) subconscious learning
c) lucid learning
d) latent learning

75) An example of ____________ would be if you have never used the emergency exits in a theater, yet you know where
they are located.
a) insight learning c) imitation
b) latent learning d) the law of effect

76) This theory says learning occurs by watching others.

a) social learning
b) social cognitive
c) observational learning
d) observational cognition
77) An example of how prejudice is acquired through __________ would be if a mother acts upset and fearful when
exposed to a particular ethnic group, it is likely that her child will learn to be upset when exposed to the same ethnic
group.
a) shaping
b) classical conditioning
c) observational learning
d) latent learning

78) When you learn something by imitating the behavior of other people, these people are _____.
a) preventing you from developing your independence
b) modeling
c) impacting your self assessment
d) positively reinforcing you

79) Bandura's observational learning studies focused on how ____.

a) rats learn cognitive maps through exploration
b) children learn aggressive behaviors by observing aggressive models
c) cats learn problem solving through trial and error
d) chimpanzees learn problem solving through reasoning

80) Which of the following is required for you to learn by observation?

a) The model must exactly match you in age, gender, and other characteristics.
b) You must organize and remember what you saw.
c) You must be able (e.g., physically or developmentally) to reproduce what you observed.
d) b and c

81) Rats raised in an enriched versus a deprived environment typically develop _____.
a) increased nerve growth factor
b) more dendritic connections
c) improved performance on learning tasks
d) more neurons

82) Mirror neurons in the brain are known to fire when ________.
a) we experience love for another person
b) we perform a movement we have watched someone else perform
c) we watch someone else perform
d) b and c

83) Deficits in how mirror neurons work may explain problems associated with ______.
a) autism c) anxiety
b) depression d) dissociative personality disorder

84) A classically conditioned negative reaction to a particular taste that has been associated with nausea or other illness is
known as _____.
a) conditioned taste response
b) taste aversion
c) negative taste response
d) taste contingency

85) An example of _________ would be if you taught coyotes to avoid sheep by pairing a nausea-inducing drug with
freshly killed sheep eaten by the coyotes.
a) applied research c) positive punishment
b) operant conditioning d) negative punishment

86) _____ is a biological constraint that occurs when an animal's conditioned responses shift back toward innate response
 patterns.
a) Biological shift
b) Instinctive drift
c) Learned aversion
d) Innate reflexive conversion

87) If a young African American girl is taken to the toy store to get a doll, she will probably choose _____.
a) a black baby doll with Caucasian features
b) a white baby doll
c) an African American baby doll
d) both an African American and white baby doll

88) What is described as an exaggerated and irrational fear of a specific object or situation.?
a) aversion
b) agoraphobia
c) phobia
d) avoidance

89) A procedure in which people's bodily functions are recorded and the information is made known to them so they can
increase voluntary control over these functions is known as _____.
a) programmed instruction
b) biofeedback
c) biological monitoring
d) the law of effect

90) Biofeedback involves which of the following?

a) positive reinforcement
b) secondary reinforcement
c) shaping
d) all of the above

91) A behavior that is repeated because it is thought to cause a desired effect, even when there is no connection between
the behavior and the effect is called _____.
a) redundant
b) ineffectual
c) supercilious
d) superstitious

92) If you always sit in the same chair in your psychology class on test-taking days because you believe that something
about this seat or location helped you get an "A" on your first test, then you are engaged in a _____ behavior.
a) self-defeating
b) superstitious
c) self-fulfilling
d) repetitious

93) Research has shown that exposure to media portrayals of demeaning and stereotypical roles for minorities and women
_____.
a) increases critical thinking about minorities and women
b) initiates and reinforces the learning of prejudice
c) increases empathy for minorities and women
d) decreases a child's own stereotypical gender-role behavior

94) What is a factor that increases the modeling effects of violent video games?
 a) Videos are interresponsive
b) Videos are engrossing to the player.
c) Video players identify with the aggressor in the game.
d) b and c

95) Research suggests that media coverage of violent behavior _____.

a) is correlated, but not causally linked with performing violent behavior
b) is correlated and causally linked to performing violent behavior
c) has nothing to do with performing violent behavior
d) is only a problem for people with a genetic predisposition for performing violent behavior