Chapter 7: Learning

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of negative punishment?

A) You scold your dog for chewing up a plant.

B) You get grounded for a week for leaving the car windows open in the rain.

C) You take out the garbage so your brother will stop nagging at you.

D) You do your homework so your parents will give you the $5 they promised.

Answer 1

B) You get grounded for a week for leaving the car windows open in the rain

Question 2

Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a(n) ________ stimulus comes to elicit a response after being paired with a(n) ________ stimulus that would elicit the same response naturally.

A) unconditioned; conditioned

B) neutral; unconditioned

C) unconditioned; neutral

D) conditioned; neutral

Answer 2

B) neutral; unconditioned

Question 3

Marco shoveled his neighbour’s walk because he knew she was ill. She thanked him effusively and praised him to the other neighbours, telling them all what a good person Marco was. Consequently, the next time it snowed, Marco went over to shovel his neighbour’s walk again. In this example, the praise and compliments Marco received served as a

A) positive reinforcer.

B) negative reinforcer.

C) conditioned stimulus.

D) conditioned response.

Answer 3

A) positive reinforcer

Question 4

In a process known as systematic desensitization phobic individuals

A) are gradually exposed to the feared object or situation.

B) are taught avoidance techniques to reduce anxiety.

C) slowly generalize the feared object to include non-feared objects.

D) directly face the most feared object.

Answer 4

A) are gradually exposed to the feared object of situation

Question 5

If a capuchin sees another monkey get a more desirable reward for the same task the monkey will react by refusing to carry out the same task unless an identical reward is offered. This is evidence of

A) classical conditioning.

B) vicarious learning.

C) operant conditioning.

D) modeling.

Answer 5

B) vicarious learning

Question 6

Ms. Meade gives the children in her grade one class a sticker if she goes by their desks and they are in their seats focused on their work. The children can trade these stickers for extra outside time or play corner time and so on. Ms. Meade is using

A) shaping.

B) behaviour modification.

C) continuous reinforcement.

D) learned helplessness.

Answer 6

B) behaviour modification

Question 7

Amir has an exaggerated, irrational fear of needles. This fear is called a ________. It is associated with increased brain activity in the ________.

A) neurosis; amygdala

B) neurosis; hypothalamus

C) phobia; amygdala

D) phobia; hypothalamus

Answer 7

C) phobia; amygdala

Question 8

On average, people leave 25% of their money in Nevada casinos. They keep playing, however, due to reinforcement being delivered on a ________ schedule.

A) variable ratio

B) fixed ratio

C) fixed interval

D) variable interval

Answer 8

A) variable ratio

Question 9

Tanner has ________. He has difficulty counting numbers accurately, recalling math symbols, doing word problems, or understanding graphs.

A) dysgraphia

B) a reading disorder

C) dyscalculia

D) a writing disorder

Answer 9

C) dyscalculia

Question 10

Pay cheques and grades are delivered on a ________ schedule of reinforcement.

A) variable-interval

B) fixed-ratio

C) fixed-interval

D) variable-ratio

Answer 10

C) fixed-interval

Question 11

What is learning?

Answer 11

Learning: Lasting change as a result of practice, study, or
experience. It has to be inferred from behaviour.

Question 12

Two types of learning

Answer 12

• Non-associative learning - learning that does not involve forming
  associations between stimuli; it is change resulting from
  experiences with a single sensory cue
• Associative learning – a change as a result of experience where two
  or more stimuli become linked

Question 13

Non-Associative Learning

Answer 13

• Habituation - weakening of response to a stimulus after repeated
  presentation
• Dishabituation - a form of non-associative learning whereby there is a
  recovery of attention to a novel stimulus following habituation
• Sensitization - a strong stimulus results in an exaggerated response to
  the subsequent presentation of weaker stimuli

Question 14

Associative Learning:

Answer 14

Associative learning - connections are formed
more stimuli

• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
  between two or

Question 15

Classical Conditioning

Answer 15

• Unconditioned stimulus (US) - a stimulus that on its own elicits a
  response (i.e., food)
• Unconditioned response (UR) - a physical response elicited by an
  unconditioned stimulus; it does not need to be learned (i.e.,
  salivation)

Question 16

Ivan Pavlov’s Dog

Answer 16

Pavlov’s experiment for collecting and measuring salivation in dogs The
hungry dog is placed in a harness and given a bowl of meat powder. A tube
from the salivary gland collects the saliva, which is measured and
recorded.

Question 17

Stimuli and Response in Classical Conditioning

Answer 17

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): a stimulus that elicits a response from an
  organism naturally (i.e., without conditioning)
  – Example: meat powder presented to a dog
• Unconditioned response (UCR): an unlearned response to an unconditioned
  stimulus
  – Example: salivation in response to meat powder
• Orienting reflex: an unlearned response in which an organism attends to a
  stimulus
  – Example: dog looking in the direction of bell/light (CS)

Question 18

Major Conditioning Processes:

Answer 18

• Acquisition - the initial learning of the stimulus-response
  relationship; the most rapid acquisition followed by the
  strongest response is a half a minute delay between CS and
  US
• Extinction - reduction of a conditioned response after
  repeated presentations of the conditioned stimulus alone
• Spontaneous recovery - re-emergence of a conditioned
  response some time after extinction has occurred

Question 19

Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery

Answer 19

E.g., Child learns to associate sound of car entering driveway with Parents
coming home
* Extinction: the process by which conditioned stimuli lose the ability to elicit
conditioned responses
*The conditioned stimuli are no longer associated with unconditioned stimuli.
e.g., sound of car (CS) entering driveway
Child no longer happy as has seemingly forgotten association of CS with UCS
*Actually, Extinction inhibits the response;
* The CR response available under right conditions

• Spontaneous recovery: the recurrence of an extinguished response as
  a function of the passage of time
• Spontaneous recovery helps organisms adapt to situations that
  recur from time to time.
  e.g., After long period, of time child hears sound of car (CS),would
  associate
  with sounds of parent’s homecoming and is happy
• Something had changed when no car entered the driveway for so
  long.
• Spontaneous recovery helps organisms adapt to situations that
  recur time to time.

Question 20

Generalization and Discrimination

Answer 20

• Generalization: the tendency for the conditioned response to be
  evoked by stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus
• Example: If you are bitten by a dog, you may fear all dogs.
• Discrimination: the tendency for the conditioned response to be
  evoked by only the conditioned stimulus and not by similar stimuli
• Example: If you are bitten by a Rottweiler, you may fear Rottweilers
  but not poodles.

Question 21

Major Conditioning Processes

Answer 21

• Stimulus discrimination - an organism learns to emit a specific
  behaviour in the presence of a stimulus, but not in the presence
  of stimuli similar to the original stimulus
• Higher-order conditioning - occurs when a previously
  conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an unconditioned
  stimulus for further conditioning

Question 22

Phobia

Answer 22

persistent, irrational or obsessive fear of a specific object
or situation that may arise as a result of fear conditioning

Question 23

Systematic desensitization

Answer 23

a process used to condition extinction
of phobias through gradual exposure to the feared object or
situation

Question 24

Classical Conditioning and Taste Aversion

Answer 24

Conditioned taste aversion - a form of classical conditioning
where a previously neutral stimulus (often an odour or taste)
elicits an aversive reaction after it’s paired with illness (nausea)

Question 25

Operant Conditioning and behaviourism

Answer 25

• Behaviourism - the systematic study and manipulation
  of observable behavior
  o Founded by B.F. Skinner
• Organisms don’t simply respond to the environment, but rather they
  exert influence (or “operate”) on it.
• Behaviours that are followed by favourable consequences will likely
  be repeated.

Question 26

Operant Conditioning

Answer 26

Operant conditioning - a form of associative learning where
behaviour is modified depending on its consequences

Question 27

Law of effect

Answer 27

behaviours leading to rewards are more likely to occur
again, while behaviours producing unpleasantness are less likely to
occur again

Question 28

B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning

Answer 28

• Used reinforcement (reward) to train pigeons to peck at targets during WWII
• Reinforce: to follow a response with a stimulus that increases the frequency of
  the response
• Operant conditioning: a simple form of learning in which an organism learns to
  engage in certain behaviour because it is reinforced
• In operant conditioning, voluntary responses are acquired, or conditioned.

Question 29

Types of Reinforcers

Answer 29

• A reinforcer is any stimulus that increases the probability that responses
  preceding it will be repeated.
• Any stimulus that increases the frequency of a behaviour

Question 30

Types of Reinforcers

Answer 30

• A positive reinforcer is a reinforcer that when presented increases the frequency
  of an operant behaviour preceding it.
• A negative reinforcer is a reinforcer that when removed increases the frequency
  of an operant behaviour preceding it. It strengthens the likelihood of a
  particular response, but by removing an undesirable consequence.

Question 31

Punishment

Answer 31

• Punishment: an aversive event or unpleasant stimulus that suppresses or
  decreases the frequency of the behaviour it follows
• Positive punishment: a type of punishment that involves the presentation of
  an unpleasant stimulus.
  e.g., Student is texting in class, gets detention, decreases texting behavior
• Negative punishment: a type of punishment that involves the removal of a
  pleasant stimulus
  e.g., Student is texting in class, remove student’s phone, decreases texting
  behavior. Punishment can encourage escape and avoidance learning.

Question 32

Primary and Secondary reinforcers

Answer 32

• Primary reinforcers - a stimulus that has survival value and
  is therefore intrinsically rewarding.
  o Examples: food, water, termination of pain.
• Secondary reinforcers - a neutral stimulus that becomes rewarding
  when associated with a primary reinforcer.
  e.g., Working earns money, which can be used for food and comfort.

Question 33

Types of punishers

Answer 33

• Primary punisher - a stimulus that is naturally aversive to an
  organism.
  o Slapping, electric shock, extreme temperatures.
• Secondary punisher - a stimulus that becomes aversive when
  associated with a primary punisher.
  o Disapproval, criticism, bad grades.

Question 34

Punishment

Answer 34

• Punishment can get rid of bad behaviour; however, to be effective, three
  factors should be considered:
• Timing: It should be applied immediately following the misbehaviour.
• Intensity: The punishment should not exceed the crime.
• Consistency: It should be applied every time the misbehaviour occurs.

Question 35

Schedules of Reinforcement

Answer 35

• Continuous reinforcement: a schedule of reinforcement in which every
  correct response is reinforced. Behaviour is reinforced every single time.
• E.g., Every time put money in (behavior), you receive candy in return (positive
  reinforcement)
• Advantage: Training occurs more quickly.
• Partial reinforcement: a schedule of reinforcement in which not every correct
  response is reinforced. In which only sometimes the behaviour is reinforced.
  Slower learning, but less chance of extinction.
• Several possible schedules of intermittent or partial schedule of reinforcement.
• E.g., Slot machines at casinos operate on partial schedules. They provide money (positive
  reinforcement) after an unpredictable number of plays (behavior).
• Advantage: Behaviours are harder to extinguish.

Question 36

Schedules of Reinforcement

Answer 36

• Ratio schedule
  o Fixed ratio schedule
• Reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses.
• High rate of responding but with pauses.

o Variable ratio schedule
* Reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable, average number of responses.
* High, steady rate of responding.

Question 37

Shaping:

Answer 37

• Shaping: a procedure for teaching complex behaviours that reinforces
  approximation of the desired behaviour
• Involves reinforcing progressive steps toward the behavioural goal
• Successive approximations: behaviours that are progressively closer to
  a target behaviou

Question 38

Behaviour modification

Answer 38

Behaviour modification - a systematic approach to
change behaviour using principles of operant
conditioning
o Teaching new academic, athletic, or social skills
o Modifying undesirable behaviours

Question 39

Applications of Operant Conditioning

Answer 39

Behaviour Modification in the Classroom: Accentuating the Positive:
* Behaviour modification techniques are included in teacher training and used to
assist students
in acquiring effective behaviour.

• Applied behavioural analysis (ABA) intervention techniques are used to assist
  children with a range of behavioural disabilities.
• Teachers use token economies—where desirable behaviours are reinforced
  with tokens that can be exchanged for rewards

Question 40

Observational Learning:

Answer 40

• Observational learning or social learning - occurs without overt
  training in response to watching the behaviour of others, called
  models
• Modelling - occurs when an observer learns from the behaviour
  of another

Question 41

Albert Bandura

Answer 41

Albert Bandura and his colleagues (1963) showed that we can acquire knowledge
and skills by observational learning—observing the behaviour of others (models)
rather than by means of direct experience.

Question 42

Modelling Violence and Aggression: Media Influences

Answer 42

Bandura: Effects of Violence in the Media
* In a classic experiment, Bandura showed how aggressive adult models are
imitated by children.
* Observing violence and aggression in the media tends to be glamorized.
* In the majority of violent TV shows, there is no remorse, criticism, or penalty for
violent behaviour.

Question 43

Bobo Doll Experiment

Answer 43

Aggressive Modelling
* Bandura found that children learned to abuse an inflatable clown
doll by observing an adult model hit the doll.

Question 44

Vicarious Learning:

Answer 44

• Vicarious learning - occurs when an individual observes the
  consequences to another’s actions and then chooses to duplicate
  the behaviour or refrain from doing so
• The children who saw the video in which beating up the Bobo
  doll led to rewards to the model, such as candy and praise,
  were more likely to act aggressively toward the doll than those
  who observed the model beating up Bobo (Bandura, Ross &
  Ross, 1963)

Question 45

Learning and Cognition- Learning without reinforcement

Answer 45

Implicit learning - refers to the acquisition of information without awareness (e.g., learning
to talk or to walk)
E.g., Dr. Brenda Milner’s patient H.M had intact implicit memory (e.g., learned to draw by implicit
learning) but impaired explicit memory.

Spatial navigation learning: learning that involves forming associations among stimuli relevant
to navigating in space.

Latent learning - occurs without reinforcement and is not used until called for; it is not a
result of conditioning. [Definition in textbook is incorrect.]

E.g., A student watches a lesson about solving linear equations and can later demonstrate the knowledge
during an important test.

Insight learning - a sudden realization of a solution to a problem or leap in understanding
new concepts

Question 46

Factors that facilitate learning- Timing

Answer 46

• 1. Timing
     o Multiple exposures separated by time facilitate learning facts.
     e.g., Cramming information before a test and exam will not able to retention of information as
     there is not enough time for rehearsal.

Question 47

Factors that facilitate learning- Context Effect

Answer 47

2. Context Effect
   Context effect: If you learn information in only one context (for example in
   the classroom) you may be less likely to recall it when you are in a different
   location (at a job interview or while taking standardized test for graduate or
   professional school)
   o Studying in several different locations increases the likelihood that you will form
   strong memories about the information. Why ?If we learn the information in
   multiple locations, then that knowledge may be less tied to the place in which it
   was acquired, and it may be more readily recalled later.
   o E.g., if learn information only in the classroom, you will less likely to recall it in a
   different location such as while taking a standardized test for graduate or professional
   school.

Question 48

Factors that Facilitate Learning- 3. Awareness and attention

Answer 48

• 3. Awareness and attention
     o Multi-tasking reduces overall performance. E.g., Driving
     and talking at the same time
     o Some types of learning can occur without awareness.
     o If information is inherently contradictory, attending to
     one stimulus can block our ability to attend to the
     relevant stimulus.

Question 49

Stroop Effect

Answer 49

The stroop task is difficult because it
is easier for us to more quickly and
automatically read words than it is
to name colours, and that automatic
process interferes with the more
effortless task of naming the word
(Kiyonaga, & Egner, 2014)

Question 50

Social Media and Multitasking

Answer 50

• Facebook
  o Students who use Facebook while they study get lower
  grades than those who don’t.
  o Students who use social media in class tend to have
  lower grade point averages and fewer study hours.

Question 51

Prenatal and Postnatal Learning

Answer 51

• Prenatal learning
  o Non-associative learning before infants are born (infant is in womb)
• Exhibit habituation and sensitization to sensory stimuli.
• Infants who had been prenatally exposed to garlic—through their mothers’
  digestion—showed evidence, after they were born, of recognizing the garlic
  odour. They did not try to avoid the smell, as babies new to garlic typically do
  (Schaal, 2016).
  o Basic associative learning before infants are born (infant is in womb)
• Can be classically conditioning.
• Postnatal learning
• Infant imitation

Question 52

Research on Prenatal learning: Classical conditioning of human fetuses

Answer 52

• Researchers paired specific music (initially a neutral stimulus) with relaxation
  exercises done by the mother.
• The maternal relaxation exercises served as an unconditioned stimulus, often
  leading to a slowing of fetal physical activity (an unconditioned response).
• After enough pairings of the music and the relaxation, the music became a
  conditioned stimulus, leading directly to a decrease in fetal movement (CR),
  with or without the relaxation exercises (see Gebuza et al., 2016 for review).

Question 53

Specific Learning Disorders:

Answer 53

Learning Disorder - a specific deficiency in one aspect of cognitive
function while other aspects function normally.
* Dyslexia: A deficiency in learning to read. Some evidence for visual
processing deficits that produce perceptual problems.
* Dyscalculia:Difficulty with performing simple mathematical
equations.
* Dysgraphia: Impairment in ability to create the written word.

Question 54

1. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which
   Question options:
   A) a behaviour is encoded by watching a model.
   B) the magnitude of the response decreases with each subsequent exposure to a stimulus.
   C) a consequence that is delivered contingent on a behaviour affects the future likelihood of performing that behaviour.
   D) two stimuli are associated with each other because one stimulus reliably predicts the other stimulus.

Answer 54

D) two stimuli are associated with each other because one stimulus reliably predicts the other stimulus.

Question 55

2. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a(n) stimulus comes to elicit a response after being paired
   with a(n) stimulus that would elicit the same response naturally.
   Question options:
   A) conditioned; neutral
   B) unconditioned; conditioned
   C) unconditioned; neutral
   D) neutral; unconditioned

Answer 55

D) neutral; unconditioned

Question 56

3. Adam was badly stung by a bee once. Now he has an exaggerated fear not only of bees but also of all flying insects. In
   part through stimulus , Adam has developed a(n) .
   Question options:
   A) generalization; phobia
   B) association; neurosis
   C) association; phobia
   D) generalization; neurosis

Answer 56

A) generalization; phobia

Question 57

4. Amir has an exaggerated, irrational fear of needles. This fear is called a . It is associated with increased
   brain activity in the .
   Question options:
   A) phobia; hypothalamus
   B) phobia; amygdala
   C) neurosis; hypothalamus
   D) neurosis; amygdala

Answer 57

B) phobia; amygdala

Question 58

5. Marco shoveled his neighbour’s walk because he knew she was ill. She thanked him effusively and
   praised him to the other neighbours, telling them all what a good person Marco was. Consequently, the
   next time it snowed, Marco went over to shovel his neighbour’s walk again. In this example, the praise and
   compliments Marco received served as a
   Question options:
   A) negative reinforcer.
   B) conditioned stimulus.
   C) positive reinforcer.
   D) conditioned response.

Answer 58

C) positive reinforcer

Question 59

6. If a capuchin sees another monkey get a more desirable reward for the same task the monkey will react by refusing to carry out
   th same task unless an identical reward is offered. This is evidence of
   Question options:
   A) classical conditioning.
   B) vicarious learning.
   C) operant conditioning.
   D) modeling.

Answer 59

B) vicarious learning

Question 60

7. Floriano is walking back to his apartment late at night alone after going to watch three horror movies. When an alley cat
   knocks over some trashcans, he screams in fear and almost jumps out of his skin. Floriano’s reaction to the cat is likely the
   result of
   Question options:
   A) habituation.
   B) sensitization.
   C) operant conditioning.
   D) classical conditioning.

Answer 60

B) sensitazation

Question 61

8. Filip’s dog is getting much too smart. His dog has learned that when Filip grabs the leash, this means they’re going
   outside, and he gets very excited. Within a week, his dog realized that before Filip grabs the leash, he puts his shoes on,
   and now he gets excited every time Filip puts on his shoes. This is an example of what type of learning?
   Question options:
   A) higher-order conditioning
   B) spontaneous recovery
   C) stimulus discrimination
   D) extinction

Answer 61

A) higher-order conditioning

Question 62

9. Which of the following can you do to decrease the context effect?
   Question options:
   A) learn the material in many different locations
   B) learn the material by saying it out loud so that it is phonologically encoded
   C) learn the material in the location that testing will occur
   D) learn the material very well in the same context every day

Answer 62

A) learn the material in many different locations

Question 63

10. Which of the following is an example of negative
    punishment? Question options:
    A) You do your homework so your parents will give you the $5 they promised.
    B) You get grounded for a week for leaving the car windows open in the rain.
    C) You take out the garbage so your brother will stop nagging at you.
    D) You scold your dog for chewing up a plant.

Answer 63

B) You get grounded for a week for leaving the car windows open in the rain.

Question 64

11. Rochelle is going to the beach for the day and applies a heavy coat of sunscreen to avoid getting a burn. What
    type of consequence is this?
    Question options:
    A) positive reinforcement
    B) negative reinforcement
    C) positive punishment
    D) negative punishment

Answer 64

B) negative reinforcement