Question 1

Suppose you taught coyotes to avoid sheep by pairing a nausea-inducing drug with freshly killed sheep eaten by the coyotes. If you were able to save your flock of sheep using this method, you would probably want to give credit to the researchers who studied taste aversion, ________.
A) Garcia and Koelling
B) Watson and Rayner
C) Skinner and Thorndike
D) Bandura and Pavlov

Accepted Answer

Garcia and Koelling are the researchers known for their work on taste aversion, which involves learning to avoid a food that causes illness by associating the taste of the food with the illness. This principle is applied in the scenario described.

Question 2

Instinctive drift suggests that a species will favor natural instinctive behaviors to those being reinforced and, as a result, some behaviors cannot be ________.
A) positively conditioned for any lasting amount of time
B) negatively conditioned for any lasting amount of time
C) classically conditioned for any lasting amount of time
D) operantly conditioned for any lasting amount of time

Accepted Answer

Instinctive drift refers to the phenomenon where an animal's learned behavior reverts to its natural instincts over time, despite conditioning efforts. This is particularly relevant in operant conditioning, where behaviors are modified through rewards or punishments, but the animal may still revert to instinctual behaviors, making it challenging to maintain the learned behavior over a long period.

Question 3

Psychologists define ________ as any relatively permanent change in behavior or mental processes caused by experience.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Psychologists define ________ as any relatively permanent...

Question 4

When an organism involuntarily links a neutral stimulus to an unconditioned stimulus, they are in the ________ stage of classical conditioning.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When an organism involuntarily links a neutral...

Question 5

In his Law of ________, Thorndike posited that behaviors that are followed by pleasant outcomes would be repeated, while those that were followed by unpleasant outcomes would not be repeated.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In his Law of ________, Thorndike posited...

Question 6

Reina has been diagnosed with ________. Her physician explains to Reina's parents that part of the condition, a decreased ability to relate to others and to experience empathy, may come from a malfunctioning of mirror neurons.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Reina has been diagnosed with ________. Her...

Question 7

An innate readiness to form associations between certain stimuli and responses is called biological ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of An innate readiness to form associations between...

Question 8

Lauryn has an irrational fear of flying. Use classical conditioning theory to explain how she learned this fear. Provide a definition of each of the terms used in this theory, and indicate each term in Lauryn's conditioning.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Lauryn has an irrational fear of flying....

Question 9

Describe the processes of generalization, discrimination, extinction, spontaneous recovery, and higher-order conditioning in classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Use an example of each type of conditioning to illustrate your comparison.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the processes of generalization, discrimination, extinction,...

Question 10

Imagine that you are a behavioral psychologist who wants to help parents increase their daughter's compliance in doing chores without being reminded. Develop a plan that will include both positive and negative reinforcement, and positive and negative punishment. Your plan must demonstrate your understanding of the effects of reinforcement and punishment on specific behavior.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Imagine that you are a behavioral psychologist...

Question 11

Explain the importance of schedules of reinforcement in the effective use of reinforcement and punishment. Provide an example of each to illustrate your explanation. Which schedule is most effective, and why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain the importance of schedules of reinforcement...

Question 12

Imagine that you want to teach your dog to "shake hands" with visitors. Design a program based on shaping to accomplish your goal.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Imagine that you want to teach your...

Question 13

Contrast classical and operant conditioning with regard to consequences, types of responses, and order of behaviors, illustrating your answer with an example of why someone in each learning condition would stop flying in airplanes.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Contrast classical and operant conditioning with regard...

Question 14

Explain the importance of Köhler and Tolman's research to human learning, and provide an example of how you might use insight and latent learning in your everyday life.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain the importance of Köhler and Tolman's...

Question 15

Define observational learning, including a description of the four processes that are essential for it to work, and note an example of observational learning from your own life.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Define observational learning, including a description of...

Question 16

Define biological preparedness and describe how it is related to classical and operant conditioning.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Define biological preparedness and describe how it...

Quiz 6: Learning

Suppose you taught coyotes to avoid sheep by pairing a nausea-inducing drug with freshly killed sheep eaten by the coyotes. If you were able to save your flock of sheep using this method, you would probably want to give credit to the researchers who studied taste aversion, ________.

Instinctive drift suggests that a species will favor natural instinctive behaviors to those being reinforced and, as a result, some behaviors cannot be ________.