Question 1

One technique that advertisers often use to influence consumers is celebrity endorsement.The logic works like this: If people like Charlize Theron and repeatedly see Dior products together with Charlize Theron, then people will learn to associate Dior with her and will in turn like Dior more.That is, celebrity endorsement is expected to lead to ____.

Accepted Answer

Celebrity endorsement is a classic example of classical conditioning, where a conditioned stimulus (the celebrity) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (positive feelings towards the celebrity) to create a conditioned response (positive feelings towards the product being endorsed).

Question 2

Lungi and Aza are talking about welfare issues in South Africa.Lungi is very passionate about the issue, and makes strong statements about her views.Aza later e-mails Lungi an article which contains some information that is consistent with Lungi's views, as well as some information that is inconsistent with Lungi's views.Lungi chooses to believe the consistent information but discounts the inconsistent information.As a matter of fact, after reading the article and thinking about the data it contained - even though these data were mixed - Lungi actually feels even more passionate and more strongly about her position.This is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of attitude polarization, where a person's beliefs and attitudes become more extreme and rigid after being exposed to information that is consistent with their beliefs, while discounting or ignoring information that contradicts their beliefs. Lungi's strong statements about welfare issues in South Africa show that she already had a strong attitude towards the issue, and after reading the article, her beliefs became more extreme and rigid, demonstrating attitude polarization.

Question 3

Mandla is trying to train his puppy, Cupcake.He yells 'Bad dog!' whenever Cupcake fails to do what he wants.Mandla seems to be using ____.

Accepted Answer

Mandla's yelling of "Bad dog!" is an example of operant conditioning, where a behavior (not following a command) is followed by a consequence (yelling) in order to increase or decrease the likelihood of the behavior occurring again in the future.

Question 4

Jordan's mother always praises him when he practises the piano and denies him dessert when he doesn't.Jordan's mother is apparently employing techniques based on ____ in order to encourage her son to practise more.

Accepted Answer

Jordan's mother is using positive reinforcement (praising him) when he practices and negative punishment (denying him dessert) when he doesn't. This is an example of operant conditioning, which involves changing behavior through the use of rewards and punishments. Classical conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with a reflex response to eventually create a conditioned response, while social learning involves observing and imitating others' behavior. Attitude polarization refers to the phenomenon where someone's attitudes become more extreme over time.

Question 5

Attitude polarisation refers to the finding that ____.

Accepted Answer

Attitude polarisation refers to the phenomenon of people becoming more extreme in their views when they reflect upon them. This means that their positions on a given attitude tend to become more entrenched and less open-minded.

Question 6

Research has demonstrated that people are more likely to imitate behaviours if they have seen others rewarded for performing those behaviours, and less likely to imitate behaviours if they have seen others punished for performing those behaviours.This type of learning is known as ____.

Accepted Answer

Social learning involves observing and imitating the behaviors of others through the process of modeling. This can be influenced by the consequences (reward or punishment) that others receive for their behaviors. Instrumental learning and operant conditioning are types of learning that involve different forms of reward and punishment consequences, but they do not necessarily involve observation of others' behavior. Classical conditioning involves learning associations between stimuli, without necessarily involving imitation of others.

Question 7

Early research on classical conditioning was performed with dogs.In certain variations of this research, experimenters repeatedly presented dogs with meat powder just after ringing a bell.The dogs (who would naturally salivate after being exposed to meat powder) learned to associate the bell with the meat powder, and began to salivate as soon as they heard the bell.In this research, the dogs' salivation was ____.

Accepted Answer

The dogs' salivation is both an unconditioned response (naturally occurring in response to the meat powder) and a conditioned response (learned in response to the bell after conditioning).

Question 8

According to research studies, people who hold strong attitudes toward an issue are LEAST likely to do which of the following?

Accepted Answer

People who hold strong attitudes toward an issue are less likely to seek out relevant information from outgroup members. This phenomenon is known as the "belief perseverance" effect, where individuals tend to cling to their initial beliefs despite new evidence that contradicts them.

Question 9

Suppose that Tebogo has a new girlfriend whom he really likes.He programs his cell phone so that every time his new girlfriend calls, his phone plays the new Justin Timberlake single.After he has had his phone programmed this way for a little while, he notices that he feels happy whenever he hears the Justin Timberlake song.What is the best term for the role of the Justin Timberlake song?

Accepted Answer

The Justin Timberlake song serves as a conditioned stimulus because it has become associated with the positive feeling of hearing from his new girlfriend.

Question 10

Social learning is also sometimes referred to as observational learning or ____.

Accepted Answer

Social learning is often referred to as observational learning or vicarious conditioning. "Instrumental learning" refers to learning through consequences or rewards, while "justified learning" and "conditional learning" are not accurate terms for social learning.

Question 11

Which of the following is the BEST example of operant conditioning?

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning involves learning through consequences, such as rewards and punishments. Choice C is the best example of operant conditioning because the consequence of asking for an extension (getting a good mark) reinforces the behavior and leads the person to ask for extensions in the future. The other choices do not involve clear consequences that reinforce a certain behavior.

Question 12

According to the principles of ____ people are relatively likely to repeat behaviours that have been rewarded and relatively unlikely to repeat behaviours that have been punished.

Accepted Answer

This statement reflects the principles of operant conditioning, which is a type of learning where behavior is shaped by consequences such as rewards or punishments. Positive consequences increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated (positive reinforcement), while negative consequences decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated (negative punishment). Classical conditioning involves learning associations between two stimuli, while vicarious learning involves learning by observing others' behaviors. Effort justification is a phenomenon in which individuals justify their effort in pursuing a goal, even if the goal turns out to be less valuable or rewarding than initially believed.

Question 13

Initiation rituals make use of the idea of ____.

Accepted Answer

Initiation rituals often involve tasks or challenges that require significant effort to accomplish. This can contribute to the idea of effort justification, where individuals are more likely to value and justify the experience if it required a significant amount of effort.

Question 14

Busi has just moved to a new neighborhood.In her old neighborhood, everyone wore 'boyfriend' jeans, but she notices that the girls in her new area are wearing skinny jeans.She also notices that they tease people who are not dressed this way.Busi immediately asks her mom to take her to the store to buy new clothes.What has taken place here?

Accepted Answer

Busi has observed the behavior of the girls in her new neighborhood and has decided to change her own behavior based on what she has seen. This is a clear example of observational learning, where an individual learns by observing and imitating the behavior of others.

Question 15

Early research on classical conditioning was performed with dogs.In certain variations of this research, experimenters repeatedly presented dogs with meat powder just after ringing a bell.The dogs (who would naturally salivate after being exposed to meat powder) learned to associate the bell with the meat powder, and began to salivate as soon as they heard the bell.In this research, the bell served as a(n) ____.

Accepted Answer

The bell was originally a neutral stimulus, meaning it did not elicit a response from the dogs. However, after it was repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus (meat powder), it became a conditioned stimulus that elicited a response (salivation) from the dogs.

Question 16

Suppose that Tebogo has a new girlfriend whom he really likes.He programs his cell phone so that every time his new girlfriend calls, his phone plays the new Justin Timberlake single.After he has had his phone programmed this way for a little while, he notices that he feels happy whenever he hears the Justin Timberlake song.This MOST clearly illustrates ____.

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates classical conditioning, where the pairing of the girlfriend's call with the Justin Timberlake song leads to the development of a positive emotional response (happiness) to the song alone.

Question 17

Research suggests that the more people think about their attitudes, the stronger their attitudes tend to become.For example, the more a Chiefs fan thinks about how much she likes Chiefs, the more of a die-hard fan she is likely to become.This effect is called ____.

Accepted Answer

The effect described in the question is known as attitude polarization, which refers to the phenomenon where thinking about an attitude or belief causes it to become more extreme over time.

Question 18

Which of the following is the BEST example of social learning?

Accepted Answer

Social learning occurs when individuals observe and learn from the behavior and actions of others in their social environment. In this example, the individual observes classmates speaking with professors and decides to try this behavior themselves, indicating a process of social learning. The other options do not necessarily involve observable behaviors or learning from others in a social context.

Question 19

According to the text, what might BEST explain the development of prejudice against social groups that are frequently associated with negative information in the media, such as Muslims being associated with terrorism?

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning can explain the development of prejudice as it involves associating a neutral stimulus (a social group) with a negative stimulus (negative media information), leading to a conditioned response (prejudice).

Question 20

Operant conditioning is also sometimes referred to as ____.

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning is also known as instrumental learning, where an individual learns to associate his/her behavior with a consequence. This consequence can either be positive or negative, and the individual's future behavior is influenced by these consequences.

Quiz 7: Attitudes, Beliefs and Consistency