• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

(B) unconscious meaning that is attributed to new response patterns

(C) response patterns that become extinguished gradually over time

(D) delayed responses that occur when new stimuli are paired with familiar ones

(E) learning that occurs in the absence of rewards

12. Rats were more likely to learn an aversion to bright lights and noise with water if they were associated with electric shocks rather than with flavors or poisoned food. This illustrates

(A) insight

(B) preparedness

(C) extinction

(D) observational learning

(E) generalization

13. Which of the following responses is not learned through operant conditioning?

(A) a rat learning to press a bar to get food

(B) dogs jumping over a hurdle to avoid electric shock

(C) fish swimming to the top of the tank when a light goes on

(D) pigeons learning to turn in circles for a reward

(E) studying hard for good grades on tests

14. Spontaneous recovery refers to the

(A) reacquisition of a previously learned behavior

(B) reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after a rest period

(C) return of a behavior after punishment has ended

(D) tendency of newly acquired responses to be intermittent at first

(E) organism’s tendency to forget previously learned responses, but to relearn them more quickly during a second training period

Answers and Explanations

1. C—The tuning fork is the CS and salivation is the CR. Pavlov’s dog learned to salivate to the tuning fork.

2. B—The definition of shaping is reinforcing behaviors that get closer and closer to the goal.

3. E—Variable interval is correct. John doesn’t know when a fish will be on his line. Catching fish is unrelated to the number of times he pulls in his line, but rather to when he pulls in his line.

4. C—Tokens serve as secondary reinforcers the chimps learned to respond to positively. They were connected with the primary reinforcer grapes.

5. C—Greg transferred from the class to avoid having to see his old girlfriend. Avoidance is one type of negative reinforcement that takes away something aversive.

6. B—Watson and Raynor’s experiment with Little Albert showed emotional learning and phobias may be learned through classical conditioning.

7. B—The stomach virus is the UCS that automatically caused him to get sick. The mushrooms are the CS which he learned to avoid because of the association with the virus that caused his sickness.

8. B—Learned helplessness occurs when an organism has the experience that nothing it does will prevent an aversive stimulus from occurring.

9. A—Insight learning is the sudden appearance of a solution to a problem.

10. B—The animal showed understanding of a concept when it was able to tell the difference between the red and green circles, and only pecked at the green circle to get a reward.

11. E—Latent learning is defined as learning in the absence of rewards.

12. B—The rats were biologically prepared to associate two external events, like shock and the lights and sounds together.

13. C—The fish swimming to the top of the tank when the light goes on shows classical conditioning.

14. B—Spontaneous recovery occurs when a conditioned response is extinguished, but later reappears when the CS is present again without retraining.

Rapid Review

Learning—a relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experience (nurture).

Classical conditioning—learning which takes place when two or more stimuli are presented together; an unconditioned stimulus is paired repeatedly with a neutral stimulus until it acquires the capacity to elicit a similar response. The subject learns to give a response it already knows to a new stimulus.

• Stimulus—a change in the environment that elicits (brings about) a response.

• Neutral stimulus (NS)—a stimulus that initially does not elicit a response.

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS or US) reflexively, or automatically, brings about the unconditioned response.

• Unconditioned response (UCR or UR)—an automatic, involuntary reaction