Foundational Concept 6B Flashcards
Attention, Cognition, Consciousness, Memory, Language
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Researchers repeatedly startle a participant with a loud buzzer. After some time, the participant stops being startled by the buzzer. If the researchers interrupt the study with the sound of pans banging together, which of the following would likely be observed?
1. Increased startle response to the buzzer
2. Decreased startle response to the buzzer
3. No change in the response to the buzzer
4. Generalisation to previously nonaversive stimuli
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Many pets will run toward the kitchen when they hear the sound of a can opener opening a can of pet food. The sound of the can opener is a:
1. Conditioned response
2. Unconditioned response
3. Conditioned stimulus
4. Unconditioned stimulus
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
A person suffers from food poisoning after eating a spoiled orange, and later finds that the smell of lemon and other citrus fruits make her nauseated. This is an example of:
1. Acquisition
2. Generalisation
3. Discrimination
4. Negative Reinforcement
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Which of the following processes would increase the likelihood of a behaviour?
1. Extinction
2. Negative punishment
3. Positive punishment
4. Avoidance learning
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
A credit card company charges a fee for a late payment. This is an example of:
1. Positive reinforcement
2. Negative reinforcement
3. Positive reinforcement
4. Negative punishment
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
A rat is trained to press a lever to obtain food under a fixed-interval schedule. Which of the following behaviors would the rat most likely exhibit?
1. Pressing the lever continuously whenever it is hungry
2. Pressing the lever exactly once and waiting for the food pellet before pressing it again
3. Pressing the lever slowly at first, but with increasing frequency as the end of interval approaches
4. None of the above: the association formed by fixed-interval schedules is too weak to increase behavior
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Which of the following is true of teaching an animal a complicted, multistage behavior?
A. The individual parts of the behavior should not run counter to the animal’s natural instincts
B. The behaviors must be tied to a food reward of some kind
C. Rewarding individual parts of the behavior on their own interferes with reinforcement of the entire behavior
- A only
- A and C only
- B and C only
- A, B, and C
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Which of the following is true of controlled processing?
1. It is the means through which information enters short-term memory
2. Information that requires controlled processing cannot become automatic
3. It always requires active attention to the information being encoded
4. Most information we can later recall is encoded using controlled processing
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Which of the following methods of encoding is most conductive to later recall?
1. Semantic
2. Visual
3. Iconic
4. Acoustic
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Which of the following would be most likely to be stored in long-term memory?
1. A list of nonsense words
2. A list of the dates of birth of 15 randomly selected people
3. A list of the names of musicians in an individual’s favorite bands
4. A list of the dates of battles in the Peloponnaesian War
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
An individual memorises a shopping list by associating each item with an image that corresponds with a number. The individual is using which of the following mnemonics?
1. Clustering
2. Method of loci
3. Elaborative rehearsal
4. Peg-words
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
A researcher uses a partial-report procedure after presenting participants with an array of nine numbers for a fraction of a second. Which of the following is the most likely result of this procedure?
1. The participant will be able to recall any of the rows or columns in great detail but only immediately after presentation
2. The participant will only be able to recall the first few numbers in the array due to the serial position effect
3. The participant will be able to recall approximately seven of the numbers for a few seconds following presentation of the stimulus
4. The participant will not be able to recall any of the numbers verbally, but will be able to draw the full array under hypnosis
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Which of the following is an example of a semantic memory?
1. Having the ability to drive a car
2. Knowing the parts of a car engine
3. Remembering the experience of learning to drive
4. Associating a car with other vehicles in a semantic network
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Which of the following is an example of a circumstance that could cause a state-dependent recall effect?
A. The individual is outside on a rainy day
B. The individual is high on marjiuana
C. The individual is in a manic episode
- A only
- C only
- B and C only
- A,B, and C
MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Learning and Memory
Which of the following would elderly individuals be most likely to have trouble recalling?
1. The circumstances of meeting his or her significant other in college
2. A doctor’s appointment scheduled for 1:00pm
3. The names of the characters in his/her favorite television show
4. That a library book needs to be returned when passing by the library on a morning walk
