Question 1

Where do secondary reinforcers get their power from?

Accepted Answer

Secondary reinforcers get their power from being associated with a primary reinforcement. For example, money is a secondary reinforcer because it is associated with the primary reinforcers of food, shelter, and clothing.

Question 2

Caitlin works in the psychology department's rat lab. In her studies, she found that many of her lab rats would develop a conditioned taste aversion to certain foods after as little as one trial. Caitlin's psychology professor refers to this as a classic example of

Accepted Answer

Caitlin's observation of the rats developing a conditioned taste aversion after only one trial suggests that the rats have a biological preparedness to quickly associate certain foods with negative outcomes, such as nausea. This is an example of how an organism's biology can influence learning and behavior, which is the concept of biological preparedness.

Question 3

Jose was lying in bed when he suddenly realized how he might deal with a fast approaching deadline at work. When his coworkers asked how he came up with his idea, he said, "It just came to me out of nowhere." Psychologists would refer to this as

Accepted Answer

This is an example of insight learning, which involves suddenly realizing a solution or strategy without any prior reinforcement or explicit instruction.

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of the use of extinction with operant conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Extinction with operant conditioning involves ignoring a behavior so that, over time, it decreases in frequency. In this scenario, the mother is ignoring the child's temper tantrum, which is a form of extinction. The other choices either reinforce or punish the behavior, which are not examples of extinction.

Question 5

A child has been classically conditioned to fear a white rat. If the child does not show fear when shown a black rat, this is called

Accepted Answer

Stimulus discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish between different stimuli, in this case the fear response to the white rat does not extend to the black rat. Stimulus generalization would be the opposite where the fear response would extend to other similar stimuli. Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of an extinguished response after some time has passed. Extinction refers to the gradual disappearance of a conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus no longer follows the conditioned stimulus.

Question 6

At home, you rattle the chain on your dog's leash every time you prepare to take him for a walk. After several episodes like this, you find that your dog comes running to the front door even when you pick up the leash to put it back in the closet. In this example, what is the conditioned stimulus?

Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus in this scenario is the sound of the leash rattling, as it has become associated with the unconditioned stimulus of going for a walk. The dog has learned to associate the sound with the upcoming activity and now responds to it even when it doesn't necessarily mean they will be going for a walk.

Question 7

Jody failed repeatedly in college algebra. Finally, she gave up and was seriously considering dropping out of college. One day, her best friend offered to personally help her if she signed up for college algebra again, but she refused. What concept might explain her reluctance?

Accepted Answer

Jody's repeated failures in college algebra have likely led to learned helplessness, which is the belief that one is incapable of improving or succeeding regardless of effort or resources. This could explain her reluctance to sign up for the course again, even with the offer of help from her friend.

Question 8

Denise is grounded for coming home after curfew. Additionally, her parents have taken away her cell phone for a month. Losing her cell phone privileges is an example of

Accepted Answer

Taking away Denise's cell phone is an example of punishment by removal, as her parents are removing a desired item as a consequence of her behavior. Negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus in response to a behavior, which is not the case here. Punishment by application involves adding an aversive consequence, such as spanking or yelling, which is not happening here either. Learned helplessness refers to a state of passivity or resignation that can occur after experiencing repeated aversive events or punishment, but it does not apply in this situation.

Question 9

During the cold winter, you have stopped taking your dog for walks. What's more, your dog has gotten used to the fact that when you accidentally rattle his leash, he isn't going for a walk, and subsequently he doesn't come running to the front door. What has occurred?

Accepted Answer

Extinction has occurred, where the behavior (coming to the front door when the leash is rattled) has weakened and eventually disappeared due to the lack of reinforcement (not going for a walk).

Question 10

In classical conditioning, behavior typically is ________, whereas with operant conditioning, behavior is ________.

Accepted Answer

In classical conditioning, behavior is involuntary as it involves automatic responses to stimuli (e.g., Pavlov's dogs salivating to the sound of a bell). In operant conditioning, behavior is voluntary and is influenced by the consequences of actions, such as rewards or punishments.

Question 11

Sheila almost got hit by a car at a street corner because she was too busy texting on her phone. From that day on, Sheila looks before she reaches the street corner. Her change in behavior is a result of

Accepted Answer

Sheila's change in behavior is a result of learning. She learned from her near-accident experience to be more cautious and aware of her surroundings when approaching street corners.

Question 12

Belinda has a terrible headache. If she takes some aspirin so as to make her headache go away, this would be an example of

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement is the removal or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus following a desirable behavior, which then increases the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future. In this case, Belinda takes aspirin to remove the unpleasant stimulus of her headache, and this increases the likelihood of her taking aspirin in the future when she has a headache. Positive reinforcement involves adding a desirable stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated, while punishment involves adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Generalization refers to when a behavior or response is applied to a similar situation or stimulus.

Question 13

Blake finds that if he washes his car prior to going out on the town, more of his friends want to ride along with him. What theory would best explain his willingness to always wash and clean his car before going out?

Accepted Answer

Thorndike's law of effect states that behaviors followed by favorable consequences are more likely to be repeated. Blake's behavior of washing his car is reinforced by the positive outcome of having more friends want to ride with him.

Question 14

What does AMID stand for?

Accepted Answer

AMID stands for Attention, Memory, Imitation, Desire according to the theory of observational learning proposed by Albert Bandura. Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

Question 15

What is the relationship between negative reinforcement and punishment?

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant stimulus in order to increase a behavior, while punishment involves adding an unpleasant stimulus in order to decrease a behavior. Therefore, negative reinforcement strengthens a response and punishment weakens a response.

Question 16

Positive reinforcement results in ________ in the target behavior and negative reinforcement results in ________ in the target behavior.

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement encourages a behavior by offering a reward when the behavior is exhibited, leading to an increase in that behavior. Negative reinforcement also increases a behavior, but it does so by removing an unpleasant stimulus when the behavior is exhibited.

Question 17

Rhonda had tartar sauce with her fish one night. The next morning she was nauseated and sick for much of the day. The next time she was offered the chance to go out for fish, she felt queasy and declined. Her queasiness at the thought of fish with tartar sauce was probably due to

Accepted Answer

Rhonda's aversion to fish with tartar sauce is an example of conditioned taste aversion, where the pairing of the taste of the sauce with the illness produced a learned aversion to the food. Higher-order conditioning, stimulus substitution, and stimulus generalization are not applicable in this scenario.

Question 18

Ben gets paid every 2 weeks. In one 2-week period, he works a total of 20 hours. During another 2-week period, he worked a total of 50 hours. Regardless of the total number of hours he works each week, he is paid every 2 weeks. What schedule of reinforcement is being used?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of fixed interval reinforcement because Ben is being paid on a set schedule every 2 weeks, regardless of the number of hours he works each week. The reinforcement (payment) is provided at a fixed interval (2 weeks).

Question 19

Urie regularly watches his father change the oil on their family car. One month the car needs an oil change, but Urie's father is out of town. To his surprise, Urie is able to do the oil change even though he didn't realize that he knew how. This is an example of ________ learning.

Accepted Answer

This scenario best fits the definition of latent learning, which refers to the acquisition of knowledge or skills that are not immediately manifested in behavior. Urie observed his father change the oil on the family car and unknowingly retained that information until he had to perform the task himself.

Question 20

After bringing home a new cat, you quickly realize that you don't enjoy changing the litter box every few days. In order to avoid this odious task, you decide to attempt to train your pet to use a toilet. Thoroughly discuss the steps that you would use to train the animal, making sure to note which type of learning is being employed.

Accepted Answer

The answer of After bringing home a new cat, you...

Quiz 5: Learning