Question 1

Don was equally attracted to Sasha and Dominique, whom he dated separately. Over time, he learned to become very aroused by Sasha's style of dress and by Dominique's perfume. Later, he struck up a relationship with Marnie, who dressed like Sasha and wore the same perfume as Dominique. According to the Rescorla-Wagner theory, the amount of arousal Don experiences from the perfume alone will most likely _____.

Accepted Answer

According to the Rescorla-Wagner theory, the amount of arousal Don experiences from the perfume alone will most likely decrease because the perfume is now paired with another conditioned stimulus (Sasha's style of dress), which dilutes the association between the perfume and the arousal. This theory suggests that the strength of a conditioned response diminishes when a conditioned stimulus is presented alongside another stimulus that already elicits a strong response.

Question 2

If we inherit a tendency to learn fears by observation, then the display of fear by others serves as a(n) _____ for a fear response in ourselves.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If we inherit a tendency to learn...

Question 3

In the Watson and Rayner experiment with Little Albert, the US was a _____.

Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus (US) in the Little Albert experiment was the loud noise, which naturally elicited a fear response.

Question 4

In the Watson and Rayner experiment with Little Albert, the CS was a _____.

Accepted Answer

In the experiment, the conditioned stimulus (CS) was the rat, which was paired with the unconditioned stimulus (US), the loud noise, to elicit a conditioned response (CR) of fear in Little Albert.

Question 5

In general, phobias represent a process of _____.

Accepted Answer

Phobias often involve overgeneralization, where a person develops an irrational fear response to a broad range of stimuli based on a negative experience with a specific stimulus.

Question 6

In the "Little Albert" experiment, the loud noise is to the white rat as a _____ is to a _____.

Accepted Answer

In the "Little Albert" experiment, the loud noise is the unconditioned stimulus (US) that naturally elicits a fear response, and the white rat is the conditioned stimulus (CS) that becomes associated with the loud noise and eventually elicits a similar fear response.

Question 7

An aversive blast of air has a maximum associative value of 15 units. A compound stimulus consisting of a click and a scent is repeatedly paired with the puff of air, until the maximum conditioning has been reached. The scent acquires 13 units of associative value. This means that the click must have acquired _____ units of associative value which is an example of _____.

Accepted Answer

The answer of An aversive blast of air has a...

Question 8

In a conditioning experiment, to say that a CS has high associative value is equivalent, in more cognitive terms, to saying that

Accepted Answer

The associative value of a conditioned stimulus (CS) refers to its ability to predict the occurrence of an unconditioned stimulus (US). Thus, saying a CS has high associative value means the subject expects the CS to be followed by the US (A), and the CS is a good predictor of the US (B), making both A and B correct.

Question 9

A click and a scent are separately paired with a shock and each conditioned to the maximum associative value. The click and the scent are then combined into a compound stimulus and subjected to further pairings with the shock. This is most likely an experiment on the _____ effect.

Accepted Answer

The overexpectation effect occurs when two conditioned stimuli, each previously paired with an unconditioned stimulus, are combined into a compound stimulus and presented with the unconditioned stimulus, leading to a decrease in the conditioned response because the combined strength of the stimuli exceeds expectations based on their individual associations.

Question 10

In the Watson and Rayner experiment with Little Albert, the rat was

Accepted Answer

Initially, the rat was a neutral stimulus (NS) because it did not elicit a fear response from Little Albert until it was paired with the loud noise (the unconditioned stimulus, US), which naturally caused fear.

Question 11

During the Second World War, a major predictor of whether children developed an intense fear of air raids was whether their mothers

Accepted Answer

Children's reactions to stressful situations, such as air raids during the Second World War, were significantly influenced by their mothers' reactions. If the mothers were fearful, it was more likely that the children would also develop an intense fear of the air raids. This is because children often look to their parents for cues on how to react in uncertain situations.

Question 12

In the Watson and Rayner experiment with Little Albert, Albert's fear of the _____ was regarded as evidence of stimulus generalization.

Accepted Answer

Albert's fear of the Santa Claus mask demonstrated stimulus generalization because he began to fear objects similar to the original conditioned stimulus (the rat).

Question 13

Temperament is an individual's

Accepted Answer

The answer of Temperament is an individual's
...

Question 14

Which of the following observations demonstrates the limitations of Watson and Rayner's Little Albert experiment as an example of phobic conditioning?

Accepted Answer

The limitations of Watson and Rayner's Little Albert experiment include the necessity of repeated pairings of the rat with the loud noise to condition the fear response (A), the observation that Albert's fear began to diminish after a period of rest, indicating that the conditioned fear response was not permanent (B), and the finding that Albert could easily diminish his fear through self-soothing behaviors like thumb sucking (C). These points collectively demonstrate the experiment's limitations in explaining the complexity of phobic conditioning.

Question 15

In the context of the debates on the real "Little Albert," which of the following conclusions can be drawn regarding the claim that Douglas Merritte was "Little Albert"?

Accepted Answer

The identity of "Little Albert" remains unclear, as there is ongoing debate and insufficient conclusive evidence to definitively confirm or debunk the claim that Douglas Merritte was "Little Albert."

Question 16

During the Second World War, the vast majority of people exposed to air raids developed

Accepted Answer

The vast majority of people exposed to air raids during the Second World War developed temporary fear reactions that quickly disappeared, indicating the resilience and adaptability of the human psyche in the face of traumatic events.

Question 17

If we have an innate tendency to acquire conditioned fears through the observation of fearful reactions in others, then the look of fear in others must be functioning as a(n) _____.

Accepted Answer

The look of fear in others acts as an unconditioned stimulus because it naturally triggers a fear response in the observer without prior conditioning.

Question 18

Selby receives invitations to attend two events taking place on the same day. While one invitation is from a distant cousin, the other one is from a close friend. Though she wants to attend both, she decides to attend the function hosted by her close friend. Selby's behavior illustrates the _____ theory of classical conditioning.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Selby receives invitations to attend two events...

Question 19

A click and a scent are each separately paired with a shock and conditioned to a maximum associative value. The click and scent are then combined into a compound stimulus and subjected to further pairings with the same shock. A likely result is that the associative value of one CS will _____ and the associative value of the other CS will _____.

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon described is consistent with the concept of overshadowing in classical conditioning, where when two conditioned stimuli (CS) are presented together with an unconditioned stimulus (US), one CS may become more strongly associated with the US than the other, leading to a decrease in the associative value of the overshadowed CS. However, in this scenario, both stimuli have already been conditioned to their maximum associative value separately. When combined and presented with the unconditioned stimulus, the associative strength of both stimuli is likely to decrease because the presence of both together does not provide additional predictive value or reinforcement beyond what each has already achieved individually. This is a complex interaction not perfectly described by traditional overshadowing or blocking, but the principle that the combined associative strength of the compound stimulus does not exceed the associative strength of its components suggests that both components' associative values would decrease when combined, as they compete for associative strength with the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 20

Which of the following factors suggests that Little Albert did not grow up to have a phobia of furry objects?

Accepted Answer

Little Albert's temperament, which was not associated with phobias, suggests he may not have developed a phobia of furry objects. Temperament can influence how individuals respond to conditioning and stressors.

Quiz 5: Classical Conditioning Underlying Processes in Classical Conditioning