Question 1

Describe the contributions to the study of learning made by three of the following individuals: René Descartes, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Brown, Aristotle, Hermann Ebbinghaus, I. M. Sechenov, Ivan Pavlov, Charles Darwin.

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Question 2

Briefly describe the two intellectual traditions that were stimulated by Cartesian dualism. How is each tradition represented in contemporary investigations of learning phenomena?

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Question 3

Describe Descartes' conception of the reflex and how the concept of the reflex has changed since his time.

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Question 4

Why is the learning-performance distinction important to researchers of learning phenomena? Provide three types of behavioral change that are not considered to be learning. Describe how each fails to meet the definition of learning.

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Question 5

Describe the different levels of analysis that can be employed in studies of learning and how they are related.

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Question 6

How might learning be studied at each of the major levels of analysis: behavioral, neural system, and molecular\cellular?

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Question 7

Compare the research of Ivan Pavlov and Hermann Ebbinghaus. What do the two lines of investigation have in common?

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Question 8

Explain how the research of I. M. Sechenov and Ivan Pavlov extended Descartes' early conceptualization of the role reflexes have in human behavior.

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Question 9

Describe the movements of ions across the neural membrane that allows for a neuron to send a signal down its length.

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Question 10

Describe the definition of learning and how learning is distinguished from other forms of behavior change.

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Question 11

What three primary sources provided the impetus for research of animal learning? Briefly describe how each line of interest influences contemporary research in learning processes.

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Question 12

Describe how historical developments in the study of the mind contributed to the contemporary study of learning.

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Question 13

Describe the rationale for using animal models to study human behavior.

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Question 14

Compare the nativist and empiricist positions. How has each contributed to the theoretical underpinnings of the study of learning?

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Question 15

Russell and Burch describe "3 Rs" for the use of animals in research. Which of the following is not one of the "Rs."
A)replacement
B)refining
C)referencing
D)reducing

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Question 16

Describe what happens when an action potential arrives at a synapse.

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Question 17

Why would one use an animal model of human behavior? What contributes to the validity of such studies? What precautions must be heeded while interpreting the data?

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Question 18

What is the general-process approach? What evidence supports adopting such an approach in the study of learning phenomena? Why should caution be used in interpreting this evidence?

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Question 19

The generation of new, previously unknown facts about behavior must come from
A)computer modeling.
B)studying live organisms.
C)studying live humans.
D)studying live non-humans.

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Studying live organisms is the only option that involves directly observing behavior and generating new information about it. Computer modeling may generate insights, but it is only as accurate as the assumptions and data fed into it. Studying live humans or non-humans may reveal important information, but it is unlikely to generate wholly new facts about behavior.

Question 20

Describe how the definition of learning dictates what type of science the study of learning must be.

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Quiz 1: Introduction