Deck 9: Extinction of Conditioned Behavior

Question 1

You have trained your goldfish to swim through a hoop placed in the tank by providing a dried fly every time it does so. Your little brother takes care of your fish for a week and forgets to give the fish any flies when it swims through the hoop when he puts it in the tank. If you were to test your fish for hoop swimming behavior and wanted to see the most responses, you should

A)wait a few days before putting the hoop in the tank.
B)test the fish immediately to counteract any forgetting.
C)test your fish immediately to counteract frustration.
D)buy a new fish and try again.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Bobby accidentally extinguished a behavior he really enjoyed his dog performing. To reinstate this behavior he should

A)administer a protein synthesis inhibitor.
B)expose his dog to the training US.
C)conduct more extinction trials.
D)none of the above will work

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The term for the emotional reaction to withdrawal of an expected reward is

A)anger.
B)frustration.
C)anticipated fear.
D)withdrawal.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Reinstatement of an extinguished response to a CS involves

A)simply letting time pass.
B)administering a protein synthesis inhibitor.
C)exposing the participant to the US.
D)extinguishing other non-target responses.

Question 5

A pigeon has been trained to peck a key for food reinforcement on a continuous schedule of reinforcement. If the pigeon is allowed to peck the key but food is no longer provided, what will happen?

A)The pigeon will begin to vary its responses.
B)The pigeon will learn that pecking does not lead to food.
C)The pigeon will learn that the key and food are no longer associated.
D)The pigeon will steadily increase its conditioned response rate.

Question 6

Bobby was running at the swimming pool. The life guard extinguished this attention seeking behavior by ignoring Bobby, and gave Bobby a game to play to keep him busy. Soon, Bobby became bored with the game and started running again. This recovery of an extinguished behavior most resembles

A)spontaneous recovery.
B)reinstatement.
C)renewal.
D)resurgence.

Question 7

Spontaneous recovery following extinction of a classically conditioned response

A)typically restores responding to pre-extinction levels.
B)typically leads to incomplete recovery of responding.
C)demonstrates that CS-US relationships are disrupted due to extinction.
D)demonstrates that subjects unlearn only excitatory associations.

Question 8

Resurgence of an extinguished response occurs when

A)time simply passes.
B)other responses are also extinguished.
C)subjects are inadvertently exposed to the training US.
D)subjects are exposed to the training contexts.

Question 9

Sally worked hard to overcome her taste aversion to cashews. Unfortunately, she caught a stomach bug, was ill, and now finds that she cannot bear to be around cashews again. This demonstrates

A)spontaneous recovery.
B)renewal.
C)reinstatement.
D)resurgence.

Question 10

According to the concept of renewal,

A)frustration has only minor effects on extinction.
B)contextual cues are important only for excitatory associations.
C)a change in context after extinction will recover acquisition performance.
D)S-S associations are developed in acquisition and disrupted by extinction.

Question 11

Sally put her money in the soda machine but nothing came out. To her brother's surprise, she gave the machine a powerful kick. You realize she was demonstrating

A)an extinction burst.
B)frustrative aggression.
C)the partial reinforcement extinction effect.
D)differential reinforcement of a low rate.

Question 12

Extinction of a classically conditioned response occurs

A)with the passage of time.
B)when the subject becomes sensitized to the CR.
C)when the CS is presented without the US.
D)when the subject habituates to the UR.

Question 13

Which of the following is not likely to occur due to an extinction procedure?

A)The subject learns the CS and US are no longer associated.
B)The subject increases the variety of responses it makes.
C)The subject decreases the number of conditioned responses it makes.
D)The subject becomes aggressive.

Question 14

A rat had been reinforced for lever press behaviors. After one day of extinction training, the rat was demonstrating very low levels of responding. When the rat was returned to the test cage the next day, there was a small recovery in the rate of responding. This increase is called

A)spontaneous recovery.
B)dishabituation.
C)disinhibition.
D)the extinction burst.

Question 15

Bob successfully completed an in-patient treatment program for smoking. In fact, he had not had a craving for over two weeks. However, on his way to the office he passed a group of teenagers smoking on the corner. When he smelled the smoke, he immediately went to buy a pack of cigarettes. Why?

A)the reinstatement effect
B)the restoration of extinction effect
C)the frustration effect
D)the spontaneous recovery effect

Question 16

Following 10 days of excitatory Pavlovian conditioning, subjects are given 15 extinction trials. Test trials of conditioned responding are then conducted. For one group, the test trials occurred immediately after extinction; for another, test trials were delayed for one week. What are the likely findings?

A)The delayed group showed less conditioned responding due to forgetting.
B)The delayed group showed less conditioned responding due to increased frustration.
C)The delayed group showed more conditioned responding.
D)The groups will not differ in the amount of conditioned responding.

Question 17

The evidence suggests that extinction is

A)the opposite of inhibition.
B)unlearning of a conditioned response.
C)unlearning of a CS-US relationship.
D)new learning.

Question 18

Sally was terribly afraid of cats before going into therapy. Over several trips to a psychologist's office, the psychologist was able to extinguish her fear of cats. However, when she returned home after the last session, a cat was waiting on her porch, and she panicked. This is likely due to the therapist forgetting about

A)restoration effects.
B)flooding effects.
C)renewal effects.
D)frustration effects.

Question 19

If after extinction trials a subject is exposed to the US,

A)there will be reinstatement of conditioned responding.
B)there will be further decreases of conditioned responding due to negative CS\US contingencies.
C)the initial CS-US relationship will be strengthened.
D)the context will lose excitatory strength.

Question 20

Which of the following leaves a subject most susceptible to spontaneous recovery from extinction?

A)massed extinction trials
B)spaced extinction trials
C)extinction trials conducted after a delay
D)all of the above help prevent spontaneous recovery

Question 21

Your therapist friend has a dilemma. She cannot be available to deliver a reinforcer every time her patients make an appropriate response, but she doesn't want the work she does with them at her office to extinguish between appointments. You suggest

A)She provide many more training trials at the office than are needed there.
B)She provide very high value rewards at the office.
C)She make especially certain to reward every instance of the desired behavior at the office.
D)She only periodically reward the desired behavior at the office.

Question 22

Priming a memory for a conditioning situation by presenting the CS

A)makes that memory more susceptible to manipulation.
B)makes responding based on that memory vulnerable to extinction.
C)can disrupt spontaneous recovery if extinction trials are conducted shortly after the priming.
D)all of the above

Question 23

To counteract spontaneous recovery,

A)you can present cues present during the extinction phase.
B)you can present cues present during the conditioning phase.
C)you can wait approximately a week following the extinction phase before testing.
D)you can do nothing; spontaneous recovery is remarkably robust.

Question 24

The theory that the partial reinforcement extinction effect is due to learning to respond when nonreward is expected is

A)the frustration theory.
B)the sequential theory.
C)the discrimination hypothesis.
D)the fear-avoidance theory.

Question 25

Two groups of rats are trained to press a lever for food on a constant reinforcement schedule. One group receives 1 piece of rat chow; the other, 3 pieces. In extinction,

A)the 3-piece group will persist in responding longer.
B)the 1-piece group will persist in responding longer.
C)as long as the constraints on the lever are the same, the groups will persist approximately the same length of time.
D)It is impossible to predict.

Question 26

People stop putting money into soda machines after one or two non-reinforced trials, but will put money into slot machines over and over without any payoff. A likely explanation is

A)the extinction burst.
B)the partial reinforcement extinction effect.
C)the partial reinforcement burst.
D)frustrative aggression.

Question 27

According to frustration theory, the partial reinforcement extinction effect is due to

A)not immediately noticing when reinforcers are omitted.
B)learning to respond in the face of no expected reinforcement.
C)the aggression that accompanies the onset of extinction.
D)a subject's memories of whether or not it was rewarded for performing the instrumental response in the recent past.

Question 28

The theory that the partial reinforcement extinction effect is due to a subject's inability to notice when extinction procedures have begun is

A)the frustration theory.
B)the sequential theory.
C)the discrimination hypothesis.
D)the detection theory.

Question 29

To restore the level of performance seen during extinction,

A)test several days after the extinction trials.
B)present cues from the extinction trials.
C)present cues from the conditioning trials.
D)test in a different context.

Question 30

Which of the following is not considered a paradoxical reward effect?

A)the overtraining extinction effect
B)the magnitude reinforcement effect
C)the partial reinforcement extinction effect
D)the behavioral momentum effect

Question 31

According to the discrimination hypothesis, the partial reinforcement extinction effect is due to

A)the extinction burst that occurs at the beginning of extinction trials.
B)learning to respond in the face of expected nonreward.
C)a subject's memories of whether or not it was rewarded for performing the instrumental response in the recent past.
D)a subject's decreased ability to notice when extinction procedures begin.

Question 32

Evidence that protein synthesis is crucial for memory formation and consolidation is seen in

A)studies in which protein synthesis inhibitors administered before training block the acquisition of conditioned fear.
B)experiments in which extinction is blocked by protein synthesis inhibitors.
C)studies in which memories have been recalled and "erased" during reconsolidation by protein synthesis inhibitors.
D)all of the above

Question 33

The overtraining extinction effect states

A)that extensive training provides some protection from extinction.
B)that extinction occurs more rapidly after extensive training.
C)that extensive training eliminates spontaneous recovery.
D)that extensive training does not affect the rate of extinction.

Question 34

Excitatory conditioning is to _____ as extinction is to _____.

A)S-R; S-S
B)S-S; S-R
C)R-O; S-S
D)S-S; S-O

Question 35

Suppose Betty wants to extinguish her boyfriend's annoying habit of biting his toenails. She should conduct extinction trials

A)at home.
B)at a therapist's office.
C)alternating them with conditioning trials that reinforce his biting behavior.
D)in as many contexts as possible.

Question 36

Which of the following associations is most likely impacted by extinction training?

A)S-O
B)R-O
C)S-S
D)S-R

Question 37

The effect of compounding two extinction stimuli is to

A)deepen the extinction of the two cues.
B)impede extinction learning about the two cues.
C)cause resurgence effects.
D)none of the above

Question 38

The preponderance of evidence suggests that in extinction trials,

A)subjects learn inhibitory S-R associations.
B)subjects learn excitatory R-O associations.
C)subjects learn inhibitory CS-US associations.
D)subjects learn excitatory S-S associations.

Question 39

You and your friend both begin training your puppies to jump on the same day with the same treats. After 5 days, the puppies are jumping as much as they can. Your friend quits after 7 days, but you train for 3 more days. Unfortunately, you need to extinguish the jumping behavior you both trained. Which puppy is likely to extinguish most quickly?

A)your puppy
B)your friend's puppy
C)Both will extinguish at the same rate.
D)It is impossible to predict.

Question 40

The results from experiments exploring compounding extinction cues suggest that extinction may operate in part by

A)causing enhanced forgetting.
B)an error-correction process like that found in the Rescorla-Wagner model.
C)a block of spontaneous recovery.
D)impeding the development of resurgence.

Question 41

What are the two major behavioral effects of conducting an extinction procedure? Provide an example from everyday life to illustrate these effects.

Question 42

According to frustration theory,

A)continuous reinforcement trains an animal to be persistent in the absence of reinforcement.
B)partial reinforcement teaches an animal the difference between rewarded and nonrewarded trials.
C)there is nothing about continuous reinforcement that teaches an animal to respond when it expects nonreward.
D)memory of nonreward becomes the cue for performing the instrumental response.

Question 43

What evidence is there that protein synthesis is necessary for the acquisition and extinction of conditioned responding?

Question 44

Recent evidence suggests that

A)the sequential theory better explains PREE.
B)the frustration theory better explains PREE.
C)both sequential and frustration mechanisms can promote responding during extinction.
D)neither frustration theory nor sequential theory explains PREE.

Question 45

In the first phase of an experiment, one group of rats is reinforced for every lever press. Another group of rats is reinforced for every 15th lever press. In the second phase, both groups receive continuous reinforcement. In later extinction trials, subjects that received continuous reinforcement in phase 1 decreased responding more quickly than those that were reinforced every 15th trial. These findings support

A)the discrimination hypothesis.
B)the extinction burst hypothesis.
C)the modern two-process theory.
D)the frustration theory.

Question 46

What associations are learned during extinction? What evidence is there to support your answer?

Question 47

Why can reinstatement be considered a special form of renewal?

Question 48

What are three paradoxical effects of extinction? How does the concept of frustration explain each effect?

Question 49

According to the sequential theory,

A)continuous reinforcement trains an animal to be persistent in the absence of reinforcement.
B)partial reinforcement teaches an animal the difference between rewarded and nonrewarded trials.
C)there is nothing about continuous reinforcement that teaches an animal to respond when it expects nonreward.
D)memory of nonreward becomes the cue for performing the instrumental response.

Question 50

What is behavioral momentum? What are two common findings from studies of behavioral momentum?

Question 51

Which theory predicts that early in a VR20 schedule the anticipation of reward encourages an animal to respond, and the anticipation of nonreward discourages responding?

A)discrimination hypothesis
B)modern two-process theory
C)sequential theory
D)frustration theory

Question 52

Which of the following concepts is most like Newtonian physics?

A)behavioral momentum
B)frustration theory
C)sequential theory
D)discrimination theory

Question 53

The theory that assumes that during intermittent reinforcement training, the memory of nonreward becomes a cue for performing the instrumental response is

A)the discrimination hypothesis.
B)sequential theory.
C)modern two-process theory.
D)frustration theory.

Question 54

Describe two ways you could reinstate conditioned responding following extinction without retraining the subject.

Question 55

Behavioral momentum is most directly related to

A)the rate of responding.
B)the rate of reinforcement.
C)both the rate of responding and reinforcement.
D)None of the above

Question 56

In sequential theory, the pattern important to the development of response perseverance is

A)a rewarded trial following a nonrewarded trial.
B)a nonrewarded trial following a rewarded trial.
C)a nonrewarded trial following a nonrewarded trial.
D)a rewarded trial following a rewarded trial.

Question 57

Compare three mechanisms of PREE. What evidence supports, or refutes, each mechanism?

Question 58

Which theory predicts that during a FR15 schedule an animal will be in conflict about whether or not to respond, but that with training the conflict will be resolved in favor of responding?

A)frustration theory
B)discrimination hypothesis
C)sequential theory
D)modern two-process theory

Question 59

Describe the basic behavioral and emotional consequences of extinction.

Question 60

Compare extinction to forgetting. What procedures characterize each?

Question 61

Describe how extinguishing one response may influence how often other responses occur.

Question 62

Describe various ways in which extinction performance may be enhanced.

Question 63

Describe the concept of behavioral momentum. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the concept?

Question 64

Describe evidence that identifies the development of inhibitory S-R associations in extinction.

Question 65

Describe the various conditions under which extinguished responding can reappear.

Question 66

Describe the various ways in which control of behavior by contextual cues is relevant to the behavioral effects of extinction.

Question 67

Describe the partial reinforcement extinction effect and major explanations of the phenomenon.