Question 1

In eyeblink conditioning the puff of air is the:
A) CS.
B) US.
C) CR.
D) UR.

Accepted Answer

In eyeblink conditioning, the puff of air is the unconditioned stimulus (US) because it naturally elicits the unconditioned response (UR), which is blinking, without any prior learning.

Question 2

Recordings of activity in the _____ during eyeblink conditioning in rabbits show activity that occurs _____ the response is made.
A) cerebellar cortex; a few milliseconds before
B) cerebellar cortex; at the same time as
C) interpositus nucleus; a few milliseconds before
D) interpositus nucleus; at the same time as

Accepted Answer

Recordings of activity in the interpositus nucleus during eyeblink conditioning in rabbits show activity that occurs a few milliseconds before the response is made. This nucleus is part of the cerebellum and plays a crucial role in the timing and learning of motor responses.

Question 3

A theory of learning in which all of the cues that occur during a trial and all of the changes that result are considered a single event is known as:
A) interstimulus interval.
B) trial-level model.
C) delay conditioning.
D) trace conditioning.

Accepted Answer

The trial-level model is a theory of learning that considers all cues and changes occurring during a trial as a single event, emphasizing the holistic nature of the learning process within that trial.

Question 4

The mechanisms for classical conditioning in Aplysia involve _____ changes in the neural circuits that connect the _____.
A) presynaptic; CS and UR
B) postsynaptic; CS and UR
C) presynaptic and postsynaptic; CS and UR
D) presynaptic and postsynaptic; CS and CR

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning in Aplysia involves both presynaptic and postsynaptic changes in the neural circuits that connect the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the conditioned response (CR), not the unconditioned response (UR). This is because the learning process modifies the strength and efficiency of synaptic connections to produce a new or altered response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Question 5

Some pet owners use a "clicker" device to train their pets. For example, if a cat owner wants her cat to stay off the bed, she might make a "click" sound with a clicker whenever the cat gets on the bed, and follow it shortly by a squirt of water to the cat. In this example, identify the CS, US, CR, and UR.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Some pet owners use a "clicker" device...

Question 6

In Garcia and Koelling's taste-aversion studies, which was an unconditioned stimulus?
A) a tone
B) an unfamiliar taste
C) a shock
D) feeling sick

Accepted Answer

In Garcia and Koelling's taste-aversion studies, the unconditioned stimulus was a shock, which naturally elicited a response without prior conditioning.

Question 7

In trace conditioning, the:
A) CS begins before the US and ends before the onset of the US.
B) US begins before the CS and ends before the onset of the CS.
C) CS begins before the US and stays on until the US has occurred.
D) US begins before the CS and stays on until the CS has occurred.

Accepted Answer

In trace conditioning, the conditioned stimulus (CS) starts and ends before the unconditioned stimulus (US) begins, creating a trace period or gap between the two stimuli. This requires the organism to maintain a memory of the CS during the gap until the US is presented.

Question 8

Explain why the Rescorla-Wagner model is considered to be one of the most influential models of learning.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain why the Rescorla-Wagner model is considered...

Question 9

What is a conditioned compensatory response? Explain what purpose it serves.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is a conditioned compensatory response? Explain...

Question 10

Suppose a parent loves jazz music. Describe how she could use classical conditioning principles to increase the likelihood that her child will also like jazz music. Be sure to identify the CS, US, CR, and UR in the description.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Suppose a parent loves jazz music. Describe...

Question 11

According to the Rescorla-Wagner model, an increase in the association between the CS and US occurs when:
A) the prediction error is zero.
B) an unexpected US follows a CS.
C) the prediction error is negative.
D) a predicted US follows a CS.

Accepted Answer

The Rescorla-Wagner model posits that learning occurs when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens, meaning a prediction error. An increase in the association between the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) and the Unconditioned Stimulus (US) happens when an unexpected US follows a CS, indicating a positive prediction error.

Question 12

Because Carrie's friend Emily often brings home-baked goodies when she visits, Carrie feels her mouth water at the sight of Emily. For one week Emily, brought her cousin Michelle with her whenever she visited Carrie. A few weeks later, Carrie bumped into Michelle at the store. In this scenario, blocking would be demonstrated if Carrie:
A) no longer feels her mouth water when she sees Emily.
B) still feels her mouth water when she sees Emily.
C) does not feel her mouth water when she sees Michelle at the store.
D) feels her mouth water when she sees Michelle at the store.

Accepted Answer

Blocking occurs when a previously learned association prevents the learning of a new association. In this scenario, Carrie's association of Emily with home-baked goodies is well established. When Michelle is introduced alongside Emily, the presence of Emily (the original stimulus) blocks the association between Michelle and the goodies, leading to no conditioned response (mouth watering) when Carrie sees Michelle alone.

Question 13

If a US occurs just as often without the tone as it does in the presence of the tone, then little or no conditioning will accrue to the tone. This would suggest that animals are sensitive to _____ of the potential CS and US.
A) causality
B) contingency
C) cue-outcome
D) frequency

Accepted Answer

This statement suggests that animals are sensitive to the contingency between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US), meaning they recognize the predictive relationship or dependence between the two, rather than just their frequency or co-occurrence.

Question 14

Suppose a child acquired a fear of the doctor's office because the office came to be associated with getting shots. To remove this fear, the child's parents decide to bring the child to the doctor's office several times each week without the child getting a shot. What technique are the parents using to eliminate the child's fear?
A) extinction
B) blocking
C) trace conditioning
D) latent inhibition

Accepted Answer

The parents are using extinction, a technique where a conditioned response (in this case, fear of the doctor's office) is reduced or eliminated by repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus (the doctor's office) without the unconditioned stimulus (getting a shot).

Question 15

The US first activates which brain area?
A) inferior olive
B) pontine nuclei
C) cerebellar cortex
D) interpositus nucleus

Accepted Answer

The US (unconditioned stimulus) first activates the inferior olive, which is part of the brainstem and plays a role in motor learning and coordination.

Question 16

It has been suggested that drug addicts should use small amounts of their drug during therapy to extinguish their habit. This is because:
A) the addict will experience less withdrawal.
B) drug use is part of the context.
C) drug use has become a US.
D) the addict will experience fewer cravings.

Accepted Answer

Using small amounts of the drug during therapy can help because drug use is part of the context, and by incorporating it into therapy, it can help in extinguishing the habit by altering the context in which the drug is used.

Question 17

Describe an experimental procedure one could use to study blocking in humans (other than the category-learning procedure discussed in the text). Be sure to indicate what outcome would signal that blocking had occurred.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe an experimental procedure one could use...

Question 18

The hippocampus:
A) must be intact for normal eyeblink conditioning to occur.
B) is especially active during the early phases of classical conditioning.
C) is important in mediating response timing.
D) computes the degree to which the US is unexpected.

Accepted Answer

The hippocampus is especially active during the early phases of classical conditioning as it is involved in forming new memories and learning associations.

Question 19

Removing the interpositus nucleus results in:
A) small, poorly timed conditioned responses.
B) complete loss of conditioned responses.
C) small, poorly timed unconditioned responses.
D) complete loss of unconditioned responses.

Accepted Answer

The interpositus nucleus is crucial for the formation and expression of conditioned responses, so its removal leads to a complete loss of these responses.

Question 20

Every day when Isabelle returns home from work, her son gives her a big hug as soon as she walks through the front door. Now, the sight of the front door makes Isabelle feel happy. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is:
A) Isabelle's son.
B) the front door.
C) a big hug.
D) Isabelle.

Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus is the front door because it is the neutral stimulus that, through association with the unconditioned stimulus (the big hug), comes to elicit a conditioned response (feeling happy).

Quiz 4: Classical Conditioning: Learning to Predict Significant Events

In eyeblink conditioning the puff of air is the:

Recordings of activity in the _ during eyeblink conditioning in rabbits show activity that occurs _ the response is made.

A theory of learning in which all of the cues that occur during a trial and all of the changes that result are considered a single event is known as:

The mechanisms for classical conditioning in Aplysia involve _ changes in the neural circuits that connect the _.

In Garcia and Koelling's taste-aversion studies, which was an unconditioned stimulus?

In trace conditioning, the:

Explain why the Rescorla-Wagner model is considered to be one of the most influential models of learning.

What is a conditioned compensatory response? Explain what purpose it serves.

Suppose a parent loves jazz music. Describe how she could use classical conditioning principles to increase the likelihood that her child will also like jazz music. Be sure to identify the CS, US, CR, and UR in the description.

According to the Rescorla-Wagner model, an increase in the association between the CS and US occurs when:

If a US occurs just as often without the tone as it does in the presence of the tone, then little or no conditioning will accrue to the tone. This would suggest that animals are sensitive to _____ of the potential CS and US.

The US first activates which brain area?

It has been suggested that drug addicts should use small amounts of their drug during therapy to extinguish their habit. This is because:

Describe an experimental procedure one could use to study blocking in humans (other than the category-learning procedure discussed in the text). Be sure to indicate what outcome would signal that blocking had occurred.

The hippocampus:

Removing the interpositus nucleus results in:

Every day when Isabelle returns home from work, her son gives her a big hug as soon as she walks through the front door. Now, the sight of the front door makes Isabelle feel happy. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is: